Gesture based computing

Looks like Microsoft and Sony have come up with ways to use gesture-based computing like in the movie Minority Report. Sony's system has some pretty cool features:

The technology is the first of its kind to be demonstrated and is the result of a collaboration between Sony ISS and Atracsys, a Swiss optical tracking specialist. The interface is able to detect and act upon any 'gesture' or body movement by tracking subtle changes in body, arm, hand or finger position. The ICU system is also sensitive enough to determine a user's approximate age, sex and emotion; recognising happiness, anger, surprise, sadness and neutrality.

Microsoft's system has some nice features of it's own:

While today's Windows might not look completely out of place next to a Windows of yore, Microsoft Research certainly has some wild ideas for how to progress computer interaction. In a talk during Microsoft's college tour, Craig Mundle has been touting his research wares, including some pretty reasonable advances like auto completion of common concepts; automatic, intelligent sorting of large amounts of data; and a movable, modular work surface. One of the odder demos involves moving the LCD so it's flat on the desk and then using huge arm movements to manipulate a 3D model projected onto a piece of glass, and the demonstration of eye-tracking is intriguing while not altogether convincing. Of course, we've got a while before we'll see any of this stuff in real products, but perhaps we won't have to wait so long as ten years for that "2019" vision of the future to come to pass.

This is even further down the road along the lines of what Microsoft did with Project Natal quite a while ago, which is rumored to be shipping next November.

Future, here we come!