Gesture recognition for hands-free convenience
Gesture recognition has been a research curiosity for years, with a lot of admirable work languishing in the lab despite the seemingly obvious appeal of hands-free operation. Now PrimeSense Ltd.'s design win in Project Natal, which resulted in the Kinect hands-free controller for the Xbox 360, may have yielded the killer app the field needed. The accelerometer- and gyroscope-based Wii baton piqued the public's interest in more innovative user interfaces.
But moving the recognition hardware into the console, leaving the user's hands free, is (pardon the pun) a game changer. The perceived success of hands-free interfaces like Kinect will motivate companies like Canesta (recently acquired by Microsoft), Hillcrest Labs and Movea to begin offering hands-free interfaces for such other platforms as TVs and notebook computers. In fact, the next best step might be the development of a standard lexicon of "gestures for control."
Touchscreen tabs advance 'consume only' model
Electronic devices designed exclusively to consume, rather than both consume and create, began with Apple's iPod music player, which only Microsoft's Zune has effectively challenged. Following the debut of Apple iPad, however, every major electronics producer is taking on Apple. Makers of laptops, netbooks, smartphones and, yes, even music players will all be marketing competing touchscreen tablets in 2011. Almost all will try to emulate the trend-setting iPad while adding some differentiator; Dell's Streak, for example, also lets you make phone calls.
Only a few vendors will try to build an ecosystem that goes head-to-head with Apple's. One is Samsung, whose Galaxy Tab matches the iPad's features, right down to a companion phone with a similar name (as the iPhone is to the iPad, the Galaxy S is to the Galaxy Tab).
Others will aim for underserved markets. Hewlett-Packard's business-oriented Slate, for example, features a stylus input, suiting it for corporate clientele, such as the insurance companies that have put Slates in the hands of their adjusters in the field. Research in Motion's PlayBook, meanwhile, banks on the BlackBerry phone's reputation for superior security compared with the iPhone. Tethering the iPad-like PlayBook to a BlackBerry phone lets RIM users keep pace with iPad owners without sacrificing
security.
Wireless connects for health care
Home health care is pegging its success on wireless technologies, which in 2011 and beyond will be crucial to delivering health maintenance and management remotely. Companies such as General Electric, Intel and Qualcomm are refocusing their telehealth and independent-living app development efforts on wireless connectivity.
In a Qualcomm-developed illustration of the power behind wireless medical gateways as a critical part of the remote medical care solution, the data from body sensors communicates with a handheld wireless device via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or ultralow-power BAN radios. Another company engaged in this market is MedApps, whose HealthPAL mobile health monitoring device automatically and wirelessly transmits biometric readings to a server, making patient data available for remote monitoring and review. LynuxWorks, meanwhile, has teamed with Portwell Inc. to deliver a proof-of-concept wireless sensor platform, based on Intel chips, that can monitor more than 25 Bluetooth wireless biometric sensors and graphically portray the patient sensor data for visual monitoring in the familiar Windows environment.
Radar Technology has registered on automakers' own radar for more than a decade, though the car manufacturers have proceeded with their typical caution in adopting what has been a costly technology with safety implications. But as silicon sensor costs come down and as the technology gains traction in luxury models, radar systems will begin to trickle down over the next few years to midpriced autos. Lower silicon and system prices will also encourage more governments to mandate automotive radar.
Going into 2011, automotive radar already offers collision avoidance and mitigation in the forward-facing direction, as well as blind-spot monitoring and parking support via rear-facing radar. Beyond 2011, the technology will eventually enable driverless freeway motoring, with smart algorithms using forward- and rear-facing radar, as well as lane detection systems, to control drive-by-wire steering, acceleration and braking systems.
Personal power management puts you in charge
"The goal of giving every household and business access to timely, useful and actionable information on their energy use" was the focus of a recent open letter to President Obama from GE, Google, Intel, Honeywell, Whirlpool and 42 other companies. "By giving people the ability to monitor and manage their energy consumption, for instance, via their computers, phones or other devices . . . we can harness the power of millions of people to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—and save consumers billions of dollars," the companies told the President.
Google already has a free downloadable app, the PowerMeter, that can monitor overall energy consumption in a home with an installed breaker-box add-on, such as Energy Inc.'s TED (The Energy Detective). Intel is taking the approach one step further by "personalizing" energy management as it once helped personalize computing; the company has crafted a prototype personal-energy monitor that plugs into the wall (instead of the breaker box) and uses artificial intelligence to deduce which appliances in a household are on and how much power they are using.
In 2011, a whole ecosystem of personal power management devices will be announced by Intel, its partners and competitors.
