When it comes to science and tecnology, MIT always tops the bill. Students of the esteemed institute are always creating innovative gagdets and tools that blow our minds. In fact, a bus about a new wearable device caught the news circuit a couple of weeks ago. MIT News released information about NailO, a prototye of a wearable device that aims to turn the user’s thumbnail into a tiny, wirelesstrack pad.
What You Need to Know about NailO
- The device is being developed by the researchers at the MIT Media Laboratory. The Goal is to perfect a tool that can let users manage wireless devices even when their hands are full. For instance, the user can aswer the phone while gardening. The device could also boost other interfaces, like letting the user toggle between emoticons without disrupting him from texting. Lastly , it could allow discreet communication when needed, like sending an important instant message to someone while in a meeting.
- NailO was inspired by a cosmetic product. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, one of the lead authors of the research paper, noted that the inspiration behind the device is the colorful nail stickers that Asian women use. One of the oals of the team is to make a commercial version of the gadget that features patterns with their sense of style.
- The wearable device has several advantages. Because it doesn’t have any neve endings, the gadget that it is affived to won’t cause any discomfort or slow down movements. The research paper stated that NailO is unobtrusive. When the user wears it, the gadget becomes a part of the body. The great thing is that it’s also effortless to take off, so the user doesn’t feel controlled by it.
- For their first prototype, the researchers created their sensors by printing copper electrodeson flexible polyester sheets. This process gave them the liberty to test out a variety od fifferent electrode templates. But during the still continuing experiments, they’re making use of off-the-shelf sheets of electrodes similar to those that are found in some device track pads.
- The team has also been talks with different battery producers. They have traveled to China to confer with a number of manufactures. So far , they’ve already discovered a technology that they believe can generate a battery that will fit the tiny spot of a thumbnail, but should also have a thickness of half a millimeter.
- Because NailO is very tiny,energy productivity is reasonably limited. Users must deactivate it when it’s not being used. After various tests,researchers also noted that a contact for about two seconds is enough to guard the device against unintentional activation and deactivation.
NailO is the prototype of this miniature wearable device. This means that the MIT researchers will still make a number of changes to it before it can be launched for the buying public.