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24-Jun-2010
by John Moulding
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Connected TV future needs gesture-based control
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Convergence TV
Television platform developers are starting to take advantage of the higher processing power in the latest STB and connected device chipsets to expand the range of TV-based applications. One of them is the introduction of gesture-based control of the television environment, something that could make content navigation easier but also opens the door to potential revenue generating applications like games and participative interactive TV game play.
Softkinetic, Optrima and Metrological Media Innovations have just announced a partnership to offer set-top box and television manufacturers an integrated 3D gesture-based solution that they believe will transform home entertainment. Softkinetic’s 3D gesture-recognition platform, called iisu, and Optrima’s 3D and RGB camera, called OptriCam, are also being offered to media service operators as part of Metrological’s Mediaconnect TV system.
Mediaconnect TV is a hybrid consumer TV entertainment platform based on Intel CE Media Processing technology and powered by Metrological’s Metroconnect Operating System. This provides consumers with a range of high-value applications and services and Metrological believes that by adding 3D gesture-based interfaces, the device establishes a complete convergence between TV, entertainment, Internet and video conferencing.
Michel Tombroff, CEO at Softkinetic, points out that the emergence of gesture-recognition for television coincides with the increased processing power now available for customer premise equipment as a result of Intel’s advanced media processor. “Metrological is pioneering that technology for consumers,” he points out.
Softkinetic believes the new consumer experience is not only about watching television but also enjoying the Internet and video games, applications and even video conferencing – something that is of increasing interest to the connected TV and service provider markets. And many of these services will benefit from an enhanced user interface.
“All the services coming to market make the problem of the remote control more important,” declares Tombroff. “You cannot do video conferencing or play games only with a remote.” He says the message is the same from everyone developing advanced and converged television services: that the huge number of potential applications and services creates the challenge of how you help people navigate around them.
“Apple solved that on the iPod and iPad with the touch screen but television is different because the screen is 3-4 metres away and you would have to stand up every two seconds,” explains Tombroff. He believes there will be a market for secondary devices with touch screens, like Apple iPad style tablets, to accompany the television and provide remote control functions. Smartphones themselves will have a role to play as remote controls for the television as well. But Tombroff points out that some functions can be performed more naturally using gestures rather than touch screen interfaces, with games being one obvious example.
Tombroff even suggests that viewers will be able to participate in television game shows with their own avatars. And Softkinetic, Optrima and Metrological think there is a market opportunity to engage consumers in fitness or rehabilitation programmes via the television using gesture-recognition. Clearly service providers can take advantage of the acceptance Nintendo has now achieved across all age groups with its Wii gaming console to develop this market.
Today the 3D camera used to monitor viewer movements is a separate device that sits on top of the television but this will eventually be integrated into televisions in the way that webcams have become part of laptops, Tombroff says. The Softkinetic software specifies particular gestures for TV commands so the system understands when viewers are simply scratching their heads! One of the most notable gesture is a hand grabbing action to select an icon or function.
Although the next generation of TV platforms will have more processing capability, they also have more functions to perform so the gesture-recognition software has been optimized to consume a minimum of CPU resources, allowing it to integrate seamlessly on set-top box devices.
The Metrological/Softkinetic/Optrima reference development kits will be available for developers in the autumn. These will allow developers to rapidly create 3D gesture-based applications and video games with the guarantee that their content is compatible with all Intel-based platforms that use the Metrological Operating System.
Albert Dahan, CTO and co-founder of Metrological, comments: “Our leading software platform combines all of the features of interactive television into a single convenient and easy-to-use solution. The addition of 3D gesture-recognition capabilities will provide Mediaconnect TV users with the most exciting interactive experience any digital entertainment device currently has to offer."
The commercial deployment of Mediaconnect TV begins in Europe in July and is expected to begin in North America by the autumn.
In February 2009, Softkinetic announced a partnership with Orange Vallée, the innovation-focused subsidiary of the France Telecom Group, to create Keanu, which is said to transform television into an interactive, device-free experience controlled by simple hand and body gestures. This uses the Softkinetic iisu software technology.
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About the author
John Moulding joined Videonet as editor at the start of 2010, having spent over 10 years writing about digital TV and the various technologies that have simultaneously disrupted and enriched the television business. With Videonet he is focused on the unstoppable march towards multiplatform, connected and personalized television. John was editor of Cable & Satellite International (now CSI) for six years before helping launch New Video Technology, and helped develop the IPTV World Series conference programmes from 2006-07. At home, he takes a Sky triple-play bundle, watches around one-third of content time-shifted, enjoys BBC iPlayer on television through the Wii, and eagerly awaits the arrival of YouTube on his own TV (the killer TV application for late on a Friday night). He is still loyal to channels - but can also remember when TV shut down after lunch.
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