There’s all kinds of fancy touchscreen remotes available today, but when you’re absent-mindedly watching TV, physical buttons mean you don’t have to constantly look down to change the channel. That’s not to say that touchscreen capabilities like gestures aren’t handy, which is why Philips has developed a new kind of remote technology called RevoTouch that brings the best of both worlds.
The prototypes the company just unveiled at the IBC show look like your traditional TV remotes, but the plastic buttons we all know and love actually hide a secret: they all have touchscreen capabilities. So in addition to the familiar click of each button, users can swipe or flick across the entire remote for extra functionality. In a way it bridges the gaps between the old and new interfaces, putting the best features of both into a single remote.
And the technology can be applied to any design or layout. Philips actually intends to offer this technology on the remotes they produce for OEMs, letting them individually customise which buttons have the extra touch capabilities. And when it eventually trickles down to consumers, this could revolutionise a lazy Saturday afternoon spent in front of the TV. [Philips via Gizmag]
