CEATEC 2008: Panasonic's LifeWall, the coolest product of the exhibition (3 videos)

I know it’s very esoteric and all, but I (and tons of other CEATEC 2008 attendees) really loved Panasonic’s super-futuristic LiveWall prototype.

What you can see in the videos below is a wall-sized screen (LifeWall) that detects users anywhere they go in the room it’s installed in through face recognition. AT CES, Panasonic called this concept “You-know-me-TV” and “Stay-with-me-TV”, respectively, which sounds kind of creepy.

Users operate the LifeWall by arm motions, much like Tom Cruise in Minority Report’s famous “cyber-display” scene.

LifeWall is good for:
- making video-calls (the people you speak to are displayed life-sized)

- viewing, zooming, dragging and dropping pictures

- accessing the Internet

- playing video games (the system recognizes your body movements)

- using it as a huge virtual “wallpaper”

- enhancing home security (you can install cameras anywhere in the house and link them to LifeWall)

Panasonic’s answer to my question when LifeWall will be commercialized: “Maybe in 5 years, maybe never.”

http://blip.tv/play/ih_Q7xeJ5FQ
Video 1: Basic controls and functions

Video 2: Viewing and choosing pictures

Video 3: Web access and video call (this is just awesome)