The boundaries of touch navigation technology continue to expand, so much so that the touch screen is becoming obsolete. Thanks to a technology known as Skinput, your own body can now be used as a touch navigation device.



Skinput was developed by Chris Harrison of Carnegie Mellon University and Dan Morris and Desney Tan of Microsoft's research lab in Redmond, Washington. The device will allow individuals to play games, make phone calls, and navigate various devices simply by tapping their skin.

Using a Pico Projector in an armband placed on your bicep, a keyboard menu and other graphics are beamed onto your forearm for navigation. Once you tap a menu item, the armband uses an acoustic detector to then determine your selection. Bone density, soft tissue, and joints are all acoustically unique and are what help to make the device accurate.

The acoustic detector within the armband can currently detect up to 5 skin locations with 95.5 percent accuracy. The device can also use Bluetooth to command your iPod, phone, and even computer. It is also worth noting that users stated that the device works very well while walking and running.


New Scientist

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