Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have a device, will be shown a thumbnail into a touchpad. With the on the nail confirmed NailO, for example, can a smartphone be operated.
Lead authors of the research, two master’s students from the Media Laboratory of MIT. With their companions they present next week a paper on the device at the Computer Human Interaction conference in Seoul.
According to the researchers, is the surface of a thumbnail ideal for an input device. Because there are no nerve endings, leads to a device on that place is not a problem. In addition, other fingers, it is easily accessible. The researchers believe that their invention, therefore, is suitable as a supplement to other methods or as a way to a device in a discreet manner to operate.
One of the students behind the research, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, says that the device is inspired by colourful stickers that Asian women on their nails paste for decoration. The researchers want to find a possible commercial product is equipped with a detachable bovenlaagje, so that users of the device can adjust to fit their outfit.
The NailO exists in its current form four layers. First comes the layer with the decorations. Underneath is the capacitive sensor: a flexible plate polyester with koperelektroden. The third layer of the prototype is a one-side semicircular printed circuit board, containing a microcontroller, a chip for the sensor and a bluetooth chip. According to the researchers, was the most difficult aspect of the design the antenna for the wireless connection; this should not be disturbed by the chips. Below is the battery.
In the future, the device can further be reduced. Thus, the circuit board space can be saved by all functions in a single chip to integrate. Furthermore, the researchers are already in talks with Chinese batterijfabrikanten. That would be a battery able to supply the size of a thumbnail with a thickness of half a millimeter.