Big changes in touch and interactivity are coming quickly (see the Top 5 Touch Trends segment) and the concept of “touchless gestures” or enhanced motion recognition has the potential to change a lot of what we know about touch. The good news for touch screen manufacturers is that this touchless technology is a long way off from claiming any sizable share of the marketplace for a couple of reasons:

1)  Let’s face it, touchless gestures are not yet practical for many touch screen applications.
2)  These emerging technologies are still largely in their infancy.
3)  The market hasn’t found a good place for them yet.

But touchless gestures are a cool idea, and are, no doubt, part of our interactive future. The popularity of Nintendo’s Wii has demonstrated the need for enhanced motion recognition and digital interaction with display devices. And now Sony, with the Move, and Microsoft, with Kinect, have signaled a substantial response to the Wii, enabling much more sophisticated interactive capabilities [Mark Fihn, Top 5 Touch Trends].

This video below from the Virtopsy Project shows that there is, in fact, huge potential for these motion recognition devices and demonstrates how Microsoft’s Kinect can be used to control a Medical PACS system. I don’t think the technology is quite where it needs to be, but the Virtopsy Project presents some real food for thought.

See the Virtopsy Project in motion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6CT-YDChmE

Signing out.

Touch Girl.