Hairware allows you to control your smartphone apps, just by stroking your hair.
A new technology called Hairware allows users to discretely control their smartphone apps and send text messages.
The technology invented by Katia Vega of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has invented a new gadget that comes with a hair extension woven with capacitive wire to act as a remote touch sensor to interact with a smartphone app. It has a hairclip with a Bluetooth module and Arduino microcontroller that allows the wearer to communicate with their phone by tapping there hair.
The tech allows users to communicate with their phone with different strokes, for instance a single touch could open an app; a second touch, or a longer stroke could activate an app's function like sending a message to a friend, or even send a discreet photograph.
Vega stated that the technology could be used by a woman who is feeling threatened to broadcast her location, or activate a preset emergency text message, without visibly using the phone.
"We add new functionalities to hair extensions, turning them into a seamless device that recognizes auto-contact behaviours concealed to outside observers. Therefore, Hairware brings the opportunity to make conscious use of an unconscious auto-contact behaviour," Vega wrote on her website.
"Hairware acts as a capacitive touch sensor that detects touch variations on hair and uses machine learning algorithms in order to recognise user's intention."
Vega plans to extend Hairware to turn beards into active app controllers too. "I still need to figure out the design," she says. "It could involve connecting a conductive beard to a clip hidden on the back of a shirt collar. Our next step is to understand male behaviour and how they relate to their beards." In 2013, Vega had used conductive eye make-up to launch a drone simply by blinking.
Source: KatiaVega
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Silky Malhotra
Silky Malhotra loves learning about new technology, gadgets, and more. When she isn’t writing, she is usually found reading, watching Netflix, gardening, travelling, or trying out new cuisines. View Full Profile
