The Future PC as a Set of Pens?

Strudelkugel writes "The Wave Report covers a concept PC that NEC is working on, called P-ISM. (Maybe the name doesn't work, but it looks cool.) The design concept uses five different pens to make a computer. One pen is a CPU, another a camera, one creates a virtual keyboard, another projects the visual output and thus the display and another a communicator (a phone). All five pens can rest in a holding block which recharges the batteries and holds the mass storage. Each pen communicates wirelessly with the others."

Projected keyboard

[Bushcat]

Odd that the NEC article would show links to a Canesta solution, with a news release way back in 2002. I hesitate to post the links because both sites will get slashdotted instantly, and the latter site has a silly activex, but this [i4u.com] shows a VKB solution for a PDA. VKB itself can be seen here [vkb.co.il].

I've seen and used VKB technology. It's very compact and an elegant solution. Unlike Canesta, it doesn't need a stereoscopic view of the target area, which means it really could fit into a pen sitting in a charger or other holder.

voice recognition in 'hand', not 'pen'

[dpilot]

Reference to "The Demon with the Glass Hand," an Outer Limits episode starring Robert Culp.

His hand was a computer, and the fingers were computing elements. He needed to get all five fingers in order to make the computer whole and save Mankind from the aliens. He talked to his hand, and it answered.

Chorded keyboard instead of projection?

[Reinout]

Not that those things have taken off, but this might be an possibility for chorded keyboards. Typing on a projected keyboard on your desk surface won't be so much fun either...

(A chorded keyboard [handykey.com] is something you hold in one hand. You have to press a few keys at the same time (just like a piano chord) to get a character. With just a couple of keys you can apparently type pretty well. Perhaps you could fit this in an overlarge pen...)

Reinout

original info at NEC

[snub]

Here is the info directly from NEC:
http://www.nec-design.co.jp/showcase/

and a quote: "These are concept models and not planned to be commercialized at this point"

Re:Projected keyboard

[vidarh]

The slashdot effect only works from the front page. Seriously. Links from comments draw just a small, puny, trickle of hits compared to a link from the front page, driven by the fact that most people reading Slashdot rarely even click on the comments section, and even then few people will bother going through all the comments. So don't worry about posting links....

Re:The problem with that

[RetroGeek]

which are simply not up to the job of serious typing or piano playing

A real piano has a feedback kick. You press the key, the key lever hits a hammer, the hammer hits the string, then BOUNCES. The bounce hits the hammer, which hits the lever, which hits your finger.

When I first played an electric piano, it sounded right, but something was missing. It was after a few months that I figured out I was missing the slight "kick" against my fingers when I hit a note.

The new high end electric keyboards have a built-in kickback. They feel MUCH better.

I also prefer real keyboards. There is a new virtual keyboard system I saw on TV a few days ago. A light displays a keyboard on any flat surface. A sensor watches where your fingers hit on that flat surface, then translate the location into the key. I would hate this as I like to have that feeling of something being depressed when I type.

Alternate site for P-ISM information

[nutznboltz]

since we're all slashdotted and stuff...

http://www.nec-design.co.jp/showcase/ [nec-design.co.jp]

There is no "CPU pen"

[nutznboltz]

P-ISM :
A Pen-style Personal Networking Gadget Package
It seems that information terminals are infinitely getting smaller. However, we will continue to manipulate them with our hands for now. We have visualized the connection between the latest technology and the human, in a form of a pen. P-ISM is a gadget package including five functions: a pen-style cellular phone with a handwriting data input function, virtual keyboard, a very small projector, camera scanner, and personal ID key with cashless pass function. P-ISMs are connected with one another through short-range wireless technology. The whole set is also connected to the Internet through the cellular phone function. This personal gadget in a minimalistic pen style enables the ultimate ubiquitous computing.

Slashdotted - pictures here

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.nec-design.co.jp/showcase/