Ariane 5 technology turns the lights on

"Soon we may be able to fill the bath, turn the lights on and play our favourite CD without moving from our chair or pressing a button. Technology, developed by ESA for European spacecraft, is now being used to create small sensors that can make any flat surface - walls, windows or tables - interactive.

'The idea is to use an accelerometer to determine the exact position of touch on an object", says Nicolas Delorme from Nodal Consultants, part of ESA's Technology Transfer Programme's (TTP) network of technology brokers. For example, an accelerometer can determine exactly which part of the interactive surface on a window or a door has been touched, making the surface as sensitive as keys on a keyboard."