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Acoustic Sensors Make Any Surface a Touch Pad 142
An anonymous reader writes "Using cheap acoustic sensors the surface of any 3D object can be instantly made into a touch-sensitive interface capable of tracking two objects at once. Its creators are planning to make hospitals more hygienic — keyboards and mice will be replaced by desks wired to perform as keyboards and touchpads. A video shows it in action [.wmv]."
In space.... (Score:1, Funny)
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New PDA Feature? (Score:4, Interesting)
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http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ [virtual-la...yboard.com]
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That could be done with the laser keyboard, more than 5 yearss ago at the prototype level, and some time later as a commercial product.
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I do wonder what this could do when coupled with those suction cups that make a flat surface into a stereo speaker though ;)
vibration (Score:4, Interesting)
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And this contributes to cleaner hospitals how ??? (Score:1, Troll)
Re:And this contributes to cleaner hospitals how ? (Score:2)
So, according to you, an entity cannot be "low paid" and "clean." Right? But I can assure you that when death is demanding a visit to your household, you will not think of the "cleanliness" you appear to crave.
On the other hand I have an issue with the headline. Consider:
When shall we have a video in an Open Source format like .ogg? If slashdot cou
Re:And this contributes to cleaner hospitals how ? (Score:4, Informative)
Now if a slashsdot editor went to the trouble of requesting permission to host the video (the benefit to the video owner is to stave off
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That is not what I said.
please re-read my post.
But I can assure you that when death is demanding a visit to your household, you will not think of the "cleanliness" you appear to crave.
I refuse to die in a hospital. Hospitals are full of sick people, and a sizable majority that are admitted, die there. A significant percentage of those that die in hospital would have survived had they stayed at home.
I eschew drugs unless as an absol
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So, according to you, an entity cannot be "low paid" and "clean."
That is not what I said.
please re-read my post.
But I can assure you that when death is demanding a visit to your household, you will not think of the "cleanliness" you appear to crave.
I refuse to die in a hospital. Hospitals are full of sick people, and a sizable majority that are admitted, die there. A significant percentage of those that die in hospital would have survived had they stayed at home.
While I don't know if this statement is true or not, however the question you should be asking is how many people died at home that would not have died if they were in a hospital.
I eschew drugs unless as an absolute last resort, unlike so many Westerners these days who seem quite happy to self medicate with OTC concoctions at the least symptom and turn to the doctor for prescription medication to cure everything from a head-ache, insomnia, fatigue, and malaise to spoiled children, when usually all that is needed is a good diet, exercise, fresh air and hard work, and in the case of spoiled children, a firm hand.
On this I agree with you. :-)
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Re:And this contributes to cleaner hospitals how ? (Score:1, Insightful)
And NOT because of the poorly paid staff.
The source of germs in hospitals is SICK PEOPLE. Come on folks, how long are we going to let these sickos with their sniffles and oozing infections dirty up our hospitals ? I think we need a fence, and strick jail-the-ill legislation with no possibility of parole.
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The insurance companies are right on that. Pretty soon, only healthy people will be able to get insurance, QED no sickos in hospitals. Problem solved.
(But I don't like to be original, if the original post was dead on. Thanks, posting master control program!)
Re:And this contributes to cleaner hospitals how ? (Score:3, Insightful)
It is far easier to sterilize a flat durable solid surface than something convuluted and fragile like a keyboard. So, this is a great thing. And of course it has so many many many more applications too.
Re:And this contributes to cleaner hospitals how ? (Score:1)
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I don't know why this is, but its either because they've been asked not to, its their policy or they're just too scared in case they break something.
So like you said a flat desk is much easier, and it will actually get done
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We've raised the issue, changed cleaning firms - all the same.
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Corners? (Score:4, Interesting)
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Space Invaders (Score:4, Interesting)
The video and descriptions show only a flat surface of a 3D object. All real objects are 3D, but few have empty flat surfaces across their entire working area.
