Newly disclosed patent filing from software giant describes a new way to control everything from a game console to a thermostat.
While virtually every tech company is concerned with building the
better mouse trap, Microsoft is apparently trying to build a better
mouse. Seattle based technology blog TechFlash
this week picked up on a newly disclosed patent filing from Microsoft
for a motion-sensing "Magic Wand" interface that would allow users to
turn on lights, crank up the heat, and possibly even play games with a
flick of the wrist.
The
wand is technically described as "an architecture that can facilitate
rich interaction with and/or management of environmental components
included in an environment." It could incorporate a number of handy
devices including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a camera, a laser, a
biometric sensor, a transmitter, or a receiver, and would have a handy
advisor in text, audio, or video form to assist users in getting their
gestures just right.
According to the filing, the advisor could be configurable from
appearance to accent, and could be displayed in holographic form. On
top of that, the wand could track motion
by creating a basic 3D model of its environment, then using a pair of
cameras to determine the wand's orientation within that existing model.
Also of note are the Magic Wand's inventors. Among the listed
names is J Allard, Microsoft's "chief experience officer" and chief
technology officer for the Entertainment and Devices Division. Allard
may be best known among gamers for managing the technical development
of the original Xbox and serving as the public face of the company's
console efforts until shortly after the Xbox 360 launch. Since then, he
has remained largely out of sight while working on the Zune multimedia
handheld, which Microsoft has promised will eventually support robust
gaming functionality.
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