In the futuristic movie Minority Report, the lead character (portrayed by Tom Cruise) manipulates on-screen images by using a gloved hand. A video-camera picks up the 3D hand-motions, and the computer translates the motions into actions on the display. Now researchers from the defence company Raytheon have come up with a prototype that does exactly that. They have even employed John Underkoffler, the researcher who proposed the interface to the makers of the film!

Talk to the hand! (Courtesy: Raytheon)Current user interfaces (keyboard, mouse) work in a 2D world, which limits their applications. Even supposedly 3D interfaces (trackballs, game-controllers) are not truly 3D, as you need more than one control for accurate 3D navigation. The system in Raytheon allows the user to wear a a pair of reflective gloves and manipulate images projected on a panoramic screen. A camera takes live pictures, and the computer processes the images to translate into motion on the screen.
Such technology can be used to sort through large volumes of data (for example, satellite imagery, intelligence data), and also might help doctors to perform virtual surgery. It also has huge potential in gaming and virtual reality-based applications.