Minority Report-style computer control could require IT training

18:25 25th November 2008

One of the scientific advisors on the 2002 Steven Spielberg film Minority Report is in the process of developing a computer control system that could render the mouse obsolete and lead to businesses retraining staff to take full advantage.

IT training is an essential part of a business's ongoing practices to keep it up to date in the ever-evolving global market.

Designer John Underkoffler has taken the concept used in the film, where Tom Cruise's character controlled his computer using hand gestures, and developed it into a functioning technology.

"Human hands are the most sophisticated manipulating tools in the world," he told The Times.

"The idea is to drop the mouse and let the hands do what they're fully capable of."

The G-Speak system, which uses a set of gloves to control onscreen items, is expected to be released within the next few years and cost from as little as £20.

In the film, Cruise's character seamlessly moves items across a projected screen - grabbing windows and pulling them closer and pushing items that are no longer required away - something that the developers at Oblong Technology hope to recreate.

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