News - iPad and iPhone could get Kinect-style 3D gesture control

[HEXUS]

Apple files "Real Time Video Process Control Using Gestures" patent.

Read more.

[Platinum]

Because people are now to lazy to touch the device 2 feet in front of them?

[miniyazz]

Because people are now to lazy to touch the device 2 feet in front of them?

Agreed. It's a handheld device, not a TV!

[shaithis]

Another wishy-washy patent from apple based on something other have already done?

I guess that's another several million in the bank from unbelievable lawsuits then.....

[crossy]

Got two problems with this, first of, as described in the article this sounds very much like the features that are in Kinect apps, and before that, Sony EyeToy on the PS2. Unless Apple are purely going to limit it's use to iVideo (or whatever they're going to call it), and even then I would suspect that MS would be able to point to stuff that they're already doing.

Secondly, hands off gestures on a device that you're supposed to be holding in your hand seems a little redundant to me. Technology for the sake of technology?!

No, to me a better use of this would be if your Apple "magic device" was docked and connected to a TV. Then you could do your best Tom Cruise (Minority Report) impression while doing the video edits etc with the m.d.'s camera replacing the touch screen. But then again, Kinect owners can say "been there, done that, knocked over the vase/tripped over the couch".

Gets a big "meh!" from me otherwise.

[keithwalton]

wow another apple patent attempt where significant prior art exists. The facial recognition part sounds an awfull lot like the ICS unlock tech they previewed.

There is kind of a solution to this, limit the total number of patents a corporation including all its spin off's can have (stops apple creating a million sub companies to hold extra patents), that way they have to pick and choose what is an actual useful bit of technology and not patent everything we can think of and get it passed because we're rich enough to bribe