Were you feeling the need for new tech to replace the switches that control direction and speed on your cordless screwdriver? Us neither, but we're not the braintrust at Black & Decker, which just launched the Gyro 4V Max, the "world's first motion-activated screwdriver." The company put an InvenSense MEMS gyroscope in the new model, so all you have to do to change the direction or speed is rotate your drilling hand one way or the other in varying amounts. After you've polished off that Ikea shelf, it should be ready the next time you haul it out of the toolbox, with a Lithium-ion battery that stays juiced for as long as 18 months. Judging by the video below the break, it actually looks pretty clever, and at $40, why not start dragging your tools out of the stone age?

Continue reading Black and Decker screwdriver senses your hand movement to adjust speed, direction (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household

Black and Decker screwdriver senses your hand movement to adjust speed, direction (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.