Control gadgets with your SKIN!

Remember the crazy days when we actually had to push buttons on our phones? Well, now we have touch screen, so no need to worry about that. So, just when you thought they thought of everything, now we may not even need to touch our phones or music players AT ALL!

According to BBC News, Chris Harrison has created Skinput. Skinput is a system in which the screen of a ipod menu (or similar gadgets) is projected onto a person's arm and they use there fingers to select items or even play games! Check it out...



Pretty crazy huh?
Well, Chris Harrison explains that new media is constantly getting smaller to make it more portable, etc. Take a look at the picture below and you will see one example of the shrinkage that is occurring. (The original came first, then the shuffle, then the "nano" I believe).

Chris Harrison explains that gadgets can only get so much smaller, because creators are limited by the size of human hands. This may be part of the reason that touch-screens are becoming extremely popular at the moment; because, with a touch-screen the screen doesn't have to be shrunk for the sake of squeezing in keys or a swivel circle (as there are for plain ipods). But now Harrison has developed a system in which we could use our very own body, hands and fingers, to navigate pages and games projected on our skin. He evens says, "in the future your hand could be your iPhone and your handset could be watch-sized on your wrist".

I find interesting is that, while this system is still a medium that doesn't involve actually being somewhere, it still has a physical aspect to it. Much like the "Wii" or something, this system incorporates our bodies. In the book Media Society, Birkets suggests that, when using the internet (as you might eventually with Skinput), "people can take on new identities in cyberspace, transcending the limits and the responsibilities of their physical environment,". The unusual thing is that with the system Skinput, that is not exactly the case. While people may be able to say what they like on the internet or play games, they are still quite under the "responsibilities" of their physical state; because, if they weren't able to move their arms or fingers for some reason than they may not be able to use this technology.

What does this mean for the future? I don't know because who says these lab tests will even make it to become a commercial product.

I think what Marshall McLuhan said about technology is very true and applicable in this scenario. In Media Society, McLuhan says that, "we should focus our attention on the ways each new medium disrupts tradition and reshapes social life". I don't know if he meant disrupt in a negative way, but I do think that we should consider how this new system, and other ones that are already on the market, may affect our lives.

So, how do you think this potential product would change our society?
Would it influence the ways we view any public issues?
Is it even an improvement from currently gadgets?
Personally, I'm not sure that it is. I think our current gadgets are quite convenient enough ha ha.

Sincerely, Cristi