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Researcher proposes Thumb on Hand gestures, no touchscreen necessary (video)
Would you be willing to wear an additional device in order to avoid interacting with another? That's the conundrum posed to us by Christian Loclair, a master's student at the Hasso Plattner Institute. His thesis, titled Thumb on Hand Interaction, proposes that users control their mobile equipment with simple hand gestures that are performed independently of their device's touchscreen. This level of freedom requires that users wear a depth camera on their chest, and builds upon prior research from the Hasso Plattner Institute that required use of both hands. Loclair proposes a diverse new set of gestures that users can perform with only one hand, where one's thumb acts as the primary navigation tool and one's palm serves as a trackpad. Another set of gestures is based on the interaction of one's thumb and index finger, which allows users to control sliders and the like. Perhaps once the research team determines how to implement this technology without making our lives more complex, we'll be able to sink our teeth into this one. In the meantime, you'll find a video demonstration after the break.
New use for an old technology brings touch input to... almost anything
Imagine, if you will, a world where everything from the clothes on your back to the glass in your hand was a touch-enabled device. We're not there yet, but thanks to researchers at the University of Munich and the Hasso Plattner Institute, we're closer to just such a touchy-feely future. Those German scientists are now able to tell when and where your fingertip touches (or gets close to) a wire using time domain reflectometry, or TDR. It works by sending electrical pulses through a wire and measuring the time it takes for the pulses to return. See, the presence of a finger reflects some of the pulse, and by using an oscilloscope and a computer to view and analyze the resulting waveform, researchers can pinpoint where the touch occurs. TDR has been used for years to find faults in underwater cabling, but only recent advances have allowed its application over the short distances used in consumer applications. In its current form, the equipment isn't quite ready for public consumption -- those pulse generators and detectors need to shed a few pounds first -- but given how quickly silicon's shrinking, it shouldn't be long before our truly tactual world is real.
Invisible iPhone prototype puts the 'hand' back in 'handset' (video)
Not too long ago, the invisible iPhone was nothing more than satirical fodder for the Onion. Now, Patrick Baudisch and his team of researchers at the Hasso-Plattner Institute have moved closer to making it a reality, with a new interface that can essentially transfer an iPhone touchscreen to the palm of your hand. The device involves an Xbox-like depth camera, mounted on a tripod, that can register the movements of a person's finger across his or her palm. Special software then determines the actions these gestures would execute on a user's iPhone, before transmitting the commands to a physical phone, via WiFi radio. Unlike MIT's motion-based "sixth sense" interface, Baudisch's imaginary phone doesn't require users to learn a new dictionary of gestures, but relies solely on the muscle memory that so many smartphone users have developed. During their research, Baudisch and his colleagues found that iPhone owners could accurately determine the position of two-thirds of their apps on their palms, without even looking at their device. At the moment, the prototype still involves plenty of bulky equipment, but Baudisch hopes to eventually incorporate a smaller camera that users could wear more comfortably -- allowing them to answer their imaginary phones while doing the dishes and to spend hours chatting with their imaginary friends. Head past the break to see the prototype in action.
Multitoe floor shows us the logical next step (video)
If the toe mouse just wasn't grand enough for you, how about an entire floor to practice your foot-based inputs on? Researchers at Potsdam's (that's in Germany, yo) Hasso Plattner Institut have put together a multitouch floor that recognizes individual users by their shoe pattern and responds to such universally familiar actions as stomping your feet and tapping your toes. The so-called multitoe project works on the basis of frustrated total internal reflection, which allows it to ignore inactive users while being precise enough to recognize foot postures. Follow us after the break to see this back-projected proof of concept in action. [Photo by Kay Herschelmann]
Video: NanoTouch spotted doing a little gaming
Back when we first caught a glimpse of the NanoTouch, we'll freely admit that we thought it might be superb for small-scale gaming. The 2.4-inch LCD, developed by Microsoft and the Hasso Plattner Institute, the tiny screen boasts a capacitive touchscreen on the back (much like the LucidTouch), and is apparently quite sensitive. Check out the video demonstration of the NanoTouch in some gaming action after the break.[Via Engadget Japanese]
