Gadgets
DJI Spark – The Drone with Gesture Control
Is this the coolest toy around? A tiny drone that fits in the palm of your hand, can be controlled by gesture and shoots quality video. Well, yes, it is, but probably not for long. At five hundred dollars, and that’s before the extras that you’re almost certainly going to want, this isn’t exactly ‘a drone for the masses’ but it’s certainly a huge leap in that direction.
Controlling an airborne machine with the palm of your hand is awesome but before you get too carried away you need to remind yourself that this is still a technology in its infancy. You can launch DJI Spark from your hand and it will hover three feet above the ground, you can then use the palm of your hand to move it around with gesture control. If you wave your hand the drone will fly up and if you make a square with your thumbs and forefingers it will take a selfie or maybe it won’t because like I said, this technology is in its infancy and like any infant, it doesn’t always get things right. Any distance beyond ten feet and you may find that those hand gestures of yours are becoming increasingly frantic.
This may just be a Pokemon Go moment though, a moment when the possibilities of a new technology suddenly capture the public imagination. When machines make the transition from single sensor responses to a device which can read and respond to a complex series of gestures, then we will have ‘intelligent machines’ capable of reading a gesture language.
We’re already used to using gesture control with our phones, ‘iGest Gesture Launcher’ has been around a while, it enables you to create a gesture and associate it with an action. The partypoker mobile app allows players to place bets and flick cards with gestures neatly approximate to real life poker. The Halide app for iPhone is delighting users with its gesture control photography which turns an iPhone camera into a professional tool. These devices though are only deploying a fairly limited range of gesture vocabulary. They are still only a few steps on from the technology that enables you to turn on a light with a wave of your hand.
Car manufacturers have long been interested in the possibilities of gesture control, think how much safer it would be if you never had to look down at the dashboard, think what it could mean to disabled drivers. Google was quick to file a patent for gesture control for their Google cars and PSA Peugeot Citroen are developing a ‘time of flight camera’ for ‘precise recognition of finger movement for a full and extensive gestural grammar’. The DJI Spark is some way off being able to read that ‘full and extensive gestural grammar’ but like I said, this may be the moment when the potential of gesture control really hits the public consciousness and rudimentary though it may be the DJI Spark may do for gesture control what the Wright brothers did for aviation. Let’s hope so.
Despite Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls 6 was not confirmed as an Xbox exclusive a few months ago. This happened because Xbox executive Phil Spencer indicated that target platforms hadn’t been selected yet, but it always felt like he was talking about the game being years away rather than the RPG being on PlayStation.
If you’re still holding out, Microsoft plans to release The Elder Scrolls 6 just on Xbox and PC. Documents from the company’s FTC lawsuit were recently released. In the document, Bethesda’s announced titles (both as a publisher and developer) are listed, and The Elder Scrolls 6 is listed for Xbox, PC, and nothing else.
We expected this, but The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced before Microsoft acquired its developer. The Elder Scrolls is a beloved franchise that’s been on various platforms for generations, so this isn’t Starfield.
However, the game isn’t due until 2026 at the earliest, according to the paper, and who knows what the gaming landscape will be like then.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer’s mid-2020 dystopian email suggests the business was interested in buying Warner Bros Interactive and Bethesda. Even more alarming, the CEO calls buying Nintendo a “career moment” and “good for both companies” — and there are even rumors that Microsoft was interested in Valve.
While Spencer warns that acquiring Nintendo would be “hostile action” but “playing the long game”, the unprecedented corporate convergence is shockingly casual. He added: “Nintendo is taking a long time to realize their future is off their hardware. A long time… He even ended the chat with a smiling emoji to make it look more evil.
Spencer claims that Warner Bros Interactive was “gettable” when Microsoft was rumored to acquire it. He adds that “we wouldn’t own any of the IP which hurts long-term flexibility”. Because most Warner Bros Interactive developers work on franchises like Batman, Harry Potter, and others, the studios are worth little without the brands.
The email is over three years old, but it reveals Microsoft’s blasé approach to acquisitions and its goals. While its eventual acquisition of Activision Blizzard may have changed its plans, this leaked exchange suggests that Microsoft will not stop until it has absorbed as much of the industry as possible, even targeting Nintendo.
Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor director Stig Asmussen is leaving Respawn Entertainment for unknown reasons. Asmussen had planned a trilogy for Cal Kestis, but it appears another author will need to write it.
Bloomberg reports that an EA spokesperson said: “Stig Asmussen has left Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best. Veteran Respawn leaders will lead Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.”
This move is surprising, but Asmussen leaves on a high note. Jedi: Survivor is a great game despite its performance issues, which is rare for a Star Wars game. We’ll see where Asmussen goes, but we’re excited.
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