We're getting a little bored of seeing Minority Report-style interfaces constantly touted as the next big thing for computer interfaces. Finger-flexing gestural interfaces are widespread enough to be blasé nowadays. So we're drooling at the latest toy to come from the Tangible Media Group of MIT: a computer you control through a levitating metal orb.

The device is called the ZeroN and has been created by student Jinha Lee. It works by suspending a metal sphere in mid-air, and the gravity defying object becomes a cursor to navigate the x, y and z axis of three dimensional space. The ZeroN accomplishes its futuristic feat through a set of powerful magnets and a hall effect sensor at the end of a robotic arm (just out of shot in the mind-blowing video above). The magnets and sensors measure the distance of the metal globe every millisecond, transforming it into a fine resolution user interface.

You can use the orb to position a camera around a virtual movie set, simulate the orbits of planets, or even record your movements and watch the floating ball replay them, with the ball bobbing up and down in mid air as it retraces your gestures. It's a mesmerising performance but it's also a totally new tactile interface for computers. Drag and dropping files might get a lot more intuitive in the near-future.