Remote Control That Works Without Touching A Clicker or Keyboard


You won't have to grope around for the remote anymore if Toshiba's latest technology makes it to your living room: It lets you control a DVD player with hand motions - without touching a clicker or keyboard.

The laptop-based technology runs on the company's new "SpursEngine" chip, which can process motion detected by a camera and turn it into commands to control a DVD player. It's based on the same Cell chip design that powers Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console.

The camera can detect hand motions from 10 feet away, said Akio Sakai, a Toshiba specialist manning the display where the company's prototype was unveiled on Tuesday at the CEATEC electronics show outside Tokyo.

The technology isn't yet on the market, and Toshiba hasn't set a release date.

The processor, demonstrated on Toshiba's Qosmio laptops, also can manipulate 3-D images - an ability that would come in handy if you want get a full view of what you'd look like with a new hairstyle.

The laptop's camera puts your face on the screen, and then you choose hairstyles and types of makeup. The computer makes those changes in your image in 3-D, and you can turn your head to check out the new look from different angles.

The processor includes hardware to decode and encode MPEG-2 video. The prototype operates at a clock frequency of 1.5 gigahertz.

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