Skinput gadget turns your own ARM into a touchscreen display

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3XPUdW9Rygendofvid
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By Claire Bates

Skinput could solve the problem of ever shrinking gadget screens

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


A video showed how Skinput could recognise a telephone number being typed out on a hand


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


Researchers said our skin is perfect as it is a display surface that we always take with us

Writing in a paper for Microsoft Research, Chris Harrison, Desney Tan and Dan Morris, said: 'Our skin has been overlooked as an input canvas and is one that happens to always travel with us.

'Furthermore, proprioception - our sense of how our body is configured in three-dimensional space - allows us to accurately interact with our bodies in an eyes-free manner.

'We can readily flick each of our fingers, touch the tip of our nose, and clap our hands together without visual assistance.'

The sensor picks up two two types of acoustic signals - transverse waves created by the rippling of skin as it's tapped and longitudinal waves that travel through the soft tissue of the arm and excite the bone.


The armband prototype can be combined with an MP3 player and used to change the song or volume level


Skinput will be presented at a computer conference in April

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.

There are many potential markets for the device. Mr Harrison said: 'One example is an audio player on your upper arm. Perhaps it has no buttons at all, and only uses the skin as the finger input canvas.

'You could then just tap your fingers to advance to the next song, change the volume, or pause the current song. You wouldn't even need a projector for most of these types of interactions.'

The researchers plan to present their work in April at the Computer-Human Interaction meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAJOs3XkTYQendofvid
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By Claire Bates

The world's first factory making space-age JET PACKS is going into production. It can travel at 60MPH for 30 miles


It is the perfect way for city high-fliers to miss the morning rush hour. A company is set to produce the first commercial JETPACKS - and one could be yours for just £50,000.

The traffic jam-beating packs will be manufactured after a multi-million pound deal was signed with an international aircraft company this week.

Martin Aircraft Company, in Christchurch, New Zealand, aims to make 500 packs a year allowing first-person propulsion through the skies for commuters.

The 200 horsepower dual-propeller packs can travel at 60mph for up to 30miles on a full tank of fuel. They have been reached heights of 7,800ft in tests.

At 250lbs when empty, the jet pack is not heavy enough to require a pilot's licence, although users will take part in a Martin Jetpack training programme.
However, the gadget is not environmentally friendly burning 10 gallons of fuel per hour - five times as much as the average car.

The 5ft by 5.5ft device is the brainchild of Kiwi inventor Glenn Martin who unveiled his machine for the first time in July last year.

While jetpacks are traditionally powered by jets of escaping gases, the new device uses a gas engine with two ducted fans to provide lift.

Pitch and roll are controlled by one hand, yaw and the throttle by the other.
Martin Aircraft Company chief executive Richard Lauder said the pack could be perfect for the emergency services, private users and even the military.


You won't need a pilot's licence to fly with this jetpack


Mr Lauder said: 'This could be life-saving stuff. For us this is an excellent commercial step.'

The device has safety features to combat the inherent dangers of flying through the air. It has both an internal roll cage to protect the pilot from side impact and a a ballistic parachute system that works at low altitudes.

Jetpacks first emerged in science fiction in the 1920s and were tested by the U.S military by the 1960s, but have never 'taken-off' commercially.

Astronauts on the International Space Station wear rocket packs during space walks called a 'Safer.' This can be used in emergencies should they become detached from the station.
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Incredible moment the sky ripples as rocket goes supersonic

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The rocket passes through a layer of ice crystals in the atmosphere, creating an astonishing rippled effect


This is the incredible moment that an Atlas V rocket went supersonic.

This amateur video captures a rocket exceeding the speed of sound and passing through a sun dog, creating a visually stunning rippling effect, akin to a UFO.

A sun dog is a prismatic bright spot in the sky caused by the sun shining through ice crystals in a cirrus cloud.

As the rocket exceeded the speed of sound, the shock waves visible from the ground were created.


The rocket is launched from the Kennedy Space Centre on February 11th
The rocket was launched by the Solar Dynamics Observatory from the Kennedy Space Centre on February 11th.

The announcer can be heard declaring 'The vehicle is now supersonic' to applause and cries of wonder.


Ripples created by the rocket going supersonic and exceeding the speed of sound
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