Microsoft trials Digits finger-sensing bracelet Microsoft Research has been showing off Digits, an attempt to build a sensor bracelet that can track the movement of fingers, replacing the need for a physical mouse or finger-covering gloves. Microsoft Digits Touchy-feely computing from Microsoft The Digits system uses a bank of infrared (IR) LEDs to reflect off the …
Ignoring the size of it, which could be reduced to something hardly noticable, it's dependant on line of sight to work, so shirts, coats and desks are going to cause errors.
A better idea would be for a bracelet or watch strap to sense the mechanical activity and/or electrical fields created on the inside of the wrist when the fingers are moved.
More than that though, a virtual invisible keyswitch that's activated when your finger crosses an arbitrary line is a naive concept, on the face of it it would seem a virtual analogue to a common task but the only way they can implement more than ten actions will be through chording, and if you're going to have to learn a whole new way of typing you would be better off basing it on physical actions that are natural and comfortable to users, which definitely won't be jazz hands.
Cue heaps of geeks wandering to A&E with burned fingers :).
Is it just me or is the idea of people walking around with lasers that can go a tad beyond their fingers not such a bright (sorry) idea? It's not like airplanes don't already have enough problems with idiots lighting up the cockpit during landing, and I don't want to have my retinas zapped every time such a user pokes his/her/its nose..
Everything coming out of MS at the moment seems to revolve around making the touchy-feely tech of Win 8 work when the thing to be touched or felt is a full arm's reach or more away.
Kinect-a-like, doppler sensors and now this.
It does seem that they have the cart (Win 8) before the horse (the enabling tech).
I think this is another stunning idea coming out of MS which does show there is still innovation going on in the world. Why do most people though have to point out the negatives and what could go wrong with it instead of just appreciating what is right about it.
As stated in the article it is in the experimental stage and will shrink down, but its a step forward just like Kinect was. I see a future of fully immersive gaming with this playing a part, not only that but Minority Report esque op centres lol
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