Fingernail Sensors Could Replace Keyboards
By Charles Choi, UPI Science News
NEW YORK (UPI) -- Someday, a network of sensors, worn on the fingernails like press-on nails to detect finger motions, could replace the ubiquitous computer keyboard and mouse or maybe even help operate robots by precise remote control. Such interfaces would make typing unnecessary and could help people who suffer from repetitive strain injuries after spending long hours in front of computer screens, said researcher Stephen Mascaro, a mechanical engineer at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
"Because the sensors are so sensitive, you don't have to push down on surfaces very hard," Mascaro told United Press International. Repetitive strain injuries are one of the nation's most common and costly occupational health problems, costing businesses some $2.8 billion annually. The key to the technology is the subtle changes in blood-flow patterns under the fingernails whenever fingers move. "Depending on whether you push your finger straight down on a surface, or slide it back and forth, or bend it, you see all these different patterns," Mascaro explained, "and it's possible to tell them apart."
Each sensor contains light-emitting diodes that shine onto the nail. The more blood there is under it, the less light is reflected. Light detectors in the sensor read the blood patterns and relay them to computers that match them with corresponding finger motions. So, in principle, with fingernail sensors, an operator could interface with a computer by wiggling his or her fingers on a desk instead of typing on a keyboard. A buttonless keyboard could prove invaluable, Mascaro said, because computers are getting ever smaller, as are cellphones and other handheld devices. "Computers are going to keep getting smaller, but you can't shrink keyboards beyond a certain point," he said. "The best thing to do is to have the keyboard in essence built right into the person's own hand," and one could transform any surface into a keyboard with these sensors.
Mascaro's work grew from his doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he still collaborates. He and his mentor there, engineering professor H. Harry Asada, will present the latest version of the fingernail sensors this week at a robotics show in Las Vegas. Originally Asada and Mascaro conceived of the fingernail sensors as a way to interact with robots. "Traditionally, people have tele-operated robots using joysticks or using some complex set of control panels," Mascaro said. "We had the idea, 'Why not replace all those buttons with virtual sets of controls?' You could literally touch anywhere in your environment and have that affect some action from the robot, (creating) a very flexible way of controlling robots and machines."
Another potential benefit of the sensors is they can outperform a computer mouse. "You can easily match the functionality of a mouse device with one finger. Now, you have five different fingers to work with on each hand," Mascaro said. The researchers' main interest at the moment "is thinking about people with disabilities, someone who has limited range of motion of the arm or can't push very hard, and can't use a traditional keyboard. The unique thing about fingernail sensors is that they are very sensitive to even the slightest touch or change of posture in the finger," Mascaro said.
The main problem the researchers face is calibrating the sensors. "Each sensor needs to be molded to the curvature of an individual's fingernail and then calibrated for that person, since the blood flow patterns read slightly different for everyone," Mascaro said. Recalibration is essential as well, because whenever a person takes off a sensor, and then sticks it back on, the sensor will not have been placed in exactly the same position. "Right now, their performance is not really comparable to what you'd achieve with a normal mouse," Mascaro admitted. "Calibration is the main issue. Creating a calibration technique that automatically calibrates the sensors and somehow translates whatever a person is doing into useful operations on a computer screen, that can easily be a three- to four-year project."
The current sensors relay data to computers via wires, but Mascaro said he would like to make them wireless. He noted he and his colleagues hope to apply for a small business grant when the sensors are developed further. Researcher John Hallerbach of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who specializes in haptics, or the study of the sense of touch, found the notion that fingernail color changes were good enough to monitor three-dimensional changes in fingernail motion "surprising." He said he plans to use the sensors himself, to "engage in scientific research to characterize human grasp forces in varied situations." The hope is to conduct clinical research into how hands work.
By Charles Choi, UPI Science News
NEW YORK (UPI) -- Someday, a network of sensors, worn on the fingernails like press-on nails to detect finger motions, could replace the ubiquitous computer keyboard and mouse or maybe even help operate robots by precise remote control. Such interfaces would make typing unnecessary and could help people who suffer from repetitive strain injuries after spending long hours in front of computer screens, said researcher Stephen Mascaro, a mechanical engineer at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
"Because the sensors are so sensitive, you don't have to push down on surfaces very hard," Mascaro told United Press International. Repetitive strain injuries are one of the nation's most common and costly occupational health problems, costing businesses some $2.8 billion annually. The key to the technology is the subtle changes in blood-flow patterns under the fingernails whenever fingers move. "Depending on whether you push your finger straight down on a surface, or slide it back and forth, or bend it, you see all these different patterns," Mascaro explained, "and it's possible to tell them apart."
Each sensor contains light-emitting diodes that shine onto the nail. The more blood there is under it, the less light is reflected. Light detectors in the sensor read the blood patterns and relay them to computers that match them with corresponding finger motions. So, in principle, with fingernail sensors, an operator could interface with a computer by wiggling his or her fingers on a desk instead of typing on a keyboard. A buttonless keyboard could prove invaluable, Mascaro said, because computers are getting ever smaller, as are cellphones and other handheld devices. "Computers are going to keep getting smaller, but you can't shrink keyboards beyond a certain point," he said. "The best thing to do is to have the keyboard in essence built right into the person's own hand," and one could transform any surface into a keyboard with these sensors.
Mascaro's work grew from his doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he still collaborates. He and his mentor there, engineering professor H. Harry Asada, will present the latest version of the fingernail sensors this week at a robotics show in Las Vegas. Originally Asada and Mascaro conceived of the fingernail sensors as a way to interact with robots. "Traditionally, people have tele-operated robots using joysticks or using some complex set of control panels," Mascaro said. "We had the idea, 'Why not replace all those buttons with virtual sets of controls?' You could literally touch anywhere in your environment and have that affect some action from the robot, (creating) a very flexible way of controlling robots and machines."
Another potential benefit of the sensors is they can outperform a computer mouse. "You can easily match the functionality of a mouse device with one finger. Now, you have five different fingers to work with on each hand," Mascaro said. The researchers' main interest at the moment "is thinking about people with disabilities, someone who has limited range of motion of the arm or can't push very hard, and can't use a traditional keyboard. The unique thing about fingernail sensors is that they are very sensitive to even the slightest touch or change of posture in the finger," Mascaro said.
The main problem the researchers face is calibrating the sensors. "Each sensor needs to be molded to the curvature of an individual's fingernail and then calibrated for that person, since the blood flow patterns read slightly different for everyone," Mascaro said. Recalibration is essential as well, because whenever a person takes off a sensor, and then sticks it back on, the sensor will not have been placed in exactly the same position. "Right now, their performance is not really comparable to what you'd achieve with a normal mouse," Mascaro admitted. "Calibration is the main issue. Creating a calibration technique that automatically calibrates the sensors and somehow translates whatever a person is doing into useful operations on a computer screen, that can easily be a three- to four-year project."
The current sensors relay data to computers via wires, but Mascaro said he would like to make them wireless. He noted he and his colleagues hope to apply for a small business grant when the sensors are developed further. Researcher John Hallerbach of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who specializes in haptics, or the study of the sense of touch, found the notion that fingernail color changes were good enough to monitor three-dimensional changes in fingernail motion "surprising." He said he plans to use the sensors himself, to "engage in scientific research to characterize human grasp forces in varied situations." The hope is to conduct clinical research into how hands work.
Charles Mims
________________________________
Changes to your subscription (unsubs, nomail, digest) can be made by going to http://sandboxmail.net/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
