It's been in so many movies and TV shows that you probably think it already exists, but open-air hand-gestured controlled TVs are a thing of the future--the near future that is. Canesta, the "pioneer in low-cost, single-chip based 3D sensors," announced today at CES that it has collaborated with Hitachi to create the first prototype of a TV that can be controlled by just the wave of a hand--no remote needed!

The prototype uses Canesta's 3D sensor for gesture recognition. Visitors at the Hitachi booth at CES will be able to control the TV up to 3 meters away with just their hand gestures. For example, you can turn on the TV with a rapid wave, and change the channel with a circular motion. The new technology can also tell the difference between gestures using one hand and gestures with two hands.

In the case of this Hitachi prototype, an independent Canesta sensor sends a stream of 3D information at 30 frames per second to the TV's microcontroller. There, gesture-recognition software translates the moving depth maps into gestures, and those gestures into commands for the set.

"We believe that it is only a matter of time until gestural interfaces are found in virtually every living room," said Hiroyuki Mizukami, chief technology officer of the Hitachi Consumer Business Group.

For PCMag's full CES coverage, go to http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,2235882,00.asp.