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Science
Fingernail-Watching Cam Makes Everything A Touchpad
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 10:55 PM on March 31, 2008
Scientists in the UK have thought differently about touchpad designs: their system peeks at your fingertips to see what you're touching. It can sense when you're pushing on something and how hard, so everything —even a 3D uneven surface— could be made into a touchpad. Quite why they chose to demo this with a purring rock we're not sure. But we like it.
Apparently the team from Nottingham found it fairly easy to image the blood movements underneath your fingernails as you push on something, so their camera tracks these changes and works out whether you're touching an object and with what pressure. Try it out yourself: it's fairly easy to spot the colour moving around beneath your nail.
Since the system doesn't require complex touchpad technology, it's pretty simple and cheap to produce. Good for tactile museum exhibits thinks the science team; good for whacky game console controllers think I. There's just one flaw: nail polish can confuse the camera, so naked nails it is. [New Scientist]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
P3nnst8r
Posted 11:53 PM 31/3/08
@P3nnst8r:
[farm1.static.flickr.com]
P3nnst8r
P3nnst8r
Posted 11:52 PM 31/3/08
LOL WUT.
P3nnst8r
RetepNamenots
Posted 11:46 PM 31/3/08
Am I the only one who has no idea what the hell that video was about?
RetepNamenots
peterfnet
Posted 12:26 AM 1/4/08
Yeah, I'm confused
peterfnet
renditionman
Posted 1:15 AM 1/4/08
@RetepNamenots:
I'm with you on this. Now I'm 15 seconds closer to my death for no good reason. A minute counting this reply.
renditionman
BigViper
Posted 12:46 AM 1/4/08
i think they had some sort of software that translated the touching of the rock into sound? or perhaps it's all just bullshit... I don't know. What I do know is if I spend one second more on this my brain will explode
BigViper
Gonzie
Posted 1:43 AM 1/4/08
there goes "look with your eyes not with your hands"
Gonzie
maven2k
Posted 1:33 AM 1/4/08
Gives new meaning to Pet Rock. My guinea pig used to make the same noise when I squeezed it too hard like that, heh.
maven2k
Timespeak
Posted 2:16 AM 1/4/08
Looked to me like a clip of somebody's rock fetish with some strange sound effects.
It puts the rock in the cage.
It pets the rock.
But not to fast! Pet rock will get scared of you.
Timespeak
EyeTestYoGames
Posted 2:01 AM 1/4/08
wtf?
EyeTestYoGames
SilvaVirus
Posted 12:05 AM 1/4/08
can you hear it???
The rock says....APRILFOOLS
SilvaVirus
BasicBlack
Posted 3:13 AM 1/4/08
I foresee a new industry selling highly reflective nail polish to hardcore gamers. Not to mention endless flame wars about which brand of emory board rulez.
BasicBlack
jkr
Posted 2:59 AM 1/4/08
oh god, another concept video/pic from giz. some dude was playing those sounds in sequence to the actions for a living pet rock. it's not real, and hopefully never will be. concept != gadget, i'm talking to you gizmodo. college art majors don't make gadgets and never will. you can make a video or picture of a ring with holographic, direct connect to your brain, infinite power, infinite memory, infinite processing power, infinite everything, but who cares, it's not real, or even feasible.
jkr
tegronin
Posted 2:53 AM 1/4/08
@Timespeak:
or else it gets the hose again
tegronin
ivealwaysgotmail10
Posted 6:53 AM 1/4/08
It really could be useful if it were used for laptops, IE there is nothing where the touchpad is, you are free to move anywhere below the keyboard making large long drags, And your movement is monitored by the integrated webcam in your notebook, Could be VERY useful for Photoshop like apps.
ivealwaysgotmail10
chiablo
Posted 6:52 AM 1/4/08
Replace rock with breast...
sudden interest.
chiablo