A No-Touching 3D Computer Interface 123
Justin Schunick points out a video demonstration of a 3D input system which senses the user's hand position, but without requiring the user to touch a controller or wear a trackable position indicator. From the provided description: "Utilizing the theory of electrostatics, we have designed a low-cost human-computer interface device that has the ability to track the position of a user's hand in three dimensions. Physical contact is not required and the user does not need to hold a controller or attach markers to their body. To control the device, the user simply waves their hand above it in the air."
Re:So the reinvented the Theremin? (Score:3, Informative)
In this case, it's still measuring capacitance in some form, though with several sensor plates to provide more axes. But the result - however it influences the circuit - is generated as a stream of data over USB. It might even use a bunch of oscillators just like theremins to measure capacitance, but it would be hard to stop them affecting each other.
Re:Theremin??? (Score:3, Informative)
First I want to see what is actually under the cloth, second I want to know if he is just using a multiple pickup therimin, one for each axis.
I balked at the cloth as well, but stuck out the video to the last quarter, where they pulled it back and gave a short tour of the guts of the system.
Looks pretty simple. I don't think any new discoveries have been made, but rather the device is a clever bit of engineering using known electrical properties. Applied and scaled correctly, it holds some neat possibilities, though without some form of tactile feedback it might be awkward to manage information with one's hands in that manner. But who knows? Humans are good at adapting. The basic keyboard input seemed pretty impossible when I was a kid, but now my fingers are able to fly across the keys.
-FL
Re:No touching (Score:3, Informative)
*raises hand*
We're not the only ones, either:
from the in-development dept.