New Wearable Device Changes Your Thumbnail into a Wireless Track Pad (VIDEO)

A new, wearable device can turn your thumbnail into a miniature wireless track pad. Scientists have created a new piece of tech that may let users control wireless devices when their hands are full.

The prototype of the new device is called NailO. It allows people to answer their phone while cooking, or toggle between symbol sets without interrupted typing. In addition, it may allow for subtle communication in circumstances that require it, such as sending a quick text to a child while attending an important meeting.

NailO uses capacitive sensing, which is the same kind of sensing the iPhone's touch screen relies on.

"It's very unobtrusive," said Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, one of the new paper's lead authors, in a news release. "When I put this on, it becomes part of my body. I have the power to take it off, so it still gives you control over it. But it allows this very close connection to your body."

For the initial prototype, the researchers built their sensors by printing copper electrodes on sheets of flexible polyester, which allowed them to experiment with a range of different electrode layouts. In ongoing experiments, though, the scientists are using off-the-shelf sheets of electrodes, like those found in some track pads.

At such small scales, though, energy efficiency is at a premium. This means that the device would have to be deactivated when not actually in use. That said, it does show huge potential for devices that are applied and used in different ways.

The findings were presented at the Association for Computing Machinery's Computer-Human Interaction conference.

Want to learn more? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.

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