Motion-sensing technology advances
From: San Franciso Chronicle - 01/21/2008
By: Ryan Kim

3DV Systems, an Israeli company, has developed a cheap infrared camera called
the ZCam, not much larger than a Webcam, which will sell for $100 or less.
The camera lets people turn small hand gestures into onscreen movements. 

The product has one camera that captures the reflection of infrared light to
gauge the depth of objects, helping it distinguish hands from other body
parts behind it. A superfast shutter helps the camera eliminate objects more
than 8 feet away. 

The result is a system that can be used to navigate a PC media library with
your fingers, or even be installed in cars to help a vehicle know how best to
deploy airbags based on the position of people in a car. But the most obvious
application for the ZCam is video games, said 3DV Systems CEO Zvika Klier.
Klier said 3DV Systems is talking to a number of gaming companies about
employing the technology for new and existing games.  

He said the system also can be used to create reality-based avatars or
digital representations of people that can be inserted into games. For large
virtual world games like Second Life and World of Warcraft, the camera could
help turn a person's movements into game play without the need for buttons,
Klier said. 

See a demo of the ZCam at sfgate.com/ZCDY

Read the entire article at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/21/BUEIUH6CL.DTL

Links:
3DV Systems
http://www.3dvsystems.com/

ZCam
http://www.3dvsystems.com/technology/product.html#1

New interfaces for games use brain waves
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/18/BUDBV2QMG.DTL