Gest wearable controller brings gesture controls to your PC

If you’re playing a virtual reality game, you need a controller that’s up to the task.

A keyboard and mouse will feel ridiculously old fashioned. And a standard gaming controller? To quote Back to the Future 2, “it’s like a baby’s toy”. But Gest looks suitably futuristic.

It’s pronounced “jest” as in “gesture”, and it lets you control without having to hold anything. Instead, you slip one on each hand like a pair of gloves, then start making gestures or even typing in mid-air.

It uses the same set of sensors as you’d find in a smartphone or smartwatch – i.e. an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer – to read the position of each finger, then sends that information over Bluetooth to your mobile device or PC. Gestures include holding an object and turning your hand to rotate it in the game, flicking between apps by twitching your finger and pointing at the screen to move the mouse cursor. You can even program your own.

Read more: HTC Vive hands-on

At launch, it’ll work with Adobe Photoshop, so you can add layers, undo an action or change your brush size, all with the wave of a hand. But perhaps its most useful application is with smartphones. No longer will you have to type on a tiny keyboard – place your handset in a dock, and you can use your desk as a virtual keyboard, so you can type at normal pace as if you were using a desktop. Or just type in mid-air for the full Minority Report effect.

It’s already raised over two thirds of its $100,000 funding goal and still has 29 days to go. If successful, it’ll ship in November next year.