Tapping your forearm or hand with a finger could soon be the way you interact with gadgets.
US researchers have found a way to work out where the tap touches and use that to control phones and music players.
Coupled with a tiny projector the system can use the skin as a surface on which to display menu choices, a number pad or a screen.
Early work suggests the system, called Skinput, can be learned with about 20 minutes of training.
“The human body is the ultimate input device,” Chris Harrison, Skinput’s creatorSound solution
He came up with the skin-based input system to overcome the problems of interacting with the gadgets we increasingly tote around.
Gadgets cannot shrink much further, said Mr Harrison, and their miniaturisation was being held back by the way people are forced to interact with them.
The size of human fingers dictates, to a great degree, how small portable devices can get. “We are becoming the bottleneck,” said Mr Harrison.
To get around this Mr Harrison, a PhD student in computer science at Carnegie Mellon and colleagues Desney Tan and Dan Morris from Microsoft Research, use sensors on the arm to listen for input.
A tap with a finger on the skin scatters useful acoustic signals throughout the arm, he said. Some waves travel along the skin surface and others propagate through the body. Even better, he said, the physiology of the arm makes it straightforward to work out where the skin was touched.
Differences in bone density, arm mass as well as the “filtering” effects that occur when sound waves travel through soft tissue and joints make many of the locations on the arm distinct.
Software coupled with the sensors can be taught which sound means which location. Different functions, start, stop, louder, softer, can be bound to different locations. The system can even be used to pick up very subtle movements such as a pinch or muscle twitch.
“The wonderful thing about the human body is that we are familiar with it,” said Mr Harrison. “Proprioception means that even if I spin you around in circles and tell you to touch your fingertips behind your back, you’ll be able to do it.”
“That gives people a lot more accuracy then we have ever had with a mouse,” he said.
Early trials show that after a short amount of training the sensor/software system can pick up a five-location system with accuracy in excess of 95%.
Accuracy does drop when 10 or more locations are used, said Mr Harrison, but having 10 means being able to dial numbers and use the text prediction system that comes as standard on many mobile phones.
The prototype developed by the research team sees the sensors enclosed in a bulky cuff. However, said Mr Harrison, it would be easy to scale them down and put them in a gadget little bigger than a wrist watch.
Mr Harrison said he envisages the device being used in three distinct ways.
The sensors could be coupled with Bluetooth to control a gadget, such as a mobile phone, in a pocket. It could be used to control a music player strapped to the upper arm.
Finally, he said, the sensors could work with a pico-projector that uses the forearm or hand as a display surface. This could show buttons, a hierarchical menu, a number pad or a small screen. Skinput can even be used to play games such as Tetris by tapping on fingers to rotate blocks.
Mr Harrison would not be drawn on how long it might take Skinput to get from the lab to a commercial product. “But,” he said, “in the future your hand could be your iPhone and your handset could be watch-sized on your wrist.”
Police in the US state of Ohio say tens of thousands of dollars are missing a day after a bag of cash fell from an armoured car, sparking a money grab.
A mad rush to pick up $20 bills broke out after the bag fell from the car in Columbus and split open.
It is unclear how much cash was in the bag, but US media say it was at least $100,000.
Officers are reviewing mobile phone and surveillance videos to identify who has the missing cash.
“It’s not free money,” said a police sergeant.
If people were found with the missing cash they would be charged, Sgt Dan Kelso told Associated Press news agency.
He said he did not know how the bag of money fell from the armoured car.
Witnesses told local media that people were scooping up as much cash as they could carry.
“People were jumping out of their vehicles,” one person said.
Another described it as like a feeding frenzy by “a school of piranhas”.
‘Pirate’ death puts spotlight on ‘guns for hire’
The incident, which involved guards aboard the Panamanian-flagged MV Almezaan, is believed to be the first of its kind.
But several organisations, including the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), have previously expressed concerns over the use of armed security contractors.
“While we understand that owners want to protect their ships, we don’t agree in principle with putting armed security on ships,” IMB director Capt Pottengal Mukundan told the.
“Ships are not an ideal place for a gun battle.”
One argument is that the use of armed operatives could encourage pirates to use more violence when taking a ship.
But Mr Mukundan said he had seen no evidence that there had been much of an increase in the use of armed guards by merchant ship owners.
Dozens of warships patrol the waters off the Somali coast, but this has not deterred the pirates. The amount of ocean to patrol is extremely vast and pirates have responded to the increased naval presence by moving attacks farther out to sea.
“The naval forces are displacing the threat – they can’t be everywhere at once,” says Nick Davis, chief executive of Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre, a not-for-profit organisation.
“Almost the whole of the Indian Ocean region – some 5 million square nautical miles – is a security risk.”
Prevention
But the shipping industry has, so far, largely resisted arming their boats – not least because this would deny them port in some nations. Furthermore, arming the ships can raise liability issues and increase insurance costs.
Christopher Ledger, director of security firm Idarat Maritime, says the use of private operatives is not necessary and that ship owners can find other ways to protect themselves, such as boosting training, carrying out more drills and purchasing equipment that could prevent pirates boarding a vessel.
“Private security guards are not necessary, they simply muddy the water,” he said. “They are often foreign to the crew themselves and they don’t know the ship well.
“Many are former soldiers that have been in Iraq or Afghanistan and they think they can shake the dust off their shoes and make it as a private security guard. Their day rate is pretty high and the crew have to find ways to get them on and off the vessels.”
Their presence, he said, would only lead to “more spilt blood”.
This month, international shipping law firm Ince and Co released a report highlighting the issues arising from the use of armed guards. It pointed out that a fundamental question arose as to who would authorise the use of force.
