Indian geek at MIT invents Sixth Sense gizmo

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Indian geek at MIT invents 'Sixth Sense' gizmo

A device that can seamlessly channel Internet information into daily routines

Thursday, March 26, 2009

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BANGALORE, INDIA: Pranav Mistry, a researcher at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) hailing from Gujarat, has created a digital prototype of a portable "sixth sense" device that can seamlessly channel Internet information into daily routines.

The invention is being currently evaluated by corporations including Google, Microsoft, HP and Samsung, say reports.

This 'sixth sense' device can turn any surface into a touch-screen for computing, controlled by simple hand gestures.

"SixthSense is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information," says Mistry's Website (www.pranavmistry.com).

Although the miniaturization of computing devices allows us to carry computers in our pockets, keeping us continually connected to the digital world, there is no link between our digital devices and our interactions with the physical world, says Mistry.

"Information is confined traditionally on paper or digitally on a screen. SixthSense bridges this gap, bringing intangible, digital information out into the tangible world, and allowing us to interact with this information via natural hand gestures."

According to this MIT researcher, 'SixthSense' frees information from its confines by seamlessly integrating it with reality, and thus making the entire world your computer.

The SixthSense prototype comprises a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera. The hardware components are coupled in a pendant like mobile wearable device.

Both the projector and the camera are connected to the mobile computing device in the user's pocket. The projector projects visual information enabling surfaces, walls and physical objects around us to be used as interfaces; while the camera recognizes and tracks user's hand gestures and physical objects using computer-vision based techniques, says the website.

The software program processes the video stream data captured by the camera and tracks the locations of the colored markers (visual tracking fiducials) at the tip of the user's fingers using simple computer-vision techniques.

The inventor says 'Sixth Sense' implements several applications that demonstrate the usefulness, viability and flexibility of the system. The map application lets the user navigate a map displayed on a nearby surface using hand gestures, similar to gestures supported by Multi-Touch based systems, letting the user zoom in, zoom out or pan using intuitive hand movements.

The drawing application lets the user draw on any surface by tracking the fingertip movements of the user's index finger. SixthSense also recognizes user's freehand gestures.

For example, this system implements a gestural camera that takes photos of the scene the user is looking at by detecting the 'framing' gesture. The user can stop by any surface or wall and flick through the photos he/she has taken, according to the website.

The SixthSense system also augments physical objects the user is interacting with by projecting more information about these objects projected on them. For example, a newspaper can show live video news or dynamic information can be provided on a regular piece of paper, it claimed.

The 'Sixth Sense' prototype costs approximate $350 to build, said Mistry.

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suraj said on 3/26/2009 2:52:15 PM:
new technology

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