Microsoft Develops Accurate Wrist-Mounted Motion Controller

Marshall Honorof

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Microsoft Develops Accurate Wrist-Mounted Motion Controller


A highly sensitive gesture-sensing peripheral could replace mice and keyboards someday.

Listening to the complete works of Mozart on your smartphone or pulling classic games out of thin air with a tablet can make regular desktop work seem positively Paleolithic by comparison. The mouse and keyboard have been the computer's de facto input devices for decades, but Microsoft is looking to change that. Inspired by its own Kinect, technicians at Microsoft have developed a wrist-mounted, gesture-sensing controller, sensitive enough to read and interpret the motions of individual fingers.

The device, which goes under the "Digits" moniker, resembles a large wristwatch, and uses a number of infrared LEDs and a camera to track its user's manual motions. David Kim, the Digits project leader, explains that the device emulates the Kinect in scope, but aims to be much more accurate in practice. "It shouldn't interfere with daily activity, and we wanted to enable continuous interaction," he says. The Digits prototype can plug into a PC or laptop and navigate through very subtle hand gestures. For example, pressing a thumb and forefinger together might skip a music track.

The device also has videogame applications. In addition to potentially allowing the fine control that games like Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9774-Steel-Battalion-Heavy-Armor-Review] could have desperately used, Digits has the potential to enhance educational games for hearing-impaired children. "If we had finger-tracking wristwatches they could put on and play the game, we could look at how their fingers move through time, and give them feedback," says Thad Starner, another researcher in the field of computer peripherals. "That would be really beneficial."

Unless there's a breakout hit for the Kinect soon, Microsoft's motion controller for the Xbox 360 will most likely be remembered as a stepping stone for novel tech projects and more immersive controllers in the future. With any luck, Digits will make good on Microsoft's potential for novel input mechanisms.

Source: New Scientist [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22353-gesturesensing-interfaces-to-rival-keyboards-and-mice.html]

Image: New Scientist [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22353-gesturesensing-interfaces-to-rival-keyboards-and-mice.html]

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Andy of Comix Inc

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Apr 2, 2010
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Wrist-detection? Hmm, seems neat, I suppose... but why not some kind of glove? There's no stigma wit-



...ohhh riighht yeaaaah
 

josemlopes

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I cant complain much as long as they let the mouse+keyboard option available, but just like the Kinect this will only find long lasting success if it does exactly what it promises to do without any flaw (Kinect didnt and this probably wont too).

I dont mind innovation but you have to make it work exactly like that godlike silky smooth experience that for now belongs to the sci-fi realm
 

Absolutionis

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Sep 18, 2008
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So it's a Playstation Move controller with the buttons replaced with a wristband...

...not like the Move controller was revolutionary or new for its time anyways...
 

Quijiboh

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Mar 24, 2011
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I could see it replacing the mouse, but I don't think anything's going to beat the keyboard for inputting text until voice recognition reaches its potential.
 

sethisjimmy

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If it's as "accurate" as the Kinect I'm sure people will be flailing to the stores to buy them.
 

Falterfire

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WTB 'Digits' based Guitar Hero game. I would buy Air Guitar Hero, despite the fact that my higher brain functions are even now shutting down in protest to the very idea.

Also: It would be better than the Kinect automatically simply because you wouldn't need a whole room to use it. If it does what they claim, I'd get one.
 

josemlopes

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Falterfire said:
If it does what they claim, I'd get one.
For me thats the key for it to work, but even then Im not that interested. It is kind of cool to think of how this could work with the Oculus Rift though. You could actually aim with the arm and look with the head.
 

gardian06

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great now I have to learn sign language to talk to my computer, and I just hope that I don't get the retarded French version.
 

Obsideo

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<youtube=_d6KuiuteIA>

I think this will make the mouse and keyboard obsolete first...
 

KeyMaster45

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If they can make it so I dismiss error messages by shooting my computer the bird then I am totally sold on this idea.
 

Beryl77

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Lately, I've been reading a lot about various companies researching new interface technologies and I like that. I think it's about time.
I doubt that we'll be using mouse and keyboard to play games or just surf the net in a couple decades.
 

Gammayun

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I know teaching games are never done right but this kind of technology could teach people sign language, only if it is done correctly.
 

JarinArenos

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Jan 31, 2012
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If they could miniaturize it a bit, I could totally see these becoming everyday tech-acessories. Would complement Google Glass-like HUD nicely.
 

wookiee777

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So instead of just moving the mouse and clicking two or three buttons, counting the mouse wheel, we have to learn all kinds of pointless new hand gestures? Yeah, I'll take the simplicity of a mouse and keyboard over a needlessly complex device, regardless of how cool the demonstrations try to make it look; this counts for all the new input devices that are being worked on and shown. I'd rather keep things simple.
 

ritchards

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Nov 20, 2009
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At last we can act like Gary from Alphas and do hand twitches all over the place!

Speaking of Mozart, we might finally get a game where you are the conductor and you need to carefully orchestrate the performance.