It’s akin to one of those retractable dog leashes in terms of aesthetics — a simple, unassuming, circular plug-and-play spool of HDMI cable in the style of measuring tape. But SeeSpace, the developer of InAiR, claims the device is able to create a scene straight out of “Minority Report” by simply plugging it in between your set top cable or satellite box and TV.
As soon as you start watching something on your TV with the InAiR plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi, layers of controllable content begin to slide down and across the screen, and can be manipulated easily by using a smartphone or tablet (or a smartwatch, as the Kickstarter video mentions) as a laptop trackpad of sorts.
Say you’re watching a movie and a song catches your ear — you can easily navigate to the floating, three-dimensional sidebar (you don’t technically need a 3D TV for this product to work: its 3D properties are supposedly still functional on a regular old 2D set) and flick through the soundtrack to find the song (the soundtrack is likely there in the first place). The Wikipedia article on the movie is likely already sitting on the sidebar as well, along with a wealth of other information relating to the film.
The device also allows you to easily insert/import mobile apps straight into the 3D display, allowing you to insert sports widgets during a football game, weather maps during the morning news, and countless other possibilities.
When you boot up anything on your TV while InAiR is connected to Wi-Fi and your cable box/TV, the device instantly scours the Web for relevant info on the program — be it info from additional sources on a breaking news story or a list of racers with accompanying statistics while watching Formula 1.
Navigation of the layers might seem tricky, but SeeSpace claims otherwise. They list three options for manipulation of the 3D elements: mobile touch gestures (simple movements with your smartphone or tablet as a remote), hand gestures via Kinect, and the use of Leap Motion. InAiR will be prepared in the event of newer, more functional developments — it comes standard with a Software Development Kit.
SeeSpace flexes its personnel muscles near the end of its Kickstarter video — the developer possesses quite the dream team in terms of the technology, social, cultural and economic resources, and PR skills needed to get the InAiR off the ground and into living rooms this year.
