Touch-less control coming to cars

Use of proximity and gesture-recognition systems in auto cockpits could rise fifty-fold within a decade.

By now many of us have tried out gesture-recognition technology at home; Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox and Nintendo's Wii video game consoles have been around for several years. And most of us who have tried them out quickly realized how intuitive it is to use natural body movements to interact with computerized devices.

So the question arises: when will the touch-less 3D control technology make it onto the road? With simple hand motions, a driver might adjust the volume, flick over to the next page, zoom in on a screen, raise or lower the heat, or scroll through lists of radio stations or phone numbers.