At CES this year, Samsung announced a new line of gesture-controlled TVs. As shown in the video after the break, the user can open up a web-browser on the TV simply by speaking a command and then using hand gestures to move the mouse cursor.
Based on the video, the software looks pretty choppy and not ready for prime-time just yet. I’d be surprised if this model sells very well if it is supposed to represent a production-ready release. For one thing, there seems to be a lag in the response rate. Also, the gestures simply emulate a traditional mouse cursor, only take a lot more work than using a wireless keyboard with touchpad. I fully expected a CES debut like this to include iOS-style web browsing. Fortunately, connected TV’s allow for easy updating of software.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szr5hGU3EK0]
Assuming Samsung (or any other television manufacturer that follows suit) makes gesture controls more intuitive and quicker to respond, I can see churches adopting this technology in a few ways.
Worship services
It might take some creative brainstorming to see how gesture-controlled televisions would impact worship in a positive way. However, I think it could be done, and done well. During a recent children’s sermon I showed pencil drawings I had previously created to the kids to illustrate a point. As I flipped through each drawing on my iPad I talked about what it meant. The feedback I immediately got from the congregation was “next time, show that to us on the projection screen!” Great idea – but now take that and expand it to using gesture controls to manipulate the images. The point stays the same, but the “cool factor” goes up tremendously! For high-tech preachers, how about using gesture-controls to bring up a video illustration on the screen?
Church Meetings
The implications here should be pretty straight-forward. A facilitator could use gestures to control a presentation without having to be stuck behind a computer or even hold something in his/her hand. If you think “Minority Report” for a minute, you might imagine a presenter manipulating a pie chart with their hands by pulling out one piece of the pie, expanding it, and showing more details.
Bible Studies
Similar to church meetings, Bible studies and small-group formats could use this technology to enhance learning. Imagine if the concept was applied to a Bible-study software program. A map of the Holy Land is displayed on-screen, and somebody (teacher or student) manipulates the map using gestures to zoom in and see close-up images. Perhaps even a simple gesture would bring down a graphical overlay like a sidebar that has bullet-point details about the image.
What else can you think of?
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