Universal remote controls are pricey. That's not an assertion, it's actually a universal truth. Well, if you're the rich&slothful type that got tired of pushing "ze" buttons, perhaps you might be interested in what Logitech is cooking. The word goes that famous PC peripherals manufacturer is working on an upgrade for
the Harmony 100 remote control.
Logitech Vice president McLeaod mentioned that the company has already crammed a version of IBM's ViaVoice speech software into a prototype version of a high-end remote. Here are the tidings. Logitech's future plans for the Harmony 1000 include features like speech recognition, biometric security and a built-in search function.
Firstly, speech recognition means you'll be able to yell a command to the remote control. Shouting a command like "fast-forward DVD" will probably be enough to spare you the "trouble" of clicking over the DVD control mechanism and pushing the forward button. The "Faster!" command will not be recognized, I guess.
Secondly, the biometric security function will read fingerprints to load every user's preferences. Moreover, this can also let parents keep kids away from improper content. Lastly, you will also be able to use the search option using voice commands. Logitech also plans to make a smarter interface that will allow PC and internet search (remote control with IP!?).
"We're looking at bringing voice recognition into remote controls", said Bryan McLeod, Vice President of the Harmony remote-control businesses unit at Logitech. "We're currently only looking at it on our most powerful platform, the Harmony 1000, which has a touchscreen remote control. It works pretty well; it's pretty interesting".
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