NailO functions a lot like a laptop’s trackpad or mouse, working as an additional input method for the gadgets in your life. It involves multilayered miniaturized hardware that wirelessly transmits data via Bluetooth to a mobile device or PC. That means you’re walking around with capacitive sensors, a battery and three separate chips – a microcontroller, a Bluetooth radio chip and a capacitive-sensing chip – packed onto your fingernail. But the setup can be topped with nail art to make it less odd-looking.
The NailO prototype recognizes five gestures: swiping left, right, up and down and single press. The technology could let users control wireless devices when their hands are full. It could also augment other interfaces, e.g., allowing someone texting on a cellphone to toggle between symbol sets without interrupting typing. It could also enable subtle communication, such as sending a quick text while attending a meeting.
In the first prototype, the location of the user’s fingertip on the pad was detected by capacitive sensors made from copper electrodes printed onto a flexible polymer sheet. Now, off-the-shelf electrode sheets designed for regular track pads are being used. The MIT team is also looking into a smaller half-millimeter-thick battery, along with a single chip that serves as a microcontroller, Bluetooth radio, and capacitive sensor chip.
Along with its use in hands-full activities like cooking or doing repairs, other envisioned applications include the ability to access functions while texting on a smartphone, or subtly sending simple text messages in settings where bringing out one’s phone would be inappropriate.
Credit : New Atlas
Picture Credit : Google
