The Computer that Reads Hand Signals

A PlayStation 3 transplant turns this PC into a multimedia powerhouse

By Christopher Null Posted 06.16.2008 at 4:43 pm 7 Comments

Wave Power The G55 picks out key hand signals from webcam video feeds. Toshiba

You don’t have to fumble with a remote control to pause a video on Toshiba’s Qosmio G55-Q802. Simply hold your palm up in the universal “stop” sign.

The laptop reads this and other hand signals instantly using the Cell, the supercomputer chip best known for powering the PlayStation 3. An Intel CPU performs most of the tasks on the G55, but a special version of the Cell tackles complex video-manipulation jobs by breaking them into bite-size chunks and parceling them out to four processors on the chip. The Cell also lets the computer scan videos and index every new face it finds. So instead of blindly fast-forwarding, you can just click a thumbnail to jump to the part where someone appears.

The G55 is the first PC with a Cell, and software that takes advantage of the chip is limited. Along with Toshiba’s hand-gesture and video-indexing applications, the laptop comes with ultrafast Cell-enabled versions of Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Corel’s Ulead video-editing program.

Listen to the Hand: Equipped with the four-processor Cell chip, the Qosmio G55 can analyze video footage from its webcam in real time, allowing it to interpret hand gestures instantaneously. Todd Detwiler

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7 Comments

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LordConti

from Baltimore, Maryland

06/19/08 at 2:48 am

In a few more years, I see the computer system that's used in the movie Minority Report (I suppose you could also throw in the recent Iron Man, but Minority Report had a more filling version). I think this could be the next logical step in a home pc system. Use a bigger screen, add the best talk-and-type software around, and have a smaller screen that's built into your desk in front of you that you can still use your fingers with, and you'll have an amazingly interactive home system.

I think the only step after that is virtual reality, which I really hope will be in my lifetime.

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beatle350

06/22/08 at 5:58 pm

thats really cool
but why would anyone need it?

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polo9432

06/24/08 at 3:53 pm

Why would anyone need the internet? why not just go to a library, or use a phone. Or why use a phone at all? just write by mail to everyone. You don't "need" any technology, well personal technology anyway. Entertainment, convenience and interactivity are things people will always love.

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Avatarfanatic280

from Tualatin, OR

07/08/08 at 12:32 pm

Hmm... If I won the lottery, I would make a custom computer. What it would have: That hologram touchscreen (if you don't know what that is, go back and reread every PopSci for the last three years), the software talked about here, and the keyboard that is mentioned by the hologram-touchscreen thing, the one with changing keys. In my dreams...

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tombomyo1

07/10/08 at 12:15 am

I think that it's cool. Except the fact that I kind of don't like remembering all of the hand signals. But it's still a nice piece of technology.

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SolarWarrior

07/22/08 at 5:54 pm

hehe-this is awesome! I can imagine myself now...*starts daydreaming*...Me:(laying in recliner watching movie) Where's that remote? I saw this part already...O wait! thats right! I have the G55! *uses hand signals to avoid ruining comfortable position in recliner*. hehe..*daydream over*

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