Interface

Controlling a computer with a mouse is so last decade. Products like the Leap Motion are on the forefront for using a 3D space to control a PC, and Microsoft's Kinect is bringing similar technology to the gaming world. A new product called the DUO is entering the fray, but with the key difference being that it includes an open source SDK and is available as a DIY product for more adventurous users.  Read More

Inspired by the many people he encountered at his mother's daycare center for severely disabled children when he was a youngster himself, multi-instrumentalist Dan Daily began working on a digital music system that anyone can play, regardless of ability or physical capability. Several prototypes later, along with some vital technical input from Lockhead Martin subsidiary Sandia National Laboratories, and MidiWing 1 is ready for release.  Read More

If you’re one of the many people who hate poking at the tiny virtual keys on smartphone keyboards, then you might like the experimental “airwriting” glove system created by a team of computer scientists at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. When the glove’s wearer draws letters in the air with their hand, the system can identify which letters are being drawn. Those letters are converted into digital text, which could then be input into an email, text message, or any other type of mobile app.  Read More

Telepathy has long been a subject of controversy in physical and psychological circles, offering the potential for removing the material and sensory walls between individuals, and allowing the direct transmission of information without using any of our known sensory channels or physical interactions. Although true telepathy still appears to be pseudoscience, futurists have long predicted that some form of technologically-based telepathy would eventually emerge ... and, it would appear, it has.  Read More

IK Multimedia has revealed a successor to its undeniably popular iRig digital guitar/bass/instrument interface for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac. New to the iRig HD is a built-in high quality analog-to-digital converter that's promised to eliminate noise and crosstalk, while preserving all the subtle tonal flavors of your instrument.  Read More

We've all seen gigantic touch screens on the news or in movies, but what if you could achieve the same type of interface by simply replacing the bulb in your desk lamp? That's the idea behind the LuminAR, developed by a team led by Natan Linder at the MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group. It combines a Pico-projector, camera, and wireless computer to project interactive images onto any surface - and is small enough to screw into a standard light fixture.  Read More

British pro-audio manufacturer Focusrite has announced U.S. availability of its iTrack Solo audio recording interface for the iPad. Featuring studio-quality guitar and microphone inputs, the palm-sized device is claimed to be "the perfect companion for any singer/songwriter wanting to take their demos to the next level – with audio quality that's so good, they can be used in the final mix."  Read More

The smallest gesture can hide a world of meaning. A particular flick of a baton and a beseeching gesture can transform the key moment of a concert from mundane to ethereal. Alas, computers are seriously handicapped in understanding human gestural language, both in software and hardware. In particular, finding a method for describing gestures presented to a computer as input data for further processing has proven a difficult problem. In response, Microchip Technologies has developed the world's first 3D gesture recognition chip that senses the gesture without contact, through its effect on electric fields.  Read More

A trip on public transport or to the local coffee shop might give the impression that touchscreens are everywhere, but scientists at Autodesk Research of the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto are looking to take the ubiquity of touch interfaces to the next level. They are developing a “Magic Finger” that allows any surface to detect touch input by shifting the touch technology from the surface to the wearer’s finger.  Read More