Let Your Skin Be Your 'TouchScreen' With the New 'Skinput'

Annoyed with the tiny touchscreens on today's mobile devices? Well, your forearm can now solve that problem by becoming a part of a skin-based interface that effectively

Touchscreens on today's mobile devices can be annoying - they're minuscule, and get fingerprint marks all over. Boffins, as usual, have made life with touch screens a lot easier. They've devised a new skin-based interface that effectively transforms your forearm into a touchscreen.

An international team has come up with a system, called Skinput, which has the ability to detect the ultralow-frequency sound produced by tapping the skin with a finger, and the microchip-sized "pico" projectors now found in some cellphones, reports New Scientist.

Arteries can be Cleared by Technology to Control Turbulence in Water Pipes
A new study says that a new technology to keep turbulence down in pipes could actually keep arteries clear and save lives.

According to the scientists, the system beams a keyboard or menu onto the user's forearm and hand from a projector housed in an armband. An acoustic detector, also in the armband, then calculates which part of the display is to be activated.

Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, working with Dan Morris and Desney Tan at Microsoft's research lab in Redmond, Washington, exploits the way our skin, musculature and skeleton combine to make distinctive sounds when we tap on different parts of the arm, palm, fingers and thumb.

They have identified various locations on the forearm and hand that produce characteristic acoustic patterns when tapped.

"Female Infanticide" a Tradition in Asia Being Aided By Technology
While having a scan, a pregnant woman in India is not allowed to learn the gender of her unborn child, but ricks like colored folders are absolutely common, says Pinki Virani,

The acoustic detector in the armband contains five piezoelectric cantilevers, each weighted to respond to certain bands of sound frequencies.

Different combinations of the sensors are activated to differing degrees depending on where the arm is tapped.

Novel Technology Helps Blind Brit Soldier 'See' With His Tongue
Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg lost his eyesight by a grenade in Iraq but technology has come to his aid and he is able to see with his tongue.

Twenty volunteers tested the system and most found it easy to navigate through icons on the forearm and tap fingers to actuate commands.

The system could use wireless technology like Bluetooth to transmit commands to many types of device - including phones, iPods and even PCs.

Painless Injection - Japanese Scientist Devises New Technology
If you have always dreaded an injection, a Japanese researcher has given you a big reason to smile by developing a painless new vaccine delivery technique.

The researchers will present their work in April at the Computer-Human Interaction meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Source-ANI
TAN