Cutting Edge Technology Allows You To Use Your Arm As A Touchpad!
Smartwatches and digital jewelry are popular new forms of technology. You might not often see someone with a smartwatch in public yet, but this technology is gaining a lot of interest. Just as mobile phones became commonplace, we think digital jewelry will follow their footsteps. What does this have to do with using your arm as a touchpad? The Future Interfaces Group, a research lab at Carnegie Mellon University, has developed skintrack technology that turns your arm into a touchpad to solve the problem of small screens on smartwatches.
How Does SkinTrack Work?
Gierad Laput, one of the researchers, explained that SkinTrack functions in a similar way as cell towers that detect a phone's location via triangulating signals. To turn your skin into a touchpad, you must wear a ring on your finger and a smartwatch around your wrist. The ring and sensor band communicate with each other through high frequency electrodes and electrical signals. There are electrodes installed inside the wristband, so that they can pick up on the signal sent by the ring and turn your arm into a sensor keypad. The back of your hand works as a touchpad too.
SkinTrack Works With Sleeves
What happens when you're wearing a long-sleeve shirt? Won't the signal be obstructed by clothes? The SkinTrack operates correctly even when you have sleeves covering your arms. You don't need to roll your sleeves up; you can move your finger over the clothing and still have the motions register accurately with the system. Don't believe it? You can watch the demonstration in SkinTrack's product video.
Summary Of What You Can Do With The SkinTrack
- Dial phone numbers by tapping the back of your hand.
- Silence an incoming call by writing an “S” on the back of your hand.
- Scroll up and down by sliding your finger up and down your wrist.
- Swipe left and right on you arm and hand.
- Create spatial shortcuts by dragging the app from the screen onto your arm.
- Play games by guiding your finger along your skin for greater range.
- See your finger's hover location to accurately tap the “buttons” on your skin.
How Accurate Is SkinTrack?
One of the first questions that comes to mind when you hear of this new technology is how often will the smartwatch not register the touches on your hand and arm? SkinTrack successfully registers touch to the skin 99% of the time, which is an impressive percentage for a technology in the beginning stages.
Weaknesses Of SkinTrack
As with all new technologies, there are several areas that could use improvement. One problem with SkinTrack is wet skin and constant body movements impair the signal. Using it while jogging probably wouldn't be the best idea, but you should be paying attention to where you're going anyways.
Another area that could use improvement is the aesthetics. The ring and wrist band are on the bulky side. They're not sleek, slim, or stylish. Remember the original cell phones? While the watch and ring aren't nearly as large, they are in the beginning stages. As technology advances, these watches and rings will become more stylish as well. The SkinTrack inventors think that they will be able to improve the aesthetics soon.
Is SkinTrack Safe?
According to the SkinTrack researchers, their technology is safe and there hasn't been any evidence indicating it's not safe for people to use. They point out that your finger already comes into contact with a small amount of current when you use a touchscreen device, so if you have ever used a touchscreen, you've exposed yourself to a minuscule amount of current.
As cool as smartwatches are, their tiny screens can make it frustrating to navigate and use the device. SkinTrack solves this problem by extending your touchpad control onto the skin of your arm and the back of your hand. It's more convenient to swipe, tap, and draw on your arm with the tip of your finger than on the smartwatch's screen.
