Gesture Control: 2013 as the Year of Waving Over Clicking

The article from Quartz, published in 2013, argues that gesture-based interaction will replace traditional clicking, citing the evolution from Nintendo's Wii motion-sensing controller and Xbox Kinect's infrared motion capture to newer devices like Leap Motion and MYO. Thalmic Labs, a Y Combinator-backed company, announced MYO, a cuff that uses electromyography to detect muscle electrical signals, enabling gesture control of various devices. MYO can sense individual finger movements and arm/hand gestures, and via Bluetooth, allows users to control devices away from the desktop, including mobile-controlled objects like quadcopters. It will support Windows and Mac OS at launch, with iOS and Android support later. MYO is priced at $149 and ships in late 2013, while Leap Motion, which allows gesture interaction with laptops, is available in May for $79.99. The article references the influence of 'Minority Report' in shaping expectations for natural hand-waving interaction. Kickstarter has become a platform for new input technologies, including MAUZ and MaKey MaKey, which turns everyday objects into controllers. The proliferation of gesture technologies introduces a new interaction lexicon, from finger drags to full-arm gestures, and may lead to a 'Babel of flicks' as seen with Google Glass trials. The article suggests that this shift will make daily commutes resemble performance art.