Blinking to replace remote controls, claims Japanese boffin
Total winker?
A Japanese researcher is planning to revolutionise the humble remote control in the blink of an eye, literally.
All this to skip tracks on your iPod
Image courtesy AFP
Kazuhiro Taniguchi, a researcher at the Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering Science, has invented a blink-operated switch called the Kome Kami Switch.
It's mounted onto someone's head and uses infrared sensors to monitor temple movements related to blinking, which in turn can be used to control a whole host of everyday gadgets, including TVs, air conditioners and lighting systems.
Taniguchi has already adapted the switch to control an iPod, a system that he demonstrated earlier this week at the ongoing Expo Comm Wireless show in Japan.
The wearer closes both their eyes for one second to start the iPod up and then blinks their right eye to move forwards by one track. Blinking their left eye makes it skip back one track. Just don't play any Blink 182 and get completely confused...
Taniguchi told French news agency AFP that his switch can differentiate between deliberate and autonomic blinks. “You don’t have to worry about the system moving incorrectly,” he said, because the unit “picks up signals when you close your eye firmly.” So your blinks will have to be more akin with I Dream of Jeannie to get the music flowing.
The researcher hopes to launch a venture within two to three years that will help commercialise his switch. He even hopes the switch can be adapted to help people operate mobile phones with blinks.
COMMENTS
Needs contols for the elbow
Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
(The one with the big foot on the back)
This has already been given the kiss of death...
Because I saw a similar thing demonstrated on Tomorrow's World! It was a product for disabled people to use instead of a computer mouse and worked on following the direction of gaze to point, and wink to click. They had someone demonstrating it by playing solitaire. It must have been ages ago as they were using windows 3.11.
some bstard has nicked my ipod!
Close my eyes to activate my ipod ... 1 second later I open my eyes ... some bastard's nicked my ipod! ;)
Public Spending??
I foresee lots more admissions to mental institutions as ordinary people are caught walking down the street apparently talking to themselves on their bluetooth headsets and uncontrolably twitching their facial muscles
blinking mess
well thats it then. We are gonna have a society of blinking wrecks. Everyone will be bling winking whatever all bloody day. Give it a few weeks we will have a case of repetitative blink injuries. Im happy with my hands thanks!
