Microsoft’s Innovative Skinput Gadget

Microsoft latest gadget still in developing is capable of turning a human arm into a touch screen display. This is done without needing to implant anything onto the human. Chris Harrison and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collaborating with Dan Morris and Desney Tan at Microsoft’s research lab in Redmond, Washington, assembled an acoustic bio-sensor to detect sound patterns created when tapping a forearm or palm. Each part has a specific acoustic signature that can be associated with functions like dialing a phone or playing Tetris. Pinching and flicking gestures can also be used for commands.

According to researches, a tiny system beams a keyboard or menu onto the user’s forearm and hand from a projector housed in an armband. Tapping the “buttons” causes ripples to run through your skin and bones. An acoustic detector, also in the armband, then calculates which part of the display is to be activated.

Already there are twenty volunteers who have examined the gadget said they found it easy to navigate. The system could use wireless technology like Bluetooth to convey commands to many types of device — including phones, iPods and even PCs. According to the researchers we will begin to see such interfaces emerge within the next five years.

via ebrandz