MIT’s SixthSense: The ultimate cloud device at your fingertips?

March 27, 2009 by Michael Marlatt · Leave a Comment 

If you follow my blog, you have likely noticed my earlier posts covering Oblong’s G-Speak, Jeff Han’s Perceptive Pixel, and even mention of Microsoft’s Surface Computer.  While each company has developed their unique versions of dynamic touch technology, MIT’s Media Lab has taken the concept to the next level.

At a recent Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference, MIT’s Dr. Pattie Maes unveiled project SixthSense and the Wear Ur World device. Created by Pranav Mistry, ex-Microsoft UX Researcher, the SixthSense prototype is a wearable gestural interface that enables users to interact between the real world and the world of data.

Here are five interesting features of the SixthSense prototype:

1. NewsPaper showing live video news
2. Sixthsense: Taking pictures using framing gesture
3. Using the palm for dialing phone numbers.
4. Reviewing book covers showing Amazon ratings
5. View cloud tags of friends during face-to-face encounters

Unlike other similar touch-technology offered by Apple, Microsoft, G-Speak, Perceptive Pixel, etc., the SixthSense prototype is 100% portable and can be used on a variety of surfaces. So, could this MIT’s newest prototype be the ultimate “cloud” device? While only time will tell, if the buzz across the web offers any indication then there’s a definitely a bright future ahead. For now, consider this quote…

Step aside, Apple and Microsoft. If MIT’s little Sixth Sense gadget sees the commercial light of day, we can toss our multitouch devices out the window. Who needs a Surface or an iPhone when the very idea of being able to access information by turning any flat surface into a touch-screen display sounds far more appealing? No surface available? Simply project a screen onto your hand, and voila. Shades of Minority Report?

-Juniper Foo from CNET

If you missed the unveiling of the MIT’s SixthSense project at TED, you can catch it below or watch it in wide screen mode…



Filed under: Blog Posts, Cloud Computing, Emerging Trends, Mobile Trends, On the Radar, Video, Virtual Work
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Stop. Rewind. Jeff Han, introduces multi-touch technology back in 2006

December 30, 2008 by Michael Marlatt · Leave a Comment 

Jeff Han, Founder of Perceptive Pixel, introduced multi-touch technology for the first time to hundreds of attendees at TED 2006 in Monterey, California. If you own an Apple iPhone, or have watched a demo of Microsoft’s Surface Computer, it is easy to understand how multi-touch technology is altering the way we work and play. Companies such as Oblong Industries and Perceptive Pixel, are both experimenting with innovative ways in which to optimize this technology. Regardless of who prevails, one thing is certain: the future of multi-touch technology seems to hold a lot of promise.

Given the growing popularity towards multi-touch devices, it’s worth taking a trip back in time and revisiting Jeff’s initial introduction to this amazing technology:


This second video shows Jeff Han demonstrating multi-touch in a lab at Perceptive Pixel:



Filed under: Blog Posts, Cloud Computing, Emerging Trends, On the Radar, Video, Virtual Work
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