Sixth Sense Technology – Wow!

I’m a little behind on this little snippet of technology but it’s well worth it to take some time and really appreciate the potential of this. The Fluid Interfaces Lab over at MIT have been working away at a concept more than a prototype (in my opinion). Their TED Talk describes the idea of having meta information about your immediate surroundings available instantly in a gesture-intense, floating interface.

The prototype is simple — a small device you wear like a necklace that holds a camera, projector, and internet connection (of course!). The device can recognize items directly in front of the wearer and project additional, relevant information directly onto the item. The talk showed a user checking out a book in a bookstore and having the device automatically recognize the book and project the Amazon rating right onto the cover. Flip the cover to the first page and the device now projects some reviews onto the page!

This obviously has a really big “cool” factor for those a little more geek-inclined but the name itself is also very fitting. At first, I didn’t like the title of “Sixth Sense”. But when you think about it, all of our senses are merely information that we interpret in relation to our surroundings. This device does what we do with our other senses for us and presents only the information that we can digest and make use of.

The possibilities with this kind of technology are really realy cool.

Imagine being able to make video calls against any surface you have available. Imagine having your shopping list available right on your hand as you check item off. Why not have it synced with your list at home over the internet — you know… the one that your fridge keeps track of for you.

The fact is that this is just one more step to integrating our lives into one seamless experience. Where I can have the information I want given to me right away and I don’t even notice the intricacies involved. That’s both awesome and scary at the same time!