Cellular phone users in the United States and Japan now can have motion applications capability, thanks to GestureTek Mobile and its EyeMobile Engine.

Ed Fowler, director of business development at GestureTek (www.gesturetekmobile.com), says the technology has been picked up in the United States by Alltel, Cellular South and Verizon. In the United States, the gesture-recognition software is available on devices operating on Microsoft’s Mobile 6 Platform. There are about 30 handsets that use the BREW platform (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) in North America. Symbian and Linux platforms also are supported, as well as Windows Mobile 5 and 6 and certain variants of Java, notably the one used by DoKoMo.

The technology has been available for the past six months in Japan with the FOMATM 904i series from DoCoMo. The Japanese are well ahead of the US market. Fowler says the phones in Japan can handle a variety of games and such practical tools as the Tokyo subway map. A company called Genki came out with 35 applications the day DoKoMo launched the 904i. The 905 version is expected out any time with six handsets in the lineup.

Continue Reading �

In2Games of Rickmansworth, England, a computer gaming software and accessory developer will launch a collection of PS2 motion controllers and console game titles in time for Christmas.

At the moment, the company is creating “a whole bunch” of motion sensing controllers for the PS2, says Harry Holmwood, In2Games director. “The first four of these will launch this November in the UK and in early 2008 in the United States.”

Holmwood’s dossier reads like a well-heeled traveler’s in the British console gaming industry. A computer science graduate of the University of Southampton, Holmwood joined Intelligent Games, a UK-based videogame developer that worked on a number of titles for various companies including Maxis, Electronic Arts, Westwood Studios and Mindscape.

Continue Reading �

Two University of Buffalo researchers have designed a fingertip device they say is capable of “capturing human intent.”

Thenkurussi Kesavadas, or “Kesh” as he prefers to be called, the director of UB’s Virtual Reality Lab, developed the Fingertip Digitizer with Young-seok Kim, now employed by Tactus Technology of Buffalo, New York.

“When we move our fingers,” he says, “we create meaning with that movement. Unlike other haptic devices, ours digitally captures all of that movement and feeds it back to a computer for interpretation.”

Kesh says their device is a more intuitive improvement on the mouse. “It is not just a 2D pointing interface,” he says, “but rather it is a 3D fingertip.”

Continue Reading �

Everyone is on the move. And a Houston, Texas-based firm believes it has the tilt-to-navigate technology that manufacturers need to enable products for the PDA and smart phone market. They’ve actually had the technology for some time – but the market and the pricing are finally coming together to make a better business case for their tilt-to-navigate technology.

We mentioned RotoView’s European patent win here, and we’ve since had a chance to chat with the company’s sales director. Here’s what he had to say:
Continue Reading �

OEMs interested in a quick way to market with motion sensing technology might want to check out the UltraSense line from Gyration, Inc.

The units, offering five degrees of freedom, will be available for sampling to OEMs in this quarter of 2007. The company will begin to sell solutions in early 2008. The UltraSense chip will be available either on a daughterboard with controller chip and all sensors; a motion controller chip only; or via technology licenses.

“We are not planning support for a sixth degree of freedom at this time,” says Gyration’s Greg Smith, vice president of international marketing and business development. “But,” he adds, “We can add it at any time we receive demand for it. Note the sensors are external to the chip.”

Gyration sees UltraSense having application in a range of consumer control devices for PC, PC-TV integration, gaming, and set top box applications. It also will be of interest to manufacturers of mice, virtual reality and gaming consoles, remote controls and mobile devices.

A quantity price-point has not yet been set.

The UltraSense design provides all sub-system integration and signal processing required for “perfect motion control,” says Tom Quinn, president of the company. There are two rotational and three linear axes of motion detection. UltraSense allows for dynamic adjustments of key parameters at a system level for new motion sensing device designs.

Gyration will manufacture the product in China. The company says it has its first buyers for the UltraSense. “We cannot mention names, but they are the major players in consumer electronics and displays in the United States, Japan and Korea,” Smith says.

“Our manufacturing and licensing partners will not only find UltraSense to be superior in performance, but also a simple, expandable and cost-effective solution for a broad range of applications,” Quinn promises.

The company says UltraSense features significant improvements in drift, roll compensation, resolution, power state control and many other critical motion control specifications. In addition, the 5mm x 6mm x 0.85 mm control chip requires less power and significantly improves start-up time in devices. UltraSense also allows for dynamic, real-time adjustment of many key parameters, allowing for on-the-fly customization in order to fine tune the user experience as the background applications and user interfaces change.

A company based in Houston, Innoventions, Inc., recently received a patent in Europe for their RotoView motion sensing interface technology for mobile phones and other handheld devices (evidently, the company has had US patents since 2002).  RotoView uses accelerometers to measure the user’s “tilt” and directs interface elements accordingly.

We think it will be interesting to track what Innoventions is doing, as a number of mobile phone manufacturers have begun to incorporate (or at least plan to incorporate) motion sensing into their phones.

More here and here.

(Via  The Law of Mobility)

Those readers interested in the area of Human Computer Interface (HCI) — which we suspect is most folks coming to the Motion Apps Report — are probably familiar with Fitts’s Law.

The folks at Particletree have posted a great overview of the concepts, applications and implications of Fitts’s Law, particularly with respect to designing an interface on a screen.

You can read the whole thing (and view the immensely helpful graphics) here.

(Via Daring Fireball)

Starting October 15, Nintendo will start mailing out jackets to owners of remotes used with the popular Wii system. Owners must request the jackets. 

The company will also begin providing the jackets as standard equipment with all new Wii remote units shipped after that date.

Those Wii owners who purchased a system prior to the deadline can get free Wii Remote Jackets for their existing Wii remotes. To get the free jacket, users have to go to the Internet and provide the serial number(s) from their remote units. The serial number is located on the back side of the Wii console system. It begins with two letters, followed by several numbers. 

Blame the need for jackets on over-enthusiastic players. The company says that the jackets are being offered for safety purposes. There have been reports of potential injury when players whip the Wii around as they play games. If they lose control of the unit and it flies out of their hands, it could potentially hurt someone else.   

Nintendo issued a recall this past December to offer stronger wrist straps for its remotes after there were reports of the remotes coming loose and flying into TV sets.

Those who want to request a Wii Remote Jacket for their system need to visit the Nintendo web site at http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/jacket/jacketrequest.jsp .