Canadian scholar develops RFID computer finger wearable input device

Imagine that you may sometimes have a situation where you do n’t want to touch the keyboard of your computer or inconvenience, and you are wondering how good it would be to enter the keyboard symbols of a computer remotely, just like a remote TV program. This is not a dream, now the latest technology has realized this "remote pointing" computer input method. You just need to remotely point and the computer will "point the river" and accuse the computer according to your pointing method.

Computer scientists at the University of Waterloo, Canada, known for the earliest computer science department in Canada, recently created a computer finger wearable input device that simply touches your fingertips in different ways. Computer input. Such a finger wearable input device is applicable to various situations and has broad application prospects.

The English name of this device is Tip-Tap, which is literally translated as fingertip tapping. The author looked up the Chinese dictionary for this, and finally felt that the most appropriate translation into Chinese was called "pointing." This finger wearable input device uses a RFID tag to sense fingertip touches such as remote pointing input, which is inexpensive and does not require a battery. For example, the device can be added to disposable surgical gloves. Surgeons performing surgery can not affect their other operations during the operation, such as picking up a scalpel, and can easily query the computer and Network related information or contacts.

无线电频率识别(Radio Frequency IDentification, abbreviation: RFID) is a wireless communication technology that can identify specific targets and read and write related data through radio signals without the need to establish a direct contact between the identification system and the specific targets. The radio signal transmits the data from the tag attached to the item through the electromagnetic field tuned to radio frequency to automatically identify and track the item. Some tags can get energy from the electromagnetic field emitted by the identifier when they are identified, and do not need a battery; some tags have a power source and can actively emit radio waves (electromagnetic fields tuned to radio frequency). The tag contains electronically stored information that can be identified within a few meters. Unlike barcodes, radio frequency tags do not need to be in the line of sight of the identifier, but can also be embedded in the tracked object.

Many industries use RFID technology. By attaching the tag to a car in production, the factory can easily track the progress of the car on the production line. The warehouse can track the location of medicines. Radio frequency tags can also be attached to livestock and pets to facilitate the positive identification of livestock and pets (to prevent several animals from using the same identity). Radio frequency identification cards allow employees to enter locked parts of the building, and radio frequency transponders on cars can also be used to collect tolls and parking lots. Some radio frequency tags are attached to clothing, personal belongings, and even implanted in the body.

In the past, there have been alternative methods similar to computer remote input, such as large gestures tracked by computer vision. However, such an input method has a large equipment, and becomes tiring and inconvenient.

Researchers mapped the most comfortable areas on the index finger for people to touch with their thumbs, and tested different designs of input points, such as smooth, bumpy, or magnets. Researchers were able to achieve two-dimensional fingertip input by dividing the antenna of an RFID tag into two and equipped with three chips on each side, thereby enabling the manufacture of hands-free batteries, the first creative innovation in history.

The new RFID tags can be integrated into gloves or attached directly to the skin as temporary tattoos. "The device has a range of four meters," the researchers said. "When the user cannot easily hold the input device and the usage context is a defined area, such as a factory worker, a surgeon, or someone exercising in the gym, such devices are Very useful. "This is the only device of its kind that we know works without batteries or cumbersome antennas. "