uWand technology for non-contact touch

With a flick of your wrist, you can browse channels, stop/resume playback, record videos, and visit websites. uWand technology is extending the application of touch technology to the living room.

　　According to Navin Natoewal, general manager of Philips' uWand, uWand technology is a direct-point remote control technology with 3D functions, which is as intuitive as a multi-touch screen. When the remote control using uWand technology points to the screen, a cursor will be generated on the screen, and the user can control it with the help of the cursor: click the channel you want to watch, and the screen will switch to the desired channel; move the remote control left or right to adjust the volume and color.

　　uWand can directly interact with a variety of devices (just locate and click), such as TVs, set-top boxes, DVD players, personal computers, hard disk recorders, digital photo frames and game consoles. At the same time, uWand can be used as a standalone remote control or embedded in other remote controls.

　　Philips' uWand technology contains two basic elements: an infrared camera and an RF transmitter embedded in the remote control device. It is reported that the RF transmitter uses TI's RF device. It is built into the set-top box or TV (or a separate device) with an infrared LED signal source.

　　uWand combines intuitive and precise 3D gesture control and direct pointing - click operation: directly locate and click on the screen: uWand absolute positioning function uses a special small camera, which can be embedded in the remote control to identify the signal sent by the required remote control device. A cursor will appear at the location, but unlike the mouse, there is no need to find the cursor on the screen first. This technology makes positioning more accurate and cursor navigation faster.

　　Another feature of uWand technology, 3D gesture control and subtle motion recognition, enables smooth navigation: uWand uses the basic principles of optical technology to control the TV screen menu within a distance of 5-6 meters through simple and subtle gestures, and uses a rich user interface to control all multimedia directories in an intuitive and natural way.

　　The remote control using uWand technology has only three buttons. The motion superiority infrared camera embedded in the remote control can filter visible light to reduce visible light interference, and achieve precise control by connecting to the internal or external RF transmitter of the TV. The power consumption of uWand is equivalent to that of a wireless mouse, but uWand still has certain requirements for users to develop personalized UI: 50-60 frames for the cursor layer and 30-40 frames for the image layer. Navin Natoewal said that uWand will adopt various mature communication protocols on the market.