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Facebook unveiled its mind reading wrist and augmented reality keyboard that would allow users to replace the mouse and keyboard in future hardware products.
The company’s Facebook Reality Labs division showcased the prototype technologies in a virtual call with members of the media this week. Division executives spoke about the technologies while videos of the projects were shown to the public.
The wrist device is able to read neurological signals sent from a user’s brain to their hands. It could theoretically read these signals to get an idea of what a user wants to do and replicate the action in a virtual or augmented reality environment.
“You actually have more of your brain dedicated to controlling your wrist than any other part of your body, probably twice as many neurons controlling your wrist and the movement of your hands than is actually dedicated to your mouth for the. power and speech, ”said TR Reardon, director of scientific research at Facebook Reality Labs.
Facebook researchers demonstrated “force” actions where a user could pinch their fingers in real life to hold and control distant virtual objects in augmented reality. The name of the action refers to the Star Wars franchise where certain characters can use the Force to control and move people or objects that are far away from them.
Additionally, the company demonstrated electromyography bracelets that users could wear to type on any surface as if typing on a physical keyboard. Although there is no keyboard, EMG bracelets would record a user’s fingering intentions and note letters and words.
Facebook’s development of these technologies comes as the company prepares to release its first smart glasses later this year. This device will be Ray-Ban glasses and will be marketed in partnership with Luxottica.
Unlike smartphones, which rely on touchscreens, or Oculus virtual reality headsets, which rely on handheld controllers, there is currently no obvious input mechanism for smart glasses. That’s why Facebook is working on these projects.
Asked how quickly these technologies could reach the public, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer said they were in the early stages of development.
“It’s hard to predict their timing,” Schroepfer. “How these things come and go in the market, when they appear – these are things I don’t have specific answers to. What we’re focusing on is strengthening these technologies.”
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