"U Force," the revolutionary new video game controller with which a player manipulates objects onscreen by simply moving a hand in the air, will soon be used for "serious" personal computer applications.
According to Dave Capper, who invented the device (in association with Broderbund Software), a computer variation on "U-Force" will be announced in April and introduced in June.
Perhaps the most intriguing development in video games since "Pong," "U-Force" looks like a small briefcase and plugs directly into the popular Nintendo Entertainment System. Instead of controlling games with a joystick, track ball or other "user interface," the player simply moves his or her hands over the "U-Force" console.
The device detects hand movement, somewhat like a motion detector senses burglars in a house, and relays the information to the game console.
For the first time ever, there is no physical contact between player and machine.
That is, unless somebody gets carried away and whacks the thing. I was unable to try out "U-Force" myself at the American International Toy Fair recently, because a clumsy corporate type who was playing "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out" took a slug and knocked one of the two prototypes in the world across the room.
The other prototype was demonstrated at the Toy Fair by a young player named Josh. A skilled shadowboxer, Josh threw jabs, uppercuts and crosses at his onscreen opponents. "U-Force" worked well; his onscreen boxer mimicked each of Josh's punches accurately a fraction of a second after he threw them. The machine was able to detect the motion of his hands, as well as their velocity and position.
The product, which won't be in the stores for several months, is still top secret technology. When I spoke with Capper he said he could not reveal how it works, only what his lawyer says he can say: it is a "patent-protected series of electronic sensors and proprietary circuitry." It does NOT use infrared light, Capper admitted.
Capper did say a computer version of the device was coming, and was willing to nod his head "yes" when I asked if business people would be able to use the device for tasks such as spreadsheeting and word processing.
For now, Broderbund will be marketing "U-Force" ($70.00) to play games. The company claims it will work with all Nintendo cartridges, though it will only improve the play value of 40% of them.
Broderbund has gotten a tremendous response from interested parties to "U-Force" since the device was unveiled. According to a company representative, several automobile manufacturers have shown interest in it.
Somehow, I don't see our nation's roads becoming safer if Detroit removes all the steering wheels and replaces them with U-Force modules, but it is encouraging to see an exciting new technology on the rise and imagine ways it could be used for business, home and recreation.
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Dave Capper, the inventor of "U-Force," formerly worked for Mattel, and coincidently, Mattel ALSO has a new "hand" controller for Nintendo game systems called "Power Glove."
"Power Glove" is a menacing looking thing that resembles standard heavy metal band gear. Designed for NASA as a way to control robots in space, the action of the player's hand dictates the action of onscreen objects.
Sensors in the glove perceive hand and finger positions and transmitters send signals to receivers placed on top of the TV set. A keypad on the glove makes it possible to customize games by turning standard joystick motions into hand gestures.
Mattel is developing new games specifically for use with "Power Glove." The first title will be a fighting game called "Bad Street Brawler," followed by "Super Glove Ball," "Glove Pilot," and "The Terror of Tech Town."
"Power Glove" should be out this Fall, and will be available in two sizes for $75.00.
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At a gala reception in New York's Rainbow Room, a Japanese company named Taiyo Yuden recently introduced a technology music lovers have been anxiously awaiting and record companies dreading: the first recordable compact disk.
The gold surfaced discs, dubbed "CD-R," have been under development for three years and will be "fully compatible" with existing CD systems, claims Taiyo Yuden. They will be marketed under the brand name "That's."
The ramifications for the music business are enormous. Think of it: perfect digital CD to CD copies. You can almost hear the record companies calling their lawyers, can't you? If they're putting up such a fight to prevent the sale of digital audio tape decks (DAT) in the U.S., it's going to be an all-out WAR to keep the recordable CD out of the hands of the American public.
The president of Taiyo Yuden, a Mr. Kawada, is obviously concerned. "We do not foresee selling blank discs generally unless the copyright issue is resolved," he says. "We will be entering only the fields that are either free from copyright or where it is strictly protected."
In other words, Taiyo Yuden will introduce the technology, but not sell blank CDs to the public and take the heat for consumers making illegal copies. They have not disclosed when the product will be available or how much it will cost. If blanks were made available to the public, they could take away the incentive for piracy by pricing the discs at $10-$15.
So who are they going to sell them to? According to Taiyo Yuden, a radio station in Japan has begun using CD-R to produce classical FM programs. The technology could also be used in recording studios.
I found this announcement of the recordable CD to be particularly exciting, because I almost got a free trip to Japan out of it.
I received a call from Taiyo Yuden's publicity person. She told me that they wanted to fly one American journalist to Japan to witness the first recording made on a compact disk by Carlos Alomar, a musician who has played guitar for David Bowie and others. Would I be interested?
"It will be first class all the way," she said temptingly. "You'll be treated like a king."
Hmm, I thought. If I'm the sole representative of the Western Hemisphere to witness this historic recording, I'll be the only one with the story. Top editors will be tripping over each other trying to get me to write about it for their publications. Maybe I can even sell my story to the National Inquirer.
On the other hand, why did they pick ME? I don't usually report on audio. There are plenty of expert journalists who know that business far better than I do.
I don't even OWN a CD player. I'm the type who is waiting until they simply don't sell LPs in the stores anymore before I'll break down and spend the money for digital audio.
Either these Taiyo Yuden people don't know what they're doing, I decided, or the guy they REALLY wanted to fly to Japan couldn't make it.
Furthermore, I thought, I have my pride. I have my journalistic integrity. I don't have to take free trips to get stories. I won't be a stooge to the Japanese conglomerates. After fifteen minutes of reflection, I called her back with my firm answer.
"When do I leave?" I said.
"Tomorrow morning," she replied. "And you'll be flying back on Sunday."
What?! That doesn't even leave me enough time to build up a decent jet lag. After some serious soul searching, I decided to turn down this chance of a lifetime and join all the other grubby reporters at the press conference in New York.
I may not have made it to Japan, but at least I'll get to see the Rainbow Room.
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Hot on the heels of the cordless phone and the cordless razor is the next wave in hassle free electronics: the cordless fax.
Ricoh has announced a device which will allow a standard fax machine to communicate over radio frequency channels. The company has yet to name it, give it a price tag or say when it will be available, but they do indicate the unit will provide access to ten frequency channels as well as voice communication up to 30 miles.
When the technology is in place, it will be most commonly used by traveling salespeople, fire departments and others who need mobile communications. According to Ricoh, a team that climbed Mt. Everest recently was using a Ricoh wireless fax to send and receive messages during their expedition.
The interesting thing about a wireless fax is not that it will be wireless, but that it will be FREE. Conventional faxes go over telephone lines, so we pay for them just like phone calls. I recently sent some faxes to Guam and was astounded to see a $25 charge on my next telephone bill for the time I spent online.
Wireless faxes, like radio itself, won't cost a dime. That's good news for high-volume fax users, although I could see the wireless fax becoming a junk mail advertising medium sometime in the future.
Ricoh has also announced their intention to market a car fax the size of a cassette deck that will fit right into a dashboard. The company has already had talks with automobile manufacturers about making the device an option for new models.
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In other news, glasnost is reaching high-tech heights. Smith Corona has announced an agreement to sell their electronic typewriters and word processors in the Soviet Union through the foreign trade organization Vneshtogizdat.
Up until this point, it has been commonly known that merely owning a copy machine in the USSR is severely regulated. Once the people have word processing, can desktop publishing and homemade political newsletters be far behind?...
