Introduced yesterday by the Swiss group OZWE, the QB1 is a robotic DJ that’s aware of its surroundings, recognizes faces and photos, and interprets your movements. While it’s still in early development, the QB1 might one day change the way we interact with our media and entertainment devices.
What’s equally cool and kind of creepy at the same time is that the robo DJ’s screen follows you around the room so that it can see your movement. Using artificial intelligence, the QB1 can interpret a variety of gestures.
Imagine spinning your finger in the air clockwise to fast forward the music or counterclockwise to rewind. If you speak the name of a song, or hold up a CD case, the QB1 will recognize it and play it. Try raising your hand and then lowering it: the QB1 decreases the volume.
Here’s a video from CNET that gives you some idea of the QB1’s capabilities:
While the QB1 may seem a bit silly, it shows us where the future of devices like computers and iPods may be headed. Machines will become ever more aware of their environment and interacting with them will become increasingly natural.
To further train the QB1 to understand human gestures, OZWE is looking for volunteers to have a QB1 in their home for a while, so step on up and get one. Check out the OZWE website for more details.
photo credit: OZWE
Tue, Apr 28, 2009
Entertainment, Fine Living