Hitachi shows off gesture-controlled TV concept

Hitachi was drawing crowds at the CES show with its gesture-controlled HDTV that uses infrared technology (IR) to see user’s hand motions and respond accordingly. The display itself was Hitachi’s existing 42X902 UltraThin HDTV, while a specially-designed IR sensor and interface were developed to control the TV’s basic functions. Users were urged to wave to the TV to turn it on, while changing channels was performed by waving horizontally to bring up a channel menu, then moving an open or pointing hand in a clockwise circle to advance through the channels or counterclockwise to go down through them. Adjusting volume levels was done in similar fashion.

At the same time, the company was showing a prototype 37-inch LED-backlit LCD display that offers 1080p HD resolution and is just 0.6-inch thick at the thinnest part. While the reps on-hand kept mum about the exact type of backlighting used, they did offer that the set improves the color gamut by some 152 percent over existing TVs on the market. While Hitachi is studying the marketability of either new technology, it did not have any specific dates or prices.

Hitachi Gesture Remote Control TV concept