Touchpad on the hand

SkinTrack is a device that turns a person's hand and wrist into a touchpad

DailyTechInfo based on Discovery News: Your Arm Could Be the Touchpad

Why do you need an additional touchpad or other device if you already have your own hands? It was this idea that formed the basis of a bracelet device developed by Carnegie Mellon University specialists, whose functions make it possible to turn the surface of the skin of the user's hand or wrist into an analog of a touchpad. This device was originally conceived as an addition to a "smart" watch, giving the user the opportunity to perform all actions without the need to use not very convenient clock controls or the need to carefully peer into the tiny screen of the watch. But with the same success, this device can provide convenient control of the functions of tablet computers and laptops.

The SkinTrack device works by using the human body as a conductor, which is supplied with a high-frequency low-energy electrical signal. When the index finger comes into contact with the surface of the skin of the wrist or hand, a loop appears, along which a weak electric current begins to flow. The bracelet itself is equipped with four electrodes that capture the circulating current and, based on the measurement data of this current, the touch point is calculated with 100% accuracy.

The received signal processing system recognizes the gestures made by the finger and turns them into control commands that can be used to dial a number on a phone, control computer game characters and for everything else that can be done using a traditional touchpad or touch screen.

Currently, the SkinTrack system is not without a number of disadvantages. The quality of its work is very strongly influenced by the temperature of the human body, which can vary within certain limits, and the presence of sweat, which increases the electrical conductivity of the skin surface. The researchers are going to solve these problems by more carefully selecting the range and shape of the high-frequency signal generated by the SkinTrack device.

"Smart watches and some smartphones have not so big screens. When you try to press something on this screen, your finger blocks, if not the entire area of the screen, then most of it," says Girad Laput, a graduate student who participated in the development of the SkinTrack system, "Our device allows you to solve this problem and provide the user with maximum convenience when using his devices."

And in conclusion, it should be noted that this technology will be demonstrated to the general public at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing, which will be held in the coming days in San Jose, California.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  23.05.2016