Sixth Sense At The Price Of A Cellphone
72It’s been well named. Till now, it existed in the realms of the imagination – some believed in it, some didn’t. Today, it stands for a device that brings together the physical world and the world of digital information. SixthSense is a wearable device that enables you to have the whole world of digital information at your fingertips – literally!
You can take a look at what Pranav Mistry from MIT has to say about his wonderful invention on his website. He’s 28 years old and as his professor Pattie Maes will tell you, he hasn’t slept too much the past few months. And what he has for us is something quite out of this world. Right now, the whole contraption might be a trifle crude and bulky but it looks like very soon, this device could become small enough to be an implant and maybe we’ll all be walking, talking SixthSensers!
What SixthSense effectively does is make the intangible world of digital information a part of the tangible world we know. Till now, digital information was confined to the screen or paper, if you printed that information out. This sets information free and the whole world is your screen or personal computer.
It’s been classified under the category ‘wearable computing’ and it combines a camera, a projector and a mirror into a mobile so you can take pictures of anything you want, you can project anything you want onto any surface around you and you can access digital information – all by using your fingers which have colour coded attachments on the thumb and the index finger. The projector can even project a keyboard for you to type your emails on – and email accessibility is just an ‘@’ sign away! Instructions can be done by drawing icons in the air with your finger. A circle on your wrist shows up a watch and a magnifying glass brings up the map application.
All this at a prototype cost of $350. Little wonder that all the giants in the digital world are interested – from Microsoft to Google to Samsung and HP.
I was in the middle of writing this hub when a forward popped into my mailbox. It was from my friend, Feline Prophet and this is the video link that she sent me. Sixth sense or what?
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Comments
If it hadn't been for you, that video wouldn't have been up FP - so thanks :)
Shalini
I have heard of it and Constant has a video from TED(?). It was developed by an Indian guy and I'm not sure if he is the same guy you mentioned above.
It had me in awe when I saw it. I mean what's next? :D
Yes, Cris - has Constant got a hub on it? I 'Searched' for it before I posted but it didn't come up with anything so I went ahead - oh shucks! Yes, it's got to be the same - I agree - technology is really racing ahead, isn't it? Thanks as always for reading!
Hi Shalini,
Thanks for digging out this story. It gives the phrase "technology at your fingertips" a whole new (and spooky) meaning.
Shalini
No it's not a hub. Just a link he provided in one of our discussions. Here it is:
Hi Sidd - doesn't it just???!!! Incredible, I thought!
Cris - thanks for the link - thought for a moment there that I might just have had one hub too many on the same topic!
Wow !! So can I get it for $350 or is it only for the giants for now ? :)
Oh, thanks for the great info as always ..
Shalini
Come to think of it, i never do that. Checking if my topic of choice has been hubbed about, Good thing I have loyal fans! LOL :D
That's only the prototype Abhishek - might be much less I guess - hopefully :)
Ah Cris - but then all your hubs are so unique, you need never worry :D - now THAT's why you have loyal fans!
This is awesome! I am a spook and esp freak so this development just might be another nail in the coffin for chill thrills of the spook variety - sigh! Well ghost in www, here I come
Wow, I get chills, so much progress, and I had not heard of this. Thanks for sharing! And yes, you and Feline Prophet were connected!
That video's pretty amazing and it's hard to believe the technology only costs $350, you can just imagine that when it's all properly packaged and refined that someone is going to make a lot of money from this because everyone will want it.
Hi Ritu - yes, this gave me goosebumps! Thanks for reading!
VioletSun - thanks for your comments - yes, progress seems to be on the fast track. I'm sure we were connected in some way - that forward came in bang in the middle of me writing the hub!
Hi BrianS - Merci - as always for coming by. One wonders if economies of scale will operate and it will be mass produced or whether it will be a high end 'toy'!
Ok.... But is it available already?
No Abhishek - guess one of these biggies will buy the rights and manufacture it.
This is just awesome. The idea of information about me showing up when I say hello to someone is a bit unsettling. The problem is it will find any rotten thing some wrote about you on web as easily as your general information. Also I wonder about it beng used by others to track your movements since it seems you would be in constant contact with the web. It is the future and it will happen; privacy issues will not hold it back.
Brilliant -- I love stuff like this, and I suspect it will be ubiquitous sooner rather than later. Great hub, thanks.
Thanks so much for informing us. I had no idea! Aside from the "sixth sense" concept, this invention must be the ultimate in instant gratification...how often do we see think of something that we want to research, make a mental note of the thought, only to power up the laptop or pc later, and the mental note is gone. This device gets rid of the need for making any kind of note, mental or paper, that is, if it works in the shower, too. The implications of this invention are more than chilling.
Hi Pete - thanks for reading - I see your point - while we are usually gung-ho about any advancement in technology, there's always the other side - could it be used for things other than good?
Teresa - thanks - so do I! Oh yes, it's quite likely that very soon this too will be passe!
Thank you Sally for reading. I do that all the time - think of something to look up and promptly forget when the computer is switched on!
