BT works on motion-sensitive laptop

1 May 2007 11:58 GMT / By Ryan Haynes

BT is developing a laptop that will help disabled and elderly people get in on the digital revolution.

Using the concept of the Nintendo Wii, BT hope the tablet PC laptop will respond to a user when moving the machine up or down, side to side or backwards and forwards. The company hope to extinguish the necessary use of keyboards, especially for those who would find them difficult to use.

BT's research labs in Ipswich are currently developing the technology and tools through the BT Balance system.

"We want to give people access to services in as simple a manner as possible", said BT researcher David Chatting. "PCs are still very complicated. We are interested in the older user who is slightly fearful of this technology. The PC, monitor and mouse puts them off."

The concept has been developed from an Etch-a-sketch toy, using the process of flipping the monitor to read books and documents, or tilting the screen up or down for map reading to view north or south.

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Hardware, Laptops, BT