AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Home
GOALS
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
KEYWORDS
IoT, wearables, Touch
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Chris Harrison, Gierad Laput, Alanson Sample, Robert Xiao and Jack Yang - Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research
WEBSITE
http://www.gierad.com/projects/emsense/
Em-Sense
TOUCH RECOGNITION OF UNINSTRUMENTED ELECTRICAL AND ELECTROMECHANICAL OBJECTS
The Internet of Things has made communication between inanimate objects a reality. Em-Sense, developed by students at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, links people even closer into those instant connections through the power of physical touch. Everyday items like toothbrushes and doorknobs naturally produce electromagnetic noise (EM); when you make contact, those electrical signals circulate through your body (yes, you are conductive!). Imagine a maps app showing a shortcut on your smartwatch simply because you straddled a motorcycle. Em-Sense enables touch identification, authentication, and all kinds of custom DIY experiences.
This could also be used for people with poor eyesight, to identify which objects they are handleling or for educational purposes.