It's quite amazing. As an avid science fiction fan I realized a long time ago that pretty much anything that can be imagined can be made real. Much of what the scifi masters wrote has inspired the scientific community.
This looks like it could be a bit of personal technology that would bring about more human contact rather than less like the the ipods and blue tooth types have done. Hard to tell with such limited information but I'd guess that this thing will take of very quickly. I'd say it would fit right in with Macintosh. But then, I'm not a real technofanatic and don't really keep up with the gadget mania.
Awesome! Reminds me of Minority Report!
looks like "Minority report" really inspired!
cool
Shalini, thanks for introducing me to this product concept. It sounds like something that might be really useful for Project Bow.
How fantastic Shalini! When I was a child growing up we didn't even have a phone at home. Now every one has one in their pockets. Similarly, I well remember black and white TV, and how things changed so dramatically when colour TV became available. As ColdWarBaby says, pretty much anything we can dream up will be available eventually. Thanks for giving us this glimpse of the future.
What can I say except WOW to the inventor and WOW future generations. We are achieving extraterrestrial abilities !!!!!!
Hi CWB - yes, I remember when I used to devour those sci-fi books too and it all seemed so much on another plane! And now we have the technology that we dreamed of at our fingertips - amazing isn't it?
Elena and orange - I loved that movie - and I have to confess, I'm a Colin Farrell fan. Yes, shades of Minority Report all right!
Aya - if it could help wouldn't that be wonderful? It really would be a revolution in communication, wouldn't it?
Hi Amanda - always nice to see you :) Oh yes, I remember it well! I guess our generation has seen so much change, it's mind boggling!
K - yes, WOW is the word for it!
Thanks all for being kind enough to come by and read :)
Thanks for the 'heads up'! I have never heard of this, sweet! The only thing missing from it is the abiity to travel through time and space.
Yes - then we will be living all those sci-fi books one devoured years ago! Thanks for coming by AIDY!
Wow. I have been talking about how the next step could be made and this is as close to what I imagined as it gets. Fantastic.
Thank you danjutsu for reading! Yes, the possibilities seem endless, don't they?
Wow! Stunning. This is really impressive technology. Gosh, where will it all end (and I mean that in a good way - mostly). I remember reading the book "The Media Lab" in the seventies, which detailed the remarkable things they were developing and achieving success on. I was most impressed then...and I am most impressed now.
Thanks you, Shal, for bringing us this exiting information!
Shiver me timbers! I kin see many uses for this witches creation in me piracy. Why, it could tell me what kind of booty was on a Frenchie merchant vessel afore I plundered it, or mebbe even the violent history of the vile Blackbeard afore I ran him through the gizzard with me sabre!
Hey Christoph - you took the words out of my mouth - where will it end? I haven't read that book - but the pace at which technology is racing ahead is crazy isn't it?
The Captain - Avast ye Cap’n – that there technology might be great but can you teach an old sea dog new tricks?
And a cat o’ nine tails might be a better way to teach that blaggard a lesson :D
Shal--This is WAY cool. I doubt there will be many initial takers, however...unless the marketing can be done well. Especially for us silly Americans..we're reistant to change. Screw casette tape, I've my 8-track! ;)
BTW, you might be interested in this fascinating book: http://www.amazon.com/Me-Cyborg-Self-Networked-Cit Me ++ The Cyborg Self and the Networked City is an awesome look at how we're already all interconnected...how we are all, in some small way, "cyborgs." Its done in such a great way, I can't praise it enough.
Sincerely,
G|M
Hey G|M - my husband still has his 8-track, his vinyls and turntable and goodness knows what else from the Neanderthal age when it comes to music :D
Thanks for that link - the book sounds very interesting!
wow...this is very interesting. I don't know about implanting anything like that into myself, but otherwise the technology is wow. Technology is turning over so fast. It seems like the newest gadget just comes out and we think there can be nothing better and then three weeks later something way better comes out...it is fascinating. Thanks for the hub!
I find myself marvelling at and at the same time being a bit scared at how fast technology is going too. Thanks for stopping by :)
It's nice topic very interesting.
Thanks for reading Jessica!
Hi Shal, this one is very interesting indeed. How come I missed it? Maybe I was not looking in the right direction. Cheers. :)
Cheers quicksand and thanks for reading!
hi
i want to get it, so how i get and whats the price of this plz sens me full information how to buy it.
I don't think it has been made commercially available as yet Irfan.
hiya, I came over to see this, because I had written about the Wand, the new Remote control, and Daniel V said to take a look at this guy, so I was'nt sure whether to write about him or not, then I found this hub. What an amazing guy. Thanks for the hub, it just confirmed to me that he is real! i thought it was a joke. Cheers Nell
Hi Nell - thanks for reading and for becoming a fan! Isn't it amazing what strides technology is taking?
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Feline Prophet says:
9 months ago
I was waiting for this Shal! It's truly amazing...when I saw the video I thought it was right up your street, and there you were, in the middle of writing this very hub!
Meanwhile the mind boggles at what technology has in store for us.