Skinput

Seminar Presentationon

Human Body as Touchscreen

SKINPUT

Overview: Introduction What is Skinput Principle of Skinput Requirements How it works Processing Model Advantages Applications Future Implementation Conclusion

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Introduction:

Mobiles becomes ubiquitous

Mobility, flexibility, responsiveness getting more demands

Devices with small sized have some limitations

Can’t make buttons and screens large without losing benefit of

small sized

Microsoft introduces new flesh-control input

technology-”Skinput”2

What is Skinput ? Skinput is an input technology that uses bio-acoustic sensing to

localize finger taps on the skin. When augmented with a pico-

projector, the device can provide a direct manipulation, graphical

user interface on the body.

Touch screen gadgets have become popular due to the advantages

they come with . Skinput turns the body into a touch-screen interface.

Developed by Chris Harrison, Desney Tan, and Dan Morris, at

Microsoft Research's Computational User Experiences Group.3

Principle of Skinput

Skinput allow the users to simply tap their skin in order to control

mobile applications .

It applies the use of series of sensors to determine where user

taps on their arms .

Each part of body creates different types of vibrations depending

on features of bones, muscle and tendons .

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Requirements

Pico-Projector

Bluetooth

Bio-Acoustics

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Pico-Projector Pico projectors are tiny battery powered

projectors - as small as a mobile phone - or

even smaller : these projectors can even be

embedded inside phones or digital cameras.

The system comprises the three main parts:

The laser light source

The combiner optics

The scanning mirror

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Bluetooth

Wireless technology for exchanging data over

short distances.

Bio acoustic and sensors are connected to the

mobile using Bluetooth.

Creating Personal Area Networks (PANs) with

high levels of security.

Created by telecoms vendor Ericsson in 1994.8

Bio-Acoustics

As the skin taps on the skin, acoustic

energies are formed.

Two types of the waves are formed:

Transverse.

Longitudinal.

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Transverse Wave

Sensors are activated by the waves moving underneath it.

Transverse waves formed moves outward form the point of

contact

Tapping on soft regions of the arm creates higher amplitude

transverse waves.

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Longitudinal Wave

Some energy is transmitted inward, toward the skeleton.

These are longitudinal waves, excites the bone.

This excitation vibrates soft tissues surrounding the entire length

of the bone, resulting in new longitudinal waves that propagate

outward to the skin.

The sensor is activated as these waves hits underneath it. 11

Transverse Wave Propagation Longitudinal Wave Propagation

• Finger Impacts creates

transverse waves(ripples)

• Sensor is Activated as wave

passes underneath it

• Finger impact creates

longitudinal

(compressive)waves

• Causes internal skeletal structure

to vibrate.

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Sensing

Instead of a single sensing element with a flat response curve, an

array of highly tuned vibration sensors are used.

Bio –acoustic sensor, its employed with small, cantilevered piezo

films.

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Outside View Inside View

A Wearable Bio-acoustic Sensing Array Built into an Armband. Sensing Elements detect vibrations transmitted through the body. The two sensor packages shown above each contain five specially weighted cantilevered piezo films responsive to a particular frequency range.

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How it Works ?Recognizing Input Locations Finalizing Input Points

Designed Software Listens for impacts & Classifies them. Then Different Interactive Capabilities are bounded on different regions.

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Ten input locations for achieving higher accuracy

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Finger Taps on Arm Generated Signals

Variation in Bone Density, Size & Mass as well as filtering effects from Soft Tissues & Joints Mean Different Locations that are acoustically distinct.

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Vibrations are Captured from Sensors and

Converted to Digital signal form

This is connected to Mobile device Via Bluetooth

A Software to match sound frequencies to Specific skin

location is used

Corresponding Action is implemented in Device

Processing Model

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Advantages User Interface will appear much larger than on screen

No worry about keypad

No need to interact with the gadget directly

Can be used without visual screen

Ideal for anyone with little to or no eyesight

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Applications Mobile

I-Pods

Gaming

Simpler Browsing System

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Mobile

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Gaming , Ipod

Playing Tetris: Using Fingers as Control Pad

Active also in Movable Environment

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Skinput in Future The most profound achievement of Skinput is proving that the

human body can be used as a sensor

A person might walk toward their home, tap their palm to unlock

the door and then tap some virtual buttons on their arm to turn

on the TV and start flipping through the channels

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Future Implementation Extensive Research is going on Currently on

Skinput to

make the armband more smaller.

Incorporate More Devices with This System.

Extend accuracy level

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Conclusion The technology itself is intriguing , and have more application

other than always availability.

Skinput is very interesting technology . But its fate will ultimately

depend on how committed Microsoft is to making it a commercial

reality and how soon.

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THANKYOU

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