Everyone, at some point in time, has seen futuristic renderings of the direction technology could take for personal and public use. These pictures, films or articles- not to mention countless hours of research, have all pointed to technology that could be used verbally, or through motion.
Well, it looks like the future may be a little closer than it first appeared. Disney has a research center. Little is known of the center, due to the lack of publicity drawn to it. Not a lot of people knew about it, until now, that is. With the technology that has recently emerged from this center, the Disney Research center may well quickly become a household name.
The Disney Research center has come up with technology that is based on touch. While the American public has seen this type of technology, it has never seen it like this. This patented technology, called Touche’, can detect different body parts, even under water.
It is based on the different frequencies the human body has. This technology can tell the difference between a hand, elbow or other parts of the body. In a demonstrative video, Disney Research provided several examples of how this technology can be utilized once it is perfected.
The video first shows Touche’s ability to discern between one finger or two fingers touching an object to the entire hand touching an object. This object could be a table, a doorknob or a couch. It even shows users using hand signals to control a music player. These hand signals allow for a completely effortless, non-touch control over the music selection, volume, or whether the device plays at all.
When used on a table, it displayed its ability to help children learn to eat with the proper utensils. When used on a couch, it was shown to sense a person’s weight, so that when he or she sat down, the TV came on. When the viewer leaned back to relax, the sensors dimmed the lights. When the viewer fell asleep, Touche’ actually adjusted the lighting some more, and turned the TV off. Now, that’s convenience.
It also has applications for smartphones. There is a part of the video that shows the technology being used to navigate a smartphone menu by pinching the screen and the back of the device.
There was also a part of the demonstration that showed Touche’ being used on a door handle. When the door handle was grabbed a certain way, a sign lit up to show that the person in that office was gone for the day, completely eliminating the need for key cards or setting the lock.
Other demonstrations included the technology being able to read the hold the user put on the knob to discern whether the user just wanted a “Do Not Disturb” sign on, or if the user just wanted someone to enter quietly, due to a phone conversation or meeting.
The applications for Touche’ could be endless, especially with smartphones, televisions and other personal devices.
