-By Claire Bates
Those who find the touchscreens on their ever shrinking gadgets too fiddly to handle, will be glad to hear scientists are developing a new touch surface... your own arm. Developers at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University are working together to create an armband that projects an interface directly on to your skin. They have combined a mini projector which creates a changing display with a sophisticated sensor that can tell which part of your arm is being tapped.Skinput
Those who find the touchscreens on their ever shrinking gadgets too fiddly to handle, will be glad to hear scientists are developing a new touch surface... your own arm. Developers at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University are working together to create an armband that projects an interface directly on to your skin. They have combined a mini projector which creates a changing display with a sophisticated sensor that can tell which part of your arm is being tapped.Skinput
The researchers showed Skinput can be used to control audio devices, play simple games like Tetris, make phone calls and navigate simple browsing systems. Lead researcher Chris Harrison from Carnegie Mellon University told the Mail Online: 'This is cutting edge technology and we really are seeing the future here. 'The project is going very well and I think you'll begin to see such interfaces emerge within the next five years.' The gadget effectively turns your arm into a touchscreen surface by picking up various ultra-low sounds produced when you tap different areas.
Different skin locations are acoustically distinct because of bone density and the filtering effect from soft tissues and joints. The team then used software that matched sound frequencies to specific skin locations. If the prototype isn't resting on the arm, it uses wireless technology like Bluetooth to transmit the commands to the device being controlled, such as a phone, iPod, or computer.skinput
The researchers showed Skinput can be used to control audio devices, play simple games like Tetris, make phone calls and navigate simple browsing systems. Lead researcher Chris Harrison from Carnegie Mellon University told the Mail Online: 'This is cutting edge technology and we really are seeing the future here. 'The project is going very well and I think you'll begin to see such interfaces emerge within the next five years.' The gadget effectively turns your arm into a touchscreen surface by picking up various ultra-low sounds produced when you tap different areas.
Different skin locations are acoustically distinct because of bone density and the filtering effect from soft tissues and joints. The team then used software that matched sound frequencies to specific skin locations. If the prototype isn't resting on the arm, it uses wireless technology like Bluetooth to transmit the commands to the device being controlled, such as a phone, iPod, or computer.skinput
Currently, the acoustic detector can detect five skin locations with an accuracy of 95.5 per cent, which would be high enough for many smartphone applications. Mr Harrison told the Mail Online: 'We achieved high input accuracy in the lab with about one error in 20 key presses, which is similar to what you might find on an iPhone keyboard.' Twenty volunteers who have tested the system said they found it easy to navigate. The researchers added that Skinput also works well when the user is walking or running.
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