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Sensing a change

By Liron Segev
Johannesburg, 11 Jun 2015

Every generation goes through a major technology leap in the way it interfaces with machines, from the banging of fingers on the typewriter, to the keyboard, to using a mouse and then a touch-screen. Intel has been working on the next iteration of the way users interface with technology, and it all revolves around a non-touch-and-gesture world, which Intel calls RealSense.

At Lenovo Tech World, Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO, demonstrated how RealSense is a way for a machine to engage with the real word, in real-time and in 3D, much like humans interact with the 3D world around them. Citing an example of being able to fly a drone without a pilot, at 15 miles per hour, autonomously, this is made possible due to the way RealSense detects and understands its environment. Krzanich suggested in the near future, there will be no need to enter a password, as our computers will be able to recognise us and automatically grant us access according to the security level we are given. "We become the password and our computers will detect our presence in real-time and in 3D."

Intel's Dr Achin Bhowmik, VP and GM, Perceptual Computing (RealSense), said: "While taking a picture is good for keeping memories, when converting the 3D world into 2D, you lose details and the ability to interact." RealSense would like to keep the 3D world and, using the small camera, it is able to recognise objects and allow developers to take action based on those object and their movements.

The technology has advanced to the point that it is small enough to be integrated into portable devices such as phones, laptops and tablets. "This opens up a lot of applications, when being able to have a portable device that interacts in a 3D world," and Lenovo has announced it will integrate RealSense into its various upcoming devices, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 15, Lenovo Z51 and Lenovo ThinkPad E550.

Having learnt from the mobile world, Intel recognises it's all about the applications. If there are no applications, then users will not pay for those devices. However, when applications are available, which allow the user to play games, scan items into 3D printers and interact with videos by adding him/herself as an avatar to a video clip, then the user will choose RealSense devices. Hence, making the developer toolkit available to developers is key.

Currently, the system is able to recognise facial expression with high accuracy, recognise joints on hands, render objects and mix them into the real world, and separate background people from the main foreground person. These features are shipped with Intel's RealSense, and with simple commands, developers can tap into these using APIs (application programming interfaces).

Of course, this technology is not aimed at replacing keyboard and mouse. It is too early for that, as applications are built with keyboard-specific input mechanisms in mind. It is easier to type an e-mail with a keyboard than gesturing above virtual keys from afar. However, when it comes to turning a page in an electronic recipe book, this is an ideal scenario for the action to be completed via a hand gesture, "especially if your hands are full of chicken and spices", jokes Bhowmik.

Intel is looking to make adoption of this technology as simple as possible, and therefore it is looking for natural intuitive gestures to be used, such as finger-waving. This is natural and even children will be able to instantly understand what to do. Intel is trying to stay away from gestures that require learning, such as closed-fist closes an app. "Let's make it simple and straightforward for a child to do," concludes Bhowmik.

There is a great opportunity for South African companies to become leaders in this sphere, which is a high growth area, especially with the popularity of virtual reality technologies. For more information about RealSense and how to begin developing applications for it, check out Intel's page here.

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