The Microsoft company have developed Skinput, a technology that appropriates the human body for acoustic transmission, allowing the skin to be used as an input surface. In particular, we resolve the location of finger taps on the arm and hand by analyzing mechanical vibrations that propagate through the body. We collect these signals using a novel array of sensors worn as an armband. This approach provides an always available, naturally portable, and on-body finger input system. We assess the capabilities, accuracy and limitations of our technique through a two-part, twenty-participant user study. To further illustrate the utility of our approach, we conclude with several proof-of-concept applications we developed.

1. SEMINAR ON
SKINPUT
Presented By:
PATEL PRANAV H.

2. Contents
 Introduction
 What is Skinput ?
 Difference between touchscreen and Skinput
 What Skinput Does
 What make it works
 How it works
 Input location
 Accuracy
 BMI Effect
 Applications
 Advantages
 Disadvantages
 Future Implications
 Conclusion
 Reference

3. Introduction
 Developed by Chris Harrison, Desney Tan, And
Dan Morris of the Microsoft Research’s.
 Microsoft’s Techfest 2010.
 Technology that appropriates the Human Body for
Acoustic Transmission.
 Project is Under Active Development.
 Not Available Commercially.

4. What is “Skinput”?
 Skinput is a technology that appropriates the
human body for acoustic transmission.
 Skin used as an input surface.
 Developed by Chris Harrison(Carnegie Mellon
University), Microsoft Research.

5. Difference B/W TouchScreen and
Skinput
Touch Screen
(Physical Interface Needed)
SKINPUT
(No Physical Interface required)

6. WHAT SKINPUT DOES ?
 Allows User to Tap their Skin.
 Uses Series of Sensor to determine Tap location.
 Detect Waves.
 Body Creates different types of variations
Depending on the features of Bones and Muscles.
 Skinput listens to these Variation to determine
Tapped location.

7. WHAT MAKES IT WORKS ?
 Pico – projector
 Bluetooth
 Bio – Acoustic

8. HOW SKINPUT WORKS ?
Pico – Projector :
 Small Size Projector
 Used for display purpose in skinput system.

9. (Contd..)
Bio – acoustics:
 Study of sound wave inside human body.
 When finger taps following waves are produced.
1) Transverse Waves
2) Longitundinal Waves
 These waves serve input for a system.

10.  Finger impacts displace the skin, creating
transverse waves. The sensor is activated as the
wave passes underneath it.
Bio-Acoustics
Transverse wave propagation

11. (Contd..)
Longitudinal wave propagation
• Finger impacts create longitudinal (compressive)
waves that cause internal skeletal structures to
vibrate.

12. ARMBAND
 Consists of Two Array of Five Sensing Elements.
 Armband containing piezoelectric cantilevers –
sensors.
 The upper sensor array is more sensitive to Lower
frequency signal.
 The Lower sensor array is sensitive to higher
ferquencies.

14. Processing

15. Input Location
 Place the Sensor above the Elbow.
 video

16. Accuracy
 Figure. Higher accuracies can be achieved by collapsing the
ten input locations into groups.

17. BMI Effect
 BMI is referred as Body Mass Index.
 High BMI tends to decrease of Accuracy.
 The Participants with the 3 Highest BMIs(29.2,
29.6 and 31.9 – Representing Borderline obese to
obese) Produce the Three lowest average
Accuracies.

19. Applications
 Mobile
 Gaming
 I-pods
 Simpler Browsing Systems.

20. Advantages
 No Need to Interact with the Gadgets directly.
 A new way of operating a mobile phone.
 People with larger fingers get trouble in
Navigating tiny buttons on Mobile Phones. With
Skinput that problems disappear.

21. Disadvantages
 Accuracy can degrade.
 High cost.
 Band seems easy enough to Slip on.

22. Future Implications
 With Small sized Pico Projectors, skinput oriented
systems are an Emerging trend.
 Research is carried out for Smaller Wrist Watch sized
sensor armband.

23. Conclusion
 System performs very well for a series of Gestures even if
the body is in motion.
 This Approach provides an always available, Naturally
portable and on body finger input system.
 Skinput is very interesting technology.

24. References
 http://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/Research/Skinput
 http://www.research.microsoft.com/en-
us/um/.../harrisonskinputchi2010.pdf
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3XPUdW9Ryg