Will this thing work with the 3D surface of my cluttered desk? I doubt it will track the position of my fingertips on a piece of paper after I've picked it up from the desk, without sensors attached to the paper.
When these sonar sensors can actually track objects inside a 3D volume, not just across a surface in 3D space, they'll have made a major leap in UI. Until then, I don't see how these sensors are different from the touchscreen bezels mounted on monitors for years, except they've figured out how to discard the frame, and supposedly do without calibration.
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These sensors on a bodyglove could make teledildonics not only practical, but portable and spur-of-the-moment.
Re:Space Invaders (Score:5, Funny)
Imagine actual sex.
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Um, like shadows? Or are shadows not real?
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Now, if you'd tried "all real objects are 4D", you might have something. Though really objects are fractal, as time isn't even an integer dimension.
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But I'd also agree with others that shadows are no more objects than radio waves.
I see a potential problem... (Score:4, Funny)
Laser Keyboard (Score:2)
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-WS
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A boost to furniture makers? (Score:4, Insightful)
From TFA: (Score:2)
Yeah, or you could have a membrane keyboard, like they do at fast food restaurant cash registers. If the solution already exists, and has existed for decades, why hasn't it been implemented? So some high-dollar high-tech overkill solution can be found instead?
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And they'd be willing to enter reports on an essentially flat surface with even *less* tactile feedback than a membrane board?
-b.
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"High-dollar"? What part of "cheap acoustic sensors" did you not understand?
Meanwhile, here's a link for a membrane keyboard [hazardousa...tstore.com] designed to be chemically resistant and easy sterilized. $545 doesn't seem terribly cheap to me.
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Is it really practical? (Score:3, Insightful)
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Let me say that this is... well... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrjwaqZfjIY [youtube.com]
It's an urban legend. Read it on Wikipadia...
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2. QWERTY was not designed to be inefficient, but it was designed so that typewriters didn't jam. Ultimately, not having to stop to free stuck keys made typists _more_ efficent.
Hopefully you're fro
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Frankly, moving to a base twelve system is only a bad idea because everyone already knows and thinks in base ten.
Try cutting a pizza into ten slices. Now try cutting it into twelve. Which is easier?
Historically, we've used base twelve numbering quite a lot - which is, of course, w
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Sensitive to false triggering? (Score:1)
Very cool idea, I wonder how well it deals with ambient mechanical noise? Just think, you set down your coffee cup and a mysterious message appears telling you to "follow the white rabbit" or perhaps some indecipherable gibberish like "411 uR b42e R 0wnz3rd" or something.
Idea (Score:5, Interesting)
Great for kids too - finger painting on the wall without making a mess.
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Great for kids too - finger painting on the wall without making a mess.
Except that you'd be missing a key element to childhood development - the mess!
People don't think in pure abstracts. Understanding concepts like mass, volume, friction, etc come from a "gut level" understanding that stems from our experiences with these things. The more firmly these ideas are grasped, (through childhood play) the easier these a
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Except that you'd be missing a key element to childhood development - the mess!
Perhaps you are assuming that I meant my "painting light on walls" idea should replace all other childhood activities? I never said that. Perhaps rather than being negative about it you might consider how this might be a different experience for children that they might benefit from in other ways.
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There are 24 hours in a day. You are doing
So how do you propose introducing some "childhood activity" of limited value without displacing "other childhood activities" which have provable, demonstrable, lasting value? (EG: the sand pit, a box of blocks or Legos, tempera paints - good stuff happens there!)
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You assume that this activity would be of limited value. You don't know that.
I am not disagreeing with your belief that playing in the sandpit, with paints,etc. are very valuable. They are.
What I don't understand is why you seem to believe that this
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So I ask you: What value can you concieve of that is in any way "educational"?
For that matter, how is this functionally different than, say, a Wacom board? They've been around for a long, long time...
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Ok, so it is inconceiveable to you that painting light onto a wall with your hands could be a fun and educational activity for kids. You believe in limiting your kids' experience to a set of activities that you believe to be educational. Poor kids.
