As the amount of possible content and services accessible from a connected device grows exponentially larger, designers must come up with new ways to interact with it beyond the familiar keyboard or up/down remote controls.

uWand, an offshoot of Dutch tech giant Philips, has a handy solution. Its software, which it is looking to license to operators and TV suppliers, features not just the familiar X and Y (up/down/left/right) controls but also the ability to rotate and flip images and to work in depth along the z axis.

It’s a direct pointing optical-based remote control technology that allows users to directly interact with the TV and it features gestural control such as the ability to flip images along the screen (familiar from any iPhone), drag and drop to record programming and to zoom into images by simple hand movements. By operating in the depth plane or z-axis the technology is suitable for gestural control of 3D stereo user interfaces. (Philips offers an online video demo.)

Navin Natoewal, general manager, uWand, explained that the technology had been tested by 200 connected TV users in Amsterdam.

“In tests we proved that the interactivity and user interface of the screen has a huge impact on consumer’s satisfaction with the service and ultimately on the revenue generated by that service.”

The first products embedded with the technology are expected at the end of this year.