Smartphones could soon be controlled by press-on fingernail wireless trackpad

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab are developing a new wearable device that fits on a thumbnail, turning it into a miniature wireless track pad, which could offer a number of benefits to users juggling smart phones and regular life. Users could answer the phone while cooking, control their cell phones when their hands are occupied or send a text, according to a press release.

(BRIAN SNYDER/Reuters/Corbis)

The rapidly expanding world of wearable technology will soon see a press-on fingernail developed by the MIT researchers that will allow a person to control any wireless device simply by touching the thumbnail. The device, dubbed NailO, can be used to control a nearby device like a smartphone or computer, or carry out simple operations, such as answering the phone when the hands are busy, or even complete multiple operations at once to streamline activities on devices.

According to Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, a graduate student in media arts and sciences and lead author on a new paper on the device, the thumb track pad was inspired by colorful nail decals. NailO could come with detachable covers in different colors to allow users to match their pad with their outfits. The researchers believe that it could be possible to reduce the size of NailO further to make it smaller or thinner. Such a device has endless possibilities, such as allowing users to answer the phone while carrying groceries or draw a picture on their tablet computer from 10 feet away.

The researchers have even released a video demonstrating the wearable device being used to scroll through a recipe while the wearer's hands are occupied with holding spoons for cooking. The researchers will be presenting their research prototype of the device in a paper prepared for the Association for Computing Machinery's Computer-Human Interaction conference in Seoul, South Korea.

 

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