British Telecom announces new laptop with Wii inspiration

The Nintendo Wii is partially defined by its unique wireless motion sensing controller the Wii-mote.  British Telecom has announced the development of a new laptop that incorporates Wii-mote style technology, removing the need for a keyboard and mouse.

Called BT Balance and aimed at improving the computer experience for the disabled, the new adaptor that has been developed using moving sensors and an accelerometer chip to translate movement into onscreen actions.

In more ways than currently available to a common computer mouse the adaptor – like the Wii-mote – can detect rotation and tilt movements as well as the standard point and shoot type actions.

Currently under development at BT’s Ipswich based research and venturing labs, the scheme falls under the companies Age and Disability Research programme.

Adam Oliver, head of the programme, said: “The technology has obvious implications for those who are disabled or elderly and have difficulty using a fiddly laptop keyboard or mouse.

“We also wanted to create an interface that was simple and intuitive. Standard ways of controlling PC applications can be too complicated, so we decided to use the analogy of a book to work with.

“What we ended up with gives you the same look and feel of picking up a book and reading it but in a 3D digital format.”

Oliver added: “We quickly realised that it could have other commercial applications such as someone needing to use their laptop in conditions where trying to type or manipulate a tiny keyboard is tricky or where they are unable to use both hands, such as an engineer or technician working in the field needing to navigate quickly round maps or diagrams, or even someone just using their laptop on a crowded train.

“The software is extremely adaptable and can be used in all sorts of ways for example, it could be programmed in so that a user could make or connect an incoming internet voice call or to access digital pictures simply by tilting and tipping the computer.”