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Maybe instead of Windows Paint, they could have a wall sized version of Photoshop and Illustrator -- only easier to use for kids.
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Couldn't you combine this with a projector to make a wall you can "paint"? Could be great fun.
Great for kids too - finger painting on the wall without making a mess.
How freaky! I was just thinking of a paint-less paint wall even before I read the article. Although, I'm not sure that this technology would be the best option, since it can only track two positions. Imagine a swarm of tots flailing their hands across the virtual canvas, while only one or two kids are actually affecting the projected image.
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LCARS (Score:2, Interesting)
Count me in when they have a big keyboard working for this. But if it's acoustics, how do you get a key-repeat?
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Picking up your finger makes vibrations too.
Not exactly new (Score:5, Informative)
Some 20 years ago, when electronic daisywheel typewriters were starting to take over, Smith-Corona/Marchant came out with a novel way to keep using their mechanical typewriter tooling. They used a conventional mechanical keyboard, where the keys stuck a bar of steel with a piezoelectric sensor at either end.
The delay between the time the impulse reached each sensor enabled a microprocessor to pinpoint exactly where the bar was impacted, and thus deduce which key was pressed.
That's basically the same principle applied, but in three dimensions.
wrong way (Score:2, Insightful)
But what hospitals really need is a way to sterilize hands up to the elbows in about 3 seconds. Think of boxes in the halls with holes you stick your arms into. When you press a foot pedal the boxes somehow magically *poof* and you're clean. Not perfectly clean of course but as c
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Voice recognition still has problems, e.g., it's relatively power hungry and noise sensitive. It's also not private enough.
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Fact is, the minute you rely solely on personal habits to solve these kinds of issues, you're in for a world of hurt.
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As for hygiene police, if resistant staph continues to proliferate, you never know, it might be necessary. But setting up the system so *more*
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Better yet, speech recognition with disposable mics.
-b.
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the roll-up "indestructable keyboard" comes to mind. I think there is also a mouse made the same way. Something like it could be easily sterilized nightly, and maybe with a UV light on it during the day it could stay put. Or maybe they need regular disposable keyboard/mouse subscriptions. There's something humorous about tossing the keyboard in the biohazard disposal bin.
Old problems made new (Score:1)
-ph
How to make a fortune (Score:2)
2. Adapt it for use in health care.
3. Profit!
Seriously, though... any would-be inventors would be wise to keep that in mind. If you think the Pentagon overpays for a toliet seat, wait to you see what a hospital spends on one.
Sounds like old tech to me (Score:2, Informative)
Sorry, researchers, but...... (Score:5, Informative)
It's a relatively new product but it's already way past the research stage and well into production.
Besides QWERTY and hygiene? (Score:1)
Finally I can ... (Score:1)
So what happens... (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, sure, link to a video! (Score:1)
Screw hospitals, what about espionage? (Score:2)
Of course I'd just use it so I could tell what my employees were IM-ing during the meetings, but my first thought was not cleaner keyboards.
I'd say most of the posters here missed a point... (Score:1)
Then again, it might be useful in certain niche applications - hospitals (as TFA suggests), shop floors (where most users aren't touch
Pressure Sensetive? (Score:2, Insightful)
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Well, given it works by accoustic localization, the answer is probably 'no'.
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Well, given it works by accoustic localization, the answer is probably 'no'.
But it could be impact sensitive fairly easily. You might need to calibrate the surface to establish an even impact response across the entire area. This would be interesting for experimental musical implementations. You could switch instruments fairly easily too - I often practice piano on the edge of my desk and who hasn't dragged out the pencils and played out
Main problem with this (Score:2)
When garcon will close couple of your applications by serving your latte you will know.
Did anyone else notice... (Score:2)
It could be that the system has a harder time distinguishing the start of a stroke than it does staying "locked on" during a stroke. Once it's locked on, possible signals that are very close to the last known position could be weighted much higher than signals arising just a
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