Stephen Askins, a lawyer with Ince, told the BBC News website that the debate on the use of armed guards was one that polarised the industry.
“Most industry bodies and ship-owners are against them,” he said. “But no ship with an armed guard has been hijacked, so there are those – particularly those who have had hijacked ships – who think they are necessary.”
He said private security companies had come into their own in places like Iraq and had seen seen the maritime sector as potentially lucrative.
“Many have moved across but there is no system of accreditation, so there is no way of knowing the good from the bad,” he said.
Legal status
Most security operatives are former British servicemen, but there are also operatives from the US, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Mr Askins said some firms provided armed escort vessels, but that these did not have any status in international law.
“The various conventions dealing with piracy relate to states and their navies,” he said. “The rights that they are given, like the right of innocent passage relate to military ships. There are also issues over the use of armed force. The relevant law is the law of the flag state, but a merchant ship could, for example, be Panamanian and the escort ship could be, say, UK flagged.”
But he also pointed out that there were some very good companies that had “robust rules of engagement”.
“Lethal force for them would come after a series of steps including warning shots. The good companies would follow that procedure. Normally that would be enough to deter an attack.”
In May 2009, the US Coast Guard drafted a maritime security directive that would require US-flagged ships sailing around the Horn of Africa to post guards, and ship owners to submit anti-piracy security plans for approval.
At the time, the Coast Guard’s director of prevention policy, Rear Admiral James Watson, said that they expected to see “additional security” that could “involve the use of firearms”.
He added that they were “looking for things that work but that don’t make the situation worse”.
The directive has not yet passed into law.
For now, the handling of Tuesday’s shooting by a private security operative will be watched closely by legal experts.
An independent inquiry is planned, but first investigators will need to establish who had jurisdiction – the flag the vessel was flying, its owners or the nationality of the contractors – and who was responsible for the security contractors.
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Kolam, a new initiative to release films in DVD format by collecting money from the audience prior to the filming, was kick started at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce yesterday (August 13th).
Speaking at the event, director Mahendran said that films these days do not have a strong storyline making it painful to watch. The director, however, showered accolades on the performances of comedians in Kollywood. He wondered how the comedy scripts turn out to be so good when the over all scripts are so bad. Mahendran added that Charlie Chaplin is the only Hollywood comedian who carved niche for himself and none of the others who came in after him could make it big.
Director Balu Mahendra opined that all schools must include a subject on films in their curriculum. This will help children to prefer films that have substance. He added that the cost of including this subject in the curriculum will be much lesser because it needs just a television set and a DVD player.
Veteran director K Balachander’s was a short and sweet speech in which he said that he preferred dramas and would like to stay away from film making.
Dhanush’s new Mamiyar
Aug 14
The yesteryear blockbuster film Mapillai that starred the superstar will be remade again and that his son-in-law Dhanush will star in the film is a known fact. The film is produced by Nemichand Jhabak and will be directed by Suraaj.
Mapillai is all about the tiffs between the hero and his mother-in-law. In the original, late Srividhya played this character and the director was in the look out for a prominent actress to do the role.
Suraaj first approached Kushboo, but she reportedly told the director that she is not interested in the project. Later, the director tried to rope in Nadiya, but she denied the offer. Simran was the next choice but the lady is so busy with her child’s schooling that she has said no to the director.
At last, the director finalized on Anu Hassan who agreed instantly. The character will be modified according to the modern era and with this the team has geared up to start the work of the Mapillai remake.
Kaminey hit by Swine flu?
Aug 14
Kaminey is one of the biggest releases this year even though it doesn’t have any superstars. Upcoming star Shahid Kapoor is acting in a dual role for the first time and Priyanka Chopra is the female lead. Talented Vishal baradwaj helms the director’s chair. The movie, due to its superb music and captivating trailers, became an event film and everyone was ready with their wallets open to see this movie. Kaminey is expecting an earth shattering numbers from the single and the multiplex arena in its first weekend and especially in the Maharashtra turf. And the date of release was perfect too, with the Independence Day and Krishnaashtami falling on the weekend it was the perfect weekend one can think off.
But now it seems to be a bad decision to release the movie this weekend. The looming threat of the swine flu in Mumbai and other parts of the state has ensured a complete shut down of all the schools, colleges for the next seven days and the theatres for at least three days. Now if that is so, all the theatres will be closed on Friday biting into the exceptional start which was expected by Kaminey. Even after that, people are requested not to go to malls or heavily crowded place so Kaminey is definitely going to be affected. And the trend nowadays is the exceptional opening weekend of big movies and the word of mouth and reviews will decide its sustainability in the theatres. So, Kaminey needs to be an amazing piece of work for it to get out of this troubled times. The opening weekend of Kaminey was expected to reach a Rs. 33 crore net but by the looks of it, 20-23 can be expected from this movie in its first weekend if the theatres are closed this Friday. Let’s just hope that the movie surpasses all the expectations and becomes the second blockbuster this year after Love Aaj Kal.
Kolam is a new effort made in the film industry. This novel attempt aims to bridge the gap between the filmmakers and the audiences directly. According to the new initiative, the organizers plan to release three to five films every year in the DVD format. All that the movie buffs need to do is to send Rs. 500 to the Kolam Foundation, which will be utilized for the filming purpose. Soon after the entire film is shot, it will be put in a DVD format and sent to the payee directly.
Most of the films released in the DVD format will be based on social awareness inspired by some of the famous novels and stories. Director K Balachander is the chief guest at the inaugural function that is to be held at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce complex on August 13th at 6:30 pm. Directors Mahendran and Balu Mahendra will participate at the event.