Interesting development.
From BBC News:
Motion-sensitive laptop developed
A motion-sensitive laptop which can be controlled much like a Nintendo Wii remote is under development.
The tablet PC laptop has been adapted to respond to a user when moving the machine up or down, side to side, or forwards and backwards.
It is hoped the BT Balance system can help people with disabilities or the elderly, for whom using a keyboard or mouse can be difficult.
The technology is under development at BT’s research labs in Ipswich….
Adam Oliver, head of BT Retail’s age and disability research, said it could be useful for “someone needing to use their laptop in conditions where trying to type or manipulate a tiny keyboard is tricky or where they are unable to use both hands”.
He added: “It could even be for someone just using their laptop on a crowded train.”
There are essentially two components to BT Balance – a microchip called an accelerometer, which works in much the same way as the balance system in the human ear, and a software interface which interprets the motion data.
The accelerometer is a machine on a chip, known as a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMs), which works by detecting changes in the acceleration and gravity of an object compared to the static gravity field of the earth.
What is interesting is how the chip works. The article says:
By measuring the amount of static acceleration due to gravity, the chip knows the angle a device is being tilted at with respect to the earth. By sensing the amount of dynamic acceleration, it can calculate the direction the device is moving.
Accelerometers are used in cars to detect when to inflate an airbag, in devices like the Nintendo Wii controller and in Apple laptops to detect if the computer is being dropped.
With that in mind, I can see a cool direction for some science fiction! It would explain air scooters, for example. It could even stretch to include mind control over objects such as unmanned recon planes or even missiles. Cool.