Japanese researchers working on wink-based remote control
By Donald Melanson 
posted March 3rd 2008 12:49PM
posted March 3rd 2008 12:49PM
We've seen plenty of attempts to bring hand gesture control to everyday devices, but a group of researchers led by Osaka University's Kazuhiro Taniguchi is looking to take things one step further, with them now touting their wink-based control system. Apparently consisting of a "a single-chip computer and a couple of infrared sensors," the system, dubbed the Kome Kami Switch (or Temple Switch), lets you perform basic tasks like skipping tracks on an iPod with the blink of an eye, and is supposedly fine-tuned enough to be able to distinguish natural blinking from a deliberate wink. Needless to say, the technology's still a long ways from finding itself attached to your noggin but, as the AFP reports, the researchers "want" to launch a venture within two to three years to commercialize it.
[Image courtesy of NEWS.com.au]
[Image courtesy of NEWS.com.au]
Hey, baby! *Winks*
DANG IT!!!
people would probably think that you are a spastic bastard.
It is so dumb. A finger is so much more appropriate.
Now if they change the gesture recognition from a wink to lets say, spinning roundhouse kicks....now we're talking ease of use!
"A finger is so much more appropriate. "
Uh, I think a wink would be more appropriate if you didn't know her that well...
...wait a second. You didn't mean it that way did you? Curses, my dirty mind!
I think we need more winking at strangers in our lives. Don't completely shut off the world around you when you put on those headphones.
http://coloured.net/john/portfolio/kinesic/
wow, apparently winking tires the crap out of you, as evidenced by the enormous sags under her eyes hehehehe
You read my mind.
Jesus, there's already huge fights in my house over the remote now its going to be over who blinks the most.
So when a woman flutters her eyes at a gentleman in front of her - the Ipod starts deleting tracks?
Yeah, just what the world needs, iPod users winking at everyone.
"WTF Dude! Did you just wink at me?!"
What about people that have eye twitches?
@ ben
WORD brother, WORD!
"What about people that have eye twitches?"
Eventually they would know the first few notes of every song really well.
Researchers need to spend their time on something a bit more practical, like the cure for cancer maybe?
Naw, we need a new iPod interface more than a healthy society
Try winking 10 times, quickly. Now, imagine you (like me) have an Ipod with over 3500 songs from about 150 artists on it.
Now, wink if you think this idea is doomed to failure.
sorry for the double post!
Try winking 10 times, quickly. Now, imagine you (like me) have an Ipod with over 3500 songs from about 150 artists on it.
Now, wink if you think this idea is doomed to failure.
"fine-tuned enough to be able to distinguish natural blinking from a deliberate wink"? it's a shame clifford geertz didn't live to see this day.
The Dummy’s guide to Wink gesture controls:
Left eye 1x = rewind
Left eye 2x = Previous track
Right eye 1x = fast forward
Right eye 2x = next track
Both eyes = play
Skunk eye = stop
Roll's eye = delete track
Cross eyes = playlist
Blood shot eyes = the pain from the horrific car crash
Shouldn't we just stick to perfecting voice commands?
Narrator: Lucille was suffering from a hangover-related headache and sought her medication. That's when she mistook the red eye alcohol warning for a "winking-eye" alcohol suggestion. But she had the good sense not to drive herself to the meeting.
Lucille: I'll call for a car.
Narrator: [shows the car on fire] Unfortunately, this was after a failed attempt to do so.
I can't wink with my right eye because of nerve damage. Sucks to be me.
Sorry if this is a sensitive subject, but I have to ask. How do you keep your eye from drying out or getting scratched or whatever? I assume you have to manually close your eyelid with your finger or something. Or does your eye still blink involuntarily?
If I close the left eye, the right one can close too, and I still blink normally, but I can't close the right one on its own. It's really kind of weird.
The London Underground is bad enough as it is. The last thing we need is everyone winking at each other!
I could have sworn they did something along these lines before, and lo and behold:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/osaka-university-develops-teeth-controlled-ipod-interface/
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!
What a relief!!! Thank God some of world's finest scientists are trying to find a solution to the nasty inoperability of the human thumb, namely our humanity's most important problem..After we learn to control our TV sets with a blink of an eye, I wonder what will come next? A toilet that flushes itself? window blinds that operate with burping (2 consecutive burps to open and 1 to close)? Good job smart people..
"Dude, is there something in your eye or what?"
"Nah, just trying to get to the P's on my iPod..."
This has so much joke potential here. Alas, all too easy.
It does have potential for handicapped people that have limited/no use of hands.
I also expect the birth rate and number of restraining orders to jump significantly if this really catches on.
Doesn't Stephen Hawking control his computer with winks and infrared sensors?
Will it work with Gaijin?
Undeniable proof that Engadget writers don't know Morse code. Good thing that you guys weren't around when Jeremiah Denton was on television.
Blink once for yes and twice for no
*blinks twice*
that's a double yes
"Needless to say, the technology's still a long ways from finding itself attached to your noggin..." Hey, Engadget, "needless to say" is generally needless to say. Needless to say, I see it in your blog several times every day. Just quit. Cold turkey. Type those words "needless to say", let them set off little alarm bells in your head, and go delete them before pushing "post". What about it?