PrimeSense Demos A Gesture-Based Next-Gen TV Interface

We’ve all seen the Kinect, or at least heard about its wonders. Well, the same company that hooked up Microsoft during “Project Natal” development has showed off some pretty wonderful technology at CES last week.

It uses a 3D camera on top of your TV to let you interact with your television through gestures. To be honest, it looks a lot like any touchscreen interface you’re already used to (with similar transitions and gestures) but you just happen to be 10 feet away from the screen.

The next-gen interface lets you flip through channels and navigate the TV guide just by waving your hand around and throwing in a few pinching gestures. It made me hate my remote, if that’s any indication of how cool it is (and I love TV).

But watching TV is just the beginning. PrimeSense showed us a (somewhat bizarre) dancing implementation for the technology that lets you get jiggy with it in front of what looks a lot like Windows Media Player visualizations. The camera follows your movements and lets you throw out bursts of “energy” on screen. I didn’t really get the hang of it while I was there but it seems like an excellent technology for a rave or a group of stoned college kids.

PrimeSense even mentioned ways to let you see yourself in clothes you’d like to buy, right on the screen, and purchase them directly.

Now it’s just a matter of time until a major OEM snatches up the technology and we all find ourselves waving at the TV.