When Xiaomi introduced its Black Shark 2 gaming phone a year ago, it hyped up the pressure-sensitive display that lets users map left and right controls to the screen. The new Black Shark 3 Pro takes things off the screen with physical pop-up shoulde...
Mercedes vehicles come with state-of-the-art driver assist features, but with the 2021 E-Class sedans, it wants to make sure you use them properly. As such, it has introduced a new steering wheel with capacitive touch technology that can detect wheth...
At Nintendo's Switch press conference today, the company revealed that its upcoming gaming console will have -- wait for it -- a capacitive touch screen. This is a pretty big move for Nintendo, which has traditionally gone with resistive touch displa...
Transform any surface, object, or space into a touch controller with this amazing kit from Bare Conductive. The Touch Board DIY Starter Kit includes everything you need to build interactive objects.
Simply connect the Arduino@Heart-based controller board to whatever you’d like to use as a controller, and it’ll magically transform it into a sensor. You can even use the Touch Board to control applications on your computer via USB.
The kit also includes conductive paint, which can be used to create buttons, along with a dozen alligator clips, and all the wiring you need to get started. Since it includes a speaker and can play MP3s, you can use it to quickly make alarms, synthesizers, and other cool stuff that makes sounds when activated.
Drop by the Technabob Shop now, and grab the Touch Board DIY Starter Kit for $139.99 now. That’s a $10 savings off the regular price.
If you prefer to draw or write on the screen of your tablet with a stylus instead of a fingertip, then you’ll definitely want to check out the AluPen.
This sturdy aluminum stylus has a precision tip and works with the vast majority of capacitive touch screens, including iPads and iPhones. No setup or software installation is needed. Just twist to expose the stylus’ fine point nib, and start drawing. A special circuit inside the battery-powered stylus sends a charge to the tip simulating the capacitance your fingertip normally produces.
The AluPen normally sells for $50, but we’ve got it in the Technabob Shop for just $30 for a limited time.
In recent years, Apple has started following trends instead of popularizing them. There’s nothing wrong with that, but what’s wrong is it’s done nothing to fix the weaknesses of the designs they’re adopting. For instance, like Samsung and other smartphone makers Apple hasn’t come up with a good way to make its large phones easier to use with one hand. Who would have thought that a screen protector could help with the problem? Yet that’s what the Halo Back does.
Halo Back’s contribution is small but could still be useful to a lot of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners. It has a transparent capacitive touch sensor at its lower left corner, just to the left of where the Home button is. That sensor is connected via a thin layer of circuitry to the upper left corner of the iPhone screen, i.e. where the virtual back button is often found in iOS apps. The result is an easy-to-access (and Android-like) back button.
Like other screen protectors, Halo Back does protect your screen from scratches. It appears to be a bit thicker than other screen protectors, though.
Pledge at least $14 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive a Halo Back screen protector as a reward. It’s not the ultimate fix for large smartphones – and what would be? Eye tracking? Slide-in sidebars? Moving all buttons to the bottom? – but I like it more than Apple’s Reachability.
Jay Silver is back on Kickstarter with an even smaller version of his simple but versatile USB keypad, the MaKey MaKey. Aside from its smaller form the Makey Makey Go also has a keyring and a magnet. It’s like a bottle opener for inventors.
In case you’ve never heard of the MaKey MaKey until now, it’s a plug-and-play USB device that lets you use conductive objects – aluminum foil, fruits, feet, etc. – as mice or keyboards. Check out the video for fun examples of its applications:
Pledge at least $19 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Makey Makey Go as a reward.
Watch out Clapper; there’s a new switch in town. iOn is a capacitive switch that lets you toggle lights and other devices simply by waving your hand in front of it. You can even extend the switch’s coverage or hide it altogether by putting a conductive object on top of it.
Like most smartphone touchscreens, iOn uses capacitive sensing to work. Think of it as a much simpler theremin. Aside from waving your hand to toggle a device on or off, you can also keep your hand in front of iOn to gradually dim or brighten a light source. Apparently you’ll also be able to control the switch via a mobile app. Finally, as I said earlier, you can also turn a conductive object into a switch by placing it on top of the iOn. iOn fits over standard US switch boxes and can replace most mechanical switches out of the box.
Wave to your browser and pledge at least $40 (USD) on Kickstarter to get an iOn switch as a reward. The switch is both practical and cool, but I hope it doesn’t consume a lot of electricity, or at least has a power saving mode.
The printed word is dying, but the printed keyboard is alive and kicking. And no, you won’t need a 3D printer to make one. A company called Novalia has made an incredibly thin Bluetooth keyboard made of photo paper, conductive ink and its proprietary electronic module.
Novalia made the keyboard to show off its advancements in printed technology, particularly the electronic module based on Nordic Semiconductor’s system-on-a-chip and a printing process that allows conventional printers to mass produce capacitive sensors.
Novalia’s technology could be used to make not just keyboards but other input devices as well, and existing printing presses could churn out hundreds of overlays with built-in sensors in a matter of minutes. Nordic Semiconductor says the module can last for up to nine months on a single CR2032 button cell battery.
I’m not sure if Novalia will make the keyboard available to the public. It does have Switchboard, a much simpler version of the keyboard on its online shop . That one’s made of foam board and has eight capacitive keys and sells for £25 (~$41 USD)
Because of its size and form, Google Glass has a limited – albeit seemingly capable – user interface: touch gestures, head gestures and voice commands. Even though Glass’ display is visible at all times, there are times when it would be impractical, insensitive or downright impossible to interact with it. That’s why researcher Brandyn White came up with three alternative ways of controlling Glass.
The first method is via eye tracking, i.e. triggering commands just by looking at a particular spot. Brandyn achieved this using a modified webcam, a 3D printed case and a custom software. As Brandyn notes, future versions of Glass may have eye-tracking built-in so this hack may be rendered obsolete. But even if that happened Brandyn says he doesn’t want this to be used in public, probably because it’s distracting and can also be offensive if used when you’re with other people.
Brandyn also made a browser-based control interface for Glass with the help of a JavaScript-based platform called WearScript. As silly as it sounds, this interface will probably let you control Glass even if you’re not wearing it.
Finally, Brandyn used a MaKey MaKey and WearScript to enable alternative touch controls for Glass. For instance, he wired MaKey MaKey to his clothes so that he could control Glass just by touching his sleeves. He also used two bananas to play Super Mario Bros. on a NES emulator.
When Xiaomi introduced its Black Shark 2 gaming phone a year ago, it hyped up the pressure-sensitive display that lets users map left and right controls to the screen. The new Black Shark 3 Pro takes things off the screen with physical pop-up shoulde...
Mercedes vehicles come with state-of-the-art driver assist features, but with the 2021 E-Class sedans, it wants to make sure you use them properly. As such, it has introduced a new steering wheel with capacitive touch technology that can detect wheth...
At Nintendo's Switch press conference today, the company revealed that its upcoming gaming console will have -- wait for it -- a capacitive touch screen. This is a pretty big move for Nintendo, which has traditionally gone with resistive touch displa...
