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Tap Tech Brings Touch To Dumb Phones

Posted by timothy on from the now-that's-clever dept.

nk497 writes "A Cambridge-based firm has come up with a way to bring touch interfaces to phones without touchscreens. According to TouchDevice, the system uses the microphone to turn any surface on a handset into a touch-sensitive input panel by analysing sound signatures. 'For example, where icons are displayed on a non-touch screen display, you could tap on there and it would activate the application,' said founder Mike Bradley. TouchDevice believes there are two markets for the technology: firstly to augment input potential in touchcreen smartphones, and secondly as a way of adding touch to 'dumb' displays. The system should be making its way into devices by early next year."

8 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. A boon for the touch phone knock off makers. by Kenja · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Cant wait to see the 10$ iPhony cell phones that use this rather then an actual touch screen.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:A boon for the touch phone knock off makers. by Jurily · · Score: 4, Funny

      Cant wait to see the 10$ iPhony cell phones that use this rather then an actual touch screen.

      Could we just let the whole touchscreen idea die instead? Please?

    2. Re:A boon for the touch phone knock off makers. by lalena · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Companies (Elo Acustic Pulse Recognition) are already using this technology. They can detect the location of the touch, and they do an OK job with finger drag. They cannot detect when you take your finger off the surface.
      If these limitations are OK, they you get a cheap touch screen that lets you use a scratch resistant glass surface.

  2. New excuse for drunk-dialing your ex... by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "I dropped my phone, and the microphone-based touch detection interpreted as calling your number!"

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  3. Re:neat but no. by by+(1706743) · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you are screaming in an argument, then you have already lost.

    NOT TRUE!!! SCREAMING IN AN ARGUMENT MAKES YOU MORE RIGHT!!!

    (This bit down here is to appease /.'s filters, as it thinks I'm yelling...no sense of humor at all.)

  4. Re:Sounds flakey by vux984 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You are wearing gloves.
    You tap with your fingernail, pen, etc

    er... these also don't even work on state of the art touch devices -- androids / iphones / blackberries. Go ahead... try using your iphone with mittens on, or tap one with your fingernail.

    So I guess modern smartphones are just a hack to you?

  5. Re:Sounds like a dump idea at first... by adolf · · Score: 3, Informative

    TFA talks about doing this with exactly one pre-existing microphone, which is rather unique.

    Triangulating touch position using multiple "microphones" (in this case, peizoelectric widgets mounted to the glass surface, but the concept is the same) has been done before, and isn't particularly new. (More info and whitepaper.)

    --
    Kid-proof tablet..
  6. Re:Sounds like a dump idea at first... by treeves · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I suspect it doesn't use time delays, but just the difference in the audio spectra between tapping in the corner close to the mic, tapping in the middle, and tapping in the opposite corner. Different frequencies will resonate and/or be attenuated depending on where you tap. Have you ever played a guitar and noticed how the sound (timbre) changes depending on whether you pluck the string over the neck, over the sound hole, or close to the bridge? Same idea here, I imagine, just using a cell phone as the resonator instead of a guitar.

    --
    ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.