Duncan Graham-Rowe Fans of Tom and Jerry may soon be helping Tom catch that damned mouse. If you like the New Scientist website, you'll love New Scientist magazine - the world's leading science and technology news weekly. Fans of Tom and Jerry may soon be helping Tom catch that damned mouse. Researchers in Boston have developed an interactive system that lets viewers take part in cartoon action by moving a soft toy that resembles one of the characters on the screen.
Viewers wield a toy fowl that controls the cartoon chicken.
If you think the animated chicken should fly, you flap the toy's wings. Squeeze its beak, and it will squawk. You can even direct the chicken's attention towards something by turning the toy's head round. Meanwhile, the racoon does its own thing, depending on what the chicken is up to. The viewer has to act as the chicken's alter ego, helping it to keep out of trouble and to protect its eggs.