This document summarizes a seminar presentation on using the human body as a touchscreen interface called "Skinput". Skinput uses bio-acoustic sensors and a pico-projector to turn the skin into an interactive surface. It works by sensing vibrations from finger taps on different parts of the body which are mapped to actions. Potential applications include controlling mobile devices, games, and smart home devices by tapping on the skin without looking at a screen. The technology aims to advance interactive capabilities in more flexible environments.

1. Seminar Presentation
on
Human Body as Touchscreen

2. Overview:
 Introduction
 What is Skinput
 Principle of Skinput
 Requirements
 How it works
 Processing Model
 Advantages
 Applications
 Future Implementation
 Conclusion
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3. Introduction:
 Mobiles becomes ubiquitous
 Mobility, flexibility, responsiveness getting more demands
 Devices with small sized have some limitations
 Can’t make buttons and screens large without losing benefit of small sized
 Microsoft introduces new flesh-control input technology-”Skinput”
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4. What is Skinput ?
 Skinput is an input technology that uses bio-acoustic sensing to localize finger
taps on the skin. When augmented with a pico-projector, the device can
provide a direct manipulation, graphical user interface on the body.
 Touch screen gadgets have become popular due to the advantages they come
with . Skinput turns the body into a touch-screen interface.
 Developed by Chris Harrison, Desney Tan, and Dan Morris, at Microsoft
Research's Computational User Experiences Group.
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5. Principle of Skinput
 Skinput allow the users to simply tap their skin in order to control mobile
applications .
 It applies the use of series of sensors to determine where user taps on their
arms .
 Each part of body creates different types of vibrations depending on features
of bones, muscle and tendons .
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6. Requirements
Pico-
Projector
Bluetooth
Bio-
Acoustics
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8. Pico-Projector
 Pico projectors are tiny battery powered
projectors - as small as a mobile phone - or even
smaller : these projectors can even be embedded
inside phones or digital cameras.
 The system comprises the three main parts:
 The laser light source
 The combiner optics
 The scanning mirror
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9. Bluetooth
 Wireless technology for exchanging data over short
distances.
 Bio acoustic and sensors are connected to the mobile
using Bluetooth.
 Creating Personal Area Networks (PANs) with high levels
of security.
 Created by telecoms vendor Ericsson in 1994.
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10. Bio-Acoustics
 As the skin taps on the skin, acoustic energies are
formed.
 Two types of the waves are formed:
 Transverse.
 Longitudinal.
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11.  Transverse Wave
 Sensors are activated by the waves moving underneath it.
 Transverse waves formed moves outward form the point of contact
 Tapping on soft regions of the arm creates higher amplitude transverse waves.
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12.  Longitudinal Wave
 Some energy is transmitted inward, toward the skeleton.
 These are longitudinal waves, excites the bone.
 This excitation vibrates soft tissues surrounding the entire length of the
bone, resulting in new longitudinal waves that propagate outward to the skin.
 The sensor is activated as these waves hits underneath it.
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13. Transverse Wave Propagation Longitudinal Wave Propagation
• Finger Impacts creates
transverse waves(ripples)
• Sensor is Activated as wave
passes underneath it
• Finger impact creates
longitudinal
(compressive)waves
• Causes internal skeletal structure
to vibrate.
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14. Sensing
 Instead of a single sensing element with a flat response curve, an array of
highly tuned vibration sensors are used.
 Bio –acoustic sensor, its employed with small, cantilevered piezo films.
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15. Outside View Inside View
A Wearable Bio-acoustic Sensing Array Built into an Armband. Sensing Elements
detect vibrations transmitted through the body. The two sensor packages shown above
each contain five specially weighted cantilevered piezo films responsive to a particular
frequency range.
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16. How it Works ?
Designed Software Listens for impacts & Classifies them. Then Different Interactive
Capabilities are bounded on different regions.
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18. Ten input locations for achieving
higher accuracy
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19. Variation in Bone Density, Size & Mass as well as filtering effects from Soft Tissues &
Joints Mean Different Locations that are acoustically distinct.
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20. Vibrations are Captured from
Sensors and Converted to Digital
signal form
This is connected to Mobile
device Via Bluetooth
A Software to match sound
frequencies to Specific skin
location is used
Corresponding Action is
implemented in Device
Processing Model
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21. Advantages
 User Interface will appear much larger than on screen
 No worry about keypad
 No need to interact with the gadget directly
 Can be used without visual screen
 Ideal for anyone with little to or no eyesight
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22. Applications
 Mobile
 I-Pods
 Gaming
 Simpler Browsing System
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23. Mobile
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24. Gaming , Ipod
Playing Tetris: Using
Fingers as Control Pad
Active also in Movable
Environment
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26. Skinput in Future
 The most profound achievement of Skinput is proving that the human body
can be used as a sensor
 A person might walk toward their home, tap their palm to unlock the door and
then tap some virtual buttons on their arm to turn on the TV and start flipping
through the channels
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27. Future Implementation
 Extensive Research is going on Currently on Skinput to
 make the armband more smaller.
 Incorporate More Devices with This System.
 Extend accuracy level
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29. Conclusion
 The technology itself is intriguing , and have more application other than
always availability.
 Skinput is very interesting technology . But its fate will ultimately depend on
how committed Microsoft is to making it a commercial reality and how soon.
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31. THANKYOU
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