Jefferies says Apple may have licensed JDSU's 'body gesture' sensors for next Apple TV

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  • Reply 41 of 47
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    maestro64 wrote: »
    yeah waving ones hands around while watching TV is the next new fad that everyone is going to jump on. I sorry is one of those technologies which look very interesting and people get a kick out of giving it a try, however it is totally impractical in every day use. Yeah the whole Wii and xBox motion is fun, but I do not think people will want to wave their hands around just to change the channel.

    Don't really know, however I suspect people over estimate just how this would work on an iTV. By definition living rooms are active places so such technology would have to be addressable in some manner.

    All that being said why does everybody think this is an Apple TV initiative? I could see such technology being more useful in an iMac for example. Especially considering that touch screens on large monitors are a huge human factors problem. If done right user interface elements like cover flow would integrate nicely with such systems and more interface actions and elements could be integrated into the user interface with this tech.
  • Reply 42 of 47
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mac_128 View Post



    This article must make British TV producer ITV crazy.

    Skil, I'm with you in this. I just can't see jumping up and down and waving my hands around in the air to get my TV to do what I want. Or talking to it for that matter.

    It just strikes me we might be going the wrong direction with technology ...



    I don't think they are going the way of kinect, it is also possible to use the front camera of the iPhone or iPad to do the gesture bit,


     


    It is totally ridiculous to wave at the whatever TV to change the channel or the worst part shout at it as the google fanatics are claiming their tv will be doing.

  • Reply 43 of 47

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Equity research firm Jefferies on Friday raised its price target on shares of Apple to $900, saying it believes both the company's much rumored iPad mini and next-generation Apple TV device are in 'full production,' with the latter product potentially utilizing a new 'gesture control module' brought in through a third-party licensing agreement.

    In a research note to clients, analyst Peter Misek said recent checks with Apple product manufacturer Foxconn indicate the company plans to build 25 million new iPads during the current third calendar quarter and another 30 million for the fourth quarter ending December.

    Those figures, coupled with an uncharacteristic 5% monthly jump in Foxconn's revenues for the month of July, raise Misek's confidence that the ramp up of the company's much-rumored 7-inch iPad mini accounts for the spike in production, which in both cases is more than 50% greater than the analyst's current estimates of 16 million and 18 million for the two quarters, respectively.

     


    Separately, Misek said that recent data out of Sharp, Hon Hai, and other specialty chemical and TV component suppliers support his belief that the company's next television-oriented product is also in "full production," a surprising claim given that the Wall Street Journal report just days ago that company had yet to reach licensing agreements with any cable operator over the product that it reportedly hopes to market as a cable box alternative.


    Misek also believes that a recent revelation by JDSU that it has acquired a new new non-gaming customer for its gesture control modules may signal a partnership with Apple as part of the product.

    They indicated this is a new "living room" based customer. We believe Apple will leverage AT&T's and Verizon's content deals for the iTV.


    JDSU, or JDS Uniphase Corporation, designs and manufactures products for optical communications networks, communications test and measurement equipment, lasers, optical solutions for authentication and decorative applications, and other custom optics.



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    var so = new SWFObject('http://www.jdsu.tv/data/players/1/1_swf.swf','mpl','466','311','9'); so.addParam('allowfullscreen','true'); so.addParam('allowscriptaccess','always'); so.addParam('flashvars','source=http://www.jdsu.tv/data/view/1286245405.flv&mXML=http://www.jdsu.tv/different-view/configNew/28'); so.write('VideoPlayer');



    Last month the Milpitas, Calif.-based company said it was ready to offer partners optical technology for gesture recognition systems that let a person control technology with natural body gestures instead of using a remote, mouse or other device:

    JDSU near-infrared light source technology and optical coatings are integrated into gesture recognition platforms, such as a 3D sensor or set top box, to detect and extract external information from a person?s movements. The information is then mapped into a 3D image, and incorporated into the system so that a person can easily manipulate an application.

    Examples include a gamer?s movements being tracked and translated within a video game, or a person in a living room using a hand gesture in front of TV to pull up a movie or a web site.


    Interest on Apple's part to replace traditional input mechanisms like the television remote and computer mouse with gesture and motion sensors dates back more than three years to patent filings for a Nintendo Wii-like magic wand controller and body motion tracking in Mac OS X. However, friday's report of a potential licensing deal with JDSU for its body motion sensors appears to be the first indication that Apple could choose to outsource such technology for its living room initiative.

    "We expect either the iPad Mini to launch in CQ4 with the iTV either launching in CQ4 or CQ1," Misek told clients.

    Shares of Apple rose nearly $7, or roughly 1%, in early morning trading to a new all-time high of $644.

  • Reply 44 of 47

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by waybacmac View Post

     


     


    Ok, that was a mistake. My bad. 

  • Reply 45 of 47

    Quote:


    …Misek said that recent data out of Sharp, Hon Hai, and other specialty chemical and TV component suppliers support his belief that the company's next television-oriented product is also in "full production,"



    Or maybe a sign of a massive refresh of the iMac line?


     


    Quote:

    …revelation by JDSU that it has acquired a new new non-gaming customer for its gesture control modules may signal a partnership with Apple as part of the product. They indicated this is a new "living room" based customer


    At this point pure speculation. Where's the beef?


     


     


    Quote:


    JDSU, or JDS Uniphase Corporation, designs and manufactures products for optical communications networks, communications test and measurement equipment, lasers, optical solutions for authentication



    OK, let's speculate. Maybe instead of waving your arms to change the channels, the idea is to eliminate passwords. Your Mac/iPhone/iPad just recognizes you. 


     


     


     


    Quote:


    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


     


    Now, what if Apple were to take LG's large display and add touch capability to it...


     


    Ah, but you say:



    1. it would be too tiring to hold your hands out to edit on a vertical touch display


    2. there is no editing software that uses a touch display


     


    Well, for #1, what if the editor were to stand os sit in front of a horizontal or tilted touch display similar to a drafting table...


     


    For #2, there may be a solution under development -- what if you could edit video with FCP X on a large touch display?


     


    Jack Purcher over at Patently Apple, did some detective work and found a bunch of Apple patents related to FCP X and Touchscreens:


     




     


    I like your ideas, Dick.


     


    Now let's REALLY speculate. It's not televisions but tilt-screen iMacs and displays (for use with the new Mac Pros) with touch and/or gesture capability that will recognize you when you sit down and log you into your user account. 

  • Reply 46 of 47


    I watched the video and I can't figure out how is this tech any different than what Microsoft has with Kinect.


     


    If they produce a TV with this tech, then this could be a pretty decent XBOX competitor, provided that the TV has enough horsepower and graphics to output a decent video game.  Game Center needs a shit ton of work though.  Xbox Live houses it in just about every way.


     


    I'm hoping the TV has CableCard and True2Way support built in so I won't need an external cable box. 

  • Reply 47 of 47

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Maestro64 View Post


    yeah waving ones hands around while watching TV is the next new fad that everyone is going to jump on. I sorry is one of those technologies which look very interesting and people get a kick out of giving it a try, however it is totally impractical in every day use. Yeah the whole Wii and xBox motion is fun, but I do not think people will want to wave their hands around just to change the channel.



    Agreed.  That is why I wouldn't think this tech would be used for channel surfing... maybe it will be made into a gaming/app interface api.  However, having the option to control the tv via Siri would be nice via an iphone or something.

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