The Next Web was in Amsterdam recently for the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), recording interviews with the movers and shakers working in broadcast technology.
Through the duration of the convention we spoke to all manner of technicians, designers, broadcast engineers and more. Along with the technology that finds ways to bring content into our homes or wherever we are, how we interact with all of the new material is equally important.
Navin Natoewal is the general manager of media interaction for Philips and he told us more about the uWand, which is remote control technology that should help us navigate when using platforms like Smart TVs.
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Natoewal says that trends for input and interaction will change for TVs in the same way that input for computing changed with the arrival of the mouse.
So far it seems that the design and functionality of a remote control is struggling to keep up with content and context. Natoewal explains, “In the past we had a static interface with remote controls and if you wanted a new function you added a new button. That’s how we ended up with 64 or 128 buttons.”
Philips’ uWand is not a physical device but the software that sits within a remote control. It’s independent of form factor so remote control vendors can work on their own design. The software works with a camera for pointing at a TV to create a direct correlation between the viewer and what is happening on the screen, hopefully encouraging a more natural interaction.
Check out the video where Natoewal explains how it works and we discuss how studying human interaction leads to better ideas and that it’s not just young early adopters who are leading the ideas that will lead to changes that are suitable for wider audiences.
The Next Web streamed all of our IBC interviews live from Amsterdam through LiveU. You can find our full coverage from IBC here.
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