Unusual Interfaces: Talking into your Hand, Tapping into Typing

The other day the BBC ran a story on its website called "Let your fingers do the talking": 'Throw away your earpiece, soon your finger could be helping you make and take calls via your mobile phone,' it said.

And indeed, NTT DoCoMo has developed a wristwatch phone that uses its owner's finger as an earpiece. The wristwatch has been available for a few months. The conversion gadget that employs a wristband to turn sounds of conversation to vibrations that can be heard when the finger is placed in the ear is not yet on the market.

The BBC reports that the "Finger Whisper" phone is answered by touching forefinger to thumb and then by putting the forefinger in the ear to hear who is ringing. The call is ended by again touching forefinger to thumb. The sound converting wristband on the watch phone is also fitted with a microphone that the phone owner can talk into. The phone has no keypad but users can make a call by saying out loud the number they want to reach. Voice recognition electronics built in to the wristband decipher what has been said and dial the number.

Here is DoCoMo's own take on the devices:

The WRISTOMO: 'The first ever mobile phone to take the form of a wristwatch, it features a black and white display and has four buttons for easy control and the input of mail messages. The WRISTOMO also offers the reduced power consumption of the PHS system rather than PDC, and offers a range of functions in addition to voice communications in the form of Paldio mail, access to mobile internet and location-based webpages, and PC synchronization. In short, the WRISTOMO is one of the first of a new generation of mobile devices that transform the very definition of the mobile phone as we move toward the achievement of ubiquitous information access.'

Further, under the caption: 'Toward dreamlike innovations' here is the wrist-worn terminal. 'This revolutionary "wristwatch" style innovation actually makes the human hand become part of the phone. A microphone located near the wrist captures the users voice, while incoming audio is converted into vibrations which are conveyed through the bones of the hand to the tip of the index finger, which is inserted into the ear canal to allow clear reception even in noisy conditions.'

Another initiative promised is the keyboard that can be worn 24 hours a day. 'It makes use of ring-shaped accelerometers attached to each finger to track the movements of the fingers and detect intended key depressions on any surface, such as a desktop, or even your knee. The system also makes use of simultaneous and sequential typing methods in order to support speedy typing at rates of up to 200 characters per minute.'

Rather scarily, the page describing these initiatives finishes with the statement 'Our scientists and researchers have a clear vision of the future. A vision uniting all of the advances explained above and many more to create an exciting world where people can come together, regardless of time and space, for a higher level of communication.' I don't know whether to be cheered that someone is clear, or depressed at the prospect of a world designed for people by scientists. But the interfaces sound interesting...

Associated Link: BBC: Let your Fingers do the Talking

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