When you think of gesture control, you might think of hopelessly trying to play a game of tennis on the Nintendo Wii. However, gesture control has come a long way since the Wii was released in 2006. Nearly a decade later, we have some incredible new gesture control technology being developed including Bixi – a device that claims to be able to turn any smartphone into a gesture-controlled device.
A small hexagonal device, Bixi is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter with its designers stating that the Bixi will allow users to control their connected devices – such as tablets and smartphones – with a simple wave of the hand.
With the Bixi gestures users can do things such as flipping the pages on a cook book on your tablet, adjust the volume on your music while in the shower and even snooze your alarm clock without getting up. You will need to memorise different gesture movements, though, in order for Bixi to know what you want to do. That being said, with Bixi’s ability to cope with multiple devices and apps at the same time, this device could easily become a must-have gadget for homes.
The problem is, gesture controlled devices have always seemed like a notion from a science fiction movie. Kind of like the hoverboard from Back to the Future – the technology always feels like it’s a few years away from being ready. So, the question remains, will we ever fully use gesture controls in our daily lives? Well with the introduction of Bixi and various other motion controlled devices to the market, it appears the age of gesture controls is finally here.
There have been many poorly constructed gesture controlled devices in the past, which have sullied the market for gesture controls slightly. Both the Wii and other gaming devices like the Kinect were must-have accessories just a few years ago, yet neither lasted long as the controls could be very temperamental making them hard to use.
There are, however, many accomplished gesture controlled devices out there. Just look at Party Poker’s gesture controlled poker app, that allows you to play a game like you really are at a poker table. Playing poker online has become incredibly popular over the last decade, however, online poker does lack the excitement of playing at a table. With this new app, players can make moves with the wave of a hand – just like they would in a real match.
Then there’s Nintendo, true the Wii might not have been the best, but now the console makers are due to release a new motion-controlled boxing game for the Switch later this year. It will be interesting to see the differences in the game compared with Wii sports. If done correctly, families everywhere will want the game.
Yet it’s not just the gaming industry that wants to buy into gesture controls. In fact, it’s believed that the gesture control industry will grow to an incredible $18.98 billion by 2022 with motion controls in cars and for sanitary products all high on the list.
Bixi and other gesture control devices are just the beginning of a technology movement that is likely to take over in just a few years, indeed it may become just as popular as touchscreen and voice control technology.
