Microsoft’s PocketTouch prototype is like x-ray vision on your fingers (video)

Is it more gauche to drag out your phone in the midst of a date, or to attract a group of crop circles in your pants? That is the question we were asking ourselves after discovering PocketTouch — a brand new Microsoft Research prototype that permits you to manipulate your handset without ever removing it out of your pocket. Developed by researchers Scott Saponas, Chris Harrison and Hrvoje Benko, the device essentially contains a personalized, multitouch capacitive sensor addicted to to the back of a smartphone. This sensor is in a position to picking up gestures through fabric , allowing users to execute a big selection of eyes-free, gesture-based functions (including simple swipes and alphanumeric text) without ever having to really whip out their phones. To try this, the team implemented what it calls an “orientation-defining unlock gesture,” which helps the prototype get its bearings, before testing the capacitive sensors across different fabrics. In accordance with Microsoft, the result “exceeded expectations,” though there isn’t any word on when or if this Goliath of a tool could ever hit the mainstream. Head past the break to look a video of a guy playing tic-tac-toe on his pants.