There’s no need for remote controls or touching the actual device,
you just wave your hand and, for example, the next channel comes up or
the volume increases. The XTR3D technology also allows hands-free
operation of your smartphone, which sounds really convenient for use
while driving.
Despite the similar results, XTR3D uses a completely different
technology to Microsoft’s Kinect. The software they have developed
doesn’t require the fancy (and expensive) depth sensors, but uses
ordinary 2D cameras instead, so it can make do with your smartphone’s
front-facing camera for example.
According to the engineers who devised this, this technology is also
extremely power-efficient, so adding gesture based controls shouldn’t
affect battery life of portable devices greatly.
We see a couple of potential problems in the description of the XTR3D
technology, though. For one, it’s harder to analyze 2D footage and
detect gestures than it is for 3D, so it will either require huge
processing power or it risks lacking in accuracy. Poor lighting will
also cause headaches as it will further complicate the processing.
Also, no matter how efficient the software itself is, running the
front facing camera on a smartphone for such a long time is bound to
bring its battery down quite quickly. So, we’d say the future of this
technology really belongs to the TV world and possibly integrated car
navigation and infotainment systems.
Only time will tell if the project takes off the ground, but XTR3D
are keeping their finger crossed for actual devices with their
technology to become available as soon as next year.
