Once we used to tease Italians for talking with their hands. Now we’re all doing it!

This is a classic example of how technology can change social behavior. Just as touch-screen devices introduced a whole new range of hand movements into our world (like spreading your fingers to make something bigger), so the latest generation of 3D motion control devices are making communication much more physical.

Writing in the air with our hands, wearing a stylish 3D glove, or even via sensors built into rings or wristwatches, and seeing that turned instantly into text on whatever device we are using, is old hat! The technology is becoming so sensitive and accurate that it is now being employed in a whole series of industrial and business applications.

Surgeons are operating with new precision, driving electronic scalpels without actually touching the patient. Engineers, architects and designers are using it to draw and create everything from models to finished products. Pilots are flying aircraft without actually touching the controls; just by coolly waving their hands about. And the gaming applications are endless! No more plastic guns – just point and shoot!

Think of what that means. It’s revolutionizing education – it’s completely natural for children to use their hands to learn, and this technology simply enhances that activity, preparing them more quickly for the new world.

Of course, the good old computer mouse is rapidly disappearing. Gesture control enables us to create virtual keyboards anywhere we like and control screens with a flick of the wrist. Who needs a plastic box?

So now its not at all unusual to see people in cafes, in the street, in stores and offices, waving their hands around as they communicate. Guess the Italians had it right all along!