Check out this very interesting TED video.

I have nothing against Microsoft, but this new revolutionary technology makes the guys at Microsoft look like amateurs. The technology can be summed up as, ‘any surface=microsoft surface’. Even your ordinary bedroom wall can be interacted with using this technology. There is no actual sixth sense involved, but the technology coupled with the internet makes up that feeling. The hand gesture of taking a photo can be recognized by the system and a picture is taken and stored in your cell phone whenever a gesture is made. Indeed, the cell phone or PDA acts as the computer system and network connection. The system can recognise a variety of interfaces, search the internet and retrieve information about it on the go. The entire apparatus is very portable and economical. The prototype, (for it’s still in developement) costs around 350 US Dollars which is 12150 dollars short of the Microsoft Surface and has nearly all of its features.

How it works.

The entire system uses a camera, a miniature projecture and a computing device(cell phone). The camera is the input device and it recognises the interfacing devices having visual tracking fiducials(fingers with nail polish or marker caps at the tip). The camera recognises the colours and lets us interact. The projector acts as the surface creator and interfacing device-though technically it is the output device. The camera can use the computing device and recognise common hand gestures and provide necessary output. The vesion of the system shown in the video is just a prototype, and the commercial version can be even smaller. The camera can even recognise items from one another, much like the Microsoft surface recognising wine in a glass. And it can even identify books using the front page or tags and provide information then and there as we are glancing through its pages. If technology could make us lazy, this could be the ultimate step.

Functionality

We have to remember that all of this is possible through the computing device or cellphone and its networing capabilities. The information gathered is through the internet and a fast connection is needed. The sixth sense mentioned here might be none other than the internet itself. There is no end to the functionality offered by this system. The system is indeed very flexible, and in a few years, we might see a newer, more portable version capable of much, much more.

Disadvantages???

I cant seem to come up with any, which is a first. It can’t be used out in the open since it uses a projector??? Not much of a disadvantage. Well, the only disadvantage comparing with the Surface is that it cannot use pressure sensors, which is trivial, considering the overwhelming advantages.

Credits

The sixth sense technology was developed by Pranav Mistry and Pattie Maes of the MIT. Kudos to both of them. For more information, here is the website. Check it out

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