Picture this – you are sitting in front of your television set and want to mute its volume. Instead of reaching for the remote, you just place your finger on your lips in a “shush” motion. At a time when everything is becoming increasingly automated and connected, Singlecue is taking things a step further.
Singlecue is a home automation device been designed by EyeSight Technologies, a company based out of Israel. Singlecue will sit right on your TV set and will give you a complete gesture-powered control of just about any device. Although the device has a whole list of compatible devices, you can teach it to recognise almost any other device that has an infrared, Wi – fi, or Bluetooth sensor.
The makers of Singlecue hope to spread its wings beyond the traditional entertainment control systems. Such is the flexibility of its compatibility that it can even pair up with certain thermostats to control temperature or the lighting in your house in hands-free mode, or with certain systems.
In a home without remote controls, where the control of various devices is unified into a single interface, you are free to perform many basic functions through gestures and the need for various remote controls, apps and excess cables is eliminated. The device plans to lead the home automation market and one cannot help but think about the many mistakes that are inevitable and might occur. One of the main challenges of the company is to design a user interface that can recognise the small differences in gestures and the teeny tiny differences of different users.
The company’s Mac OS application will give complete control of iTunes with the same gestures and built – in camera. You will be able to stop, pause, skip through the music, and control the volume without touching your keyboard!
All said, this is not the first time that gesture control has made its way into homes. Reemo is another gesture control device that can be worn and looks like a watch with many of its capabilities like that of Singlecue.
Thalmic Labs has come up with Myo that is an armband which allows for gesture control of media players.
Similarly, Kinect for Xbox has provided gesture control since 2010. In addition, the developers of Kinect have just recently ventured into home automation appliances.
PointGrab, another Israeli company, has developed a gesture device for controlling home appliances. But, till now, Singlecue seems to be the most unobtrusive, inclusive, and compatible. Undoubtedly, the last few years have witnessed a rise in gesture control devices.
But, Singlecue seems to be the first one to set foot in the arena of total home automation. Regardless of its limitations, it might just lead us into a new age of hands – free technology. The product is available for $199 to customers. Checkout http://www.singlecue.com
