Ever experienced cooking or trying a recipe from YouTube? Cooking is easier nowadays thanks to the Internet. No need to buy those giant cookbooks or magazines because you can just Google a recipe. This NailO designed by MIT Media Lab researchers is a fingernail-mounted wireless trackpad that controls a smartphone, tablet, or a computer—perfect for cooking. It simply works as a remote control. How exactly? Just swipe across your thumbnail and you’ll see your screen moving to your preferred direction or location.
The NailO is actually a special wearable device that one can wear on one thumbnail. The video below perfectly demonstrates how it works. It’s innovative although it looks weird at first. It’s like having some nail art on just one fingernail.
It’s pretty useful for anyone who cooks but it can be used for any other activities. No need to tap on the dirty keyboard of your laptop or the greasy screen of your smartphone or tablet when you can control the device using this digital nail. It’s so small but it already includes a trackpad, several sensors, battery, and three chips.
This project is still under development but the researchers plan to present this in South Korea next week. A paper is currently being prepared for a more detailed explanation of the NailO concept. So thumbnails and fingernails being used as “touchscreens” now? What could be next? I can imagine a future where mobile devices, cars, or home appliances can be controlled using the NailO. It could be thinner, smaller, and more responsive too in the future.
SOURCE: MIT News
VIA: SlashGear
