Sensor & Location Platform

Touch isn’t the only new way to interact with a Windows 7 PC – the operating system also includes support for various sensors that will detect location, movement and light among other variables. We put this to the test with a prototype Freescale board sporting a three-axis accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a proximity switch array.

The test applications that came with the board allowed us to zoom in and out on documents by moving the board back and forth, while another allowed us to tilt a marble across the screen in true Super Monkeyball style.

It’s conceivable that such sensors will be embedded in laptops and UMPCs, as well as dedicated peripherals such as gamepads, opening up all manner of potential applications: panning around Google Earth by tilting a laptop, for example. This is definitely one to watch.