DGC Blog

Now this is interactive pioneering at its best! GestureTek one of the leaders in computer vision technology and gesture controlled systems was kind enough to give us a demonstration of what had made them an industry leader.

Although I had seen this technology before I hadn’t really thought about how it worked or how innovative it was. Beforehand I was a simple spectator gawking at the “interface” and shooting out comments like “Wow, that’s neat!” but now with the knowledge I gained at IMM (insert product placement here; P) I’ve gained a new appreciation in technological advancements geared towards interactivity. In the year 1984 to this very day GestureTek had been and is still developing an alternative to the monitor and mouse and interactivity.

At the very core of their technology was a camera. And with so many products (GestPoint, Holopoint, Illuminate, etc) reliant on one, two, three or more cameras it was clear the major investments had gone into the R&D of such technology. IR cameras had also shown its presence, the majority of them hidden and placed high nearing the ceiling where the projectors were, which I might add range from your regular projector you pay $300+ at BestBuy to industrial strength costing upwards in the thousands. A Java based system along side a “Dazzler” engine; must have been developed in-house, was used to track the user’s movements of one of their technologies (Holopoint) which used two intersecting cameras to create a matrix. To my understanding the matrix used an X-axis, Y-axis and a Z-axis for depth. As I jabbed/poked my finger in the air it would translate into an area being clicked. The whole interactive event would best be described as a “seeing is believing” experience. It was so much fun I forgot to take notes but here I am able to write about it.

The client list of GestureTek ranged from big ticket companies like Sony and Microsoft who had collaborated with GestureTek to bring the EyeToy and Xbox Live Vision into the home. Japanese telecom (unnamed), weather stations for presenting your local weather reports, TV stations (game shows), museum interactive displays, and anything else needing an interactive feel beyond the ordinary had GestureTek written all over it. Could this lead to a monopoly? I think not as they’re others just like GestureTek. Just not within close proximity for an up-close tour, once again how lucky am I.

So what’s next for GestureTek? It looks like the mobile market or better yet mobile gaming is the next big thing. It would be a waste of time to describe this in words so I implore you to click on this final link, sit back and enjoy the awe that is gesture based technology.