There was once a time when two buttons were added to remote controls for every TV feature. That worked fine … when all TVs had were channels and volume. But with today’s TVs that have tuners for everything from reception to feeding your dog, it should be a hint that more buttons are NOT the way to go! (Perceptive readers will sense that I’m frustrated over modern thousand-button remotes). Thankfully some companies realize this, and I recently came across a lovely example of that. It’s a simple design called “The Loop”: It has two buttons, a scrollwheel and … that’s it! A built in motion system tracks your movements, allowing you to select from menus on screen. No overflow of buttons! Beautiful. [Continue reading for video]

The Loop was created by Hillcrest Labs, and uses what they call Freespace motion control technology, which they describe as follows:

Hillcrest Labs’ patented Freespace motion control technology senses motion in three dimensions and precisely translates human motions into on–screen cursor movement. When embedded in a handheld input device, Freespace allows consumers to simply point and click to navigate content and application choices on televisions, set–top boxes, PCs and a range of other digital media devices. Freespace can also be adapted for use in game controllers.

I can only hope that after the incredible success (and fun) of the Nintendo Wii, that companies around the world will start thinking twice about how they design their controllers, and that second thought being something like this.

I was a bit dissapointed when I watched the video though because I’d assumed it would go on your arm like a wristwatch and that you’d use a flick of the wrist or clench of the fist to select things. Well, maybe the next generation. For now I’m content if anything with less than 30 buttons makes its way into the mainstream.

Links and References

• Image credit: Hillcrest Labs