With the likes of the Samsung GALAXY S4, and other flagships that followed suit, gesture-based technology seems to be the next big thing. Although waving at your smartphone just because you can, may make you feel like a dork, here are some effective ways to get gesture recognition work to your advantage.
 

Coffee For Yawns
Wouldn’t it be great to have a piping hot cup of coffee every time you get droopy-eyed? Well, an experiment at the OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa, saw weary travellers treated to free coffee. A coffee company set up a promotional machine that featured facial recognition software to dispense a free cup of coffee when anyone yawns. Check out the video below to check out how the company gave away over 200 cups of coffee for some yawns, and smiles.

Switching Channels, Without A TV Remote
Samsung may have the most uninspiring and unusually large phones, but the brand's smartTVs will change the way you define a couch potato. These are said to support motion control as you can switch channels, change volume, play games, pause videos, and even surf the web all using hand gestures. Imagine playing Angry Birds as seen in the advertisement below. While you may end up with a beer belly, you will at least have well-toned arms to brag about.

Automated Homes
How awesome would it be to control electronic devices in your house with gestures? A proto-type system called WiSee can make this a reality soon. Connected using Wi-Fi, the gesture recognition system uses gestures such as waving your arms, punching, and kicking. Moreover, the makers claim that it doesn’t need an extensive setup to work either. That said, once ready, don’t expect it to be cheap either. The set up can help you turn out lights, control the television, music system, or even a room's thermostat. The program can take commands from up to 5 users and is understood to not be triggered by the usual movements of people in the house. Check out a live demo of the system blow.

Driving To Safety
More than gestures, the automobile industry has seen more sensor assistance, for blind-spot recognition, and parking assist. Won't it be cool if you could just manage to drive using gestures? After the thunderous success of Minority Report a decade ago, HUDs (Head-up Displays) have become very popular with luxury, and high-end cars. Now, you can get these in your car too at affordable prices, thanks to Garmin's newest offering. For now though, these Garmin devices will be available only for US-based users, and will hit market later this year. They use a smartphone and the Garmin app to relay information. Check out how it works, with the video below.

Gestures For Work
This one is for those workaholics who spend half their work life making presentations, and the other half presenting them. Ok, it is suited for gamers as well. This device from Leap Motion is known to be quite popular already, and works as an input device that lets you control your PC with hand movements. It also supports several apps including Cut The Rope and DexType (virtual keyboard). Looking at how display sizes on phones and tablets alike are swelling to monstrous proportions, gadgets like these will surely help with mobile computing technology as well. Check out the video below to see the device in action:

Which other walk of life do you think gesture control will be ideally suited for? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Tags : Gizmos