Skinput

Review

This article discussed a method for input into a mobile device using the surface of the human body as a medium. It uses a vibration sensing technology to detect where a part of the body has been touched and relays that into coordinates that the mobile device can use.

Discussion

The inspiration for this device was interesting. It talked about the inherent relation between portability and usability. The more portable a device is, the less surface area there is to use and vice versa.

This particular approach seemed very limited. For it to work, it requires bare skin to be showing. This severely limits the environments and climates it can be used in. Further, having to use a projector on body parts where proportions and sizes can vary greatly between people seems like it would make it very difficult to use the product with range of people.

They talked about extra vibrations from running and walking as well as normal body movements, but it seems that any sufficiently loud or vibrating environment would cause issues, i.e. concert or subway.