Published on Jun 05, 2023
'SixthSense' is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information.
All of us are aware of the five basic senses - seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting and hearing. But there is also another sense called the sixth sense.It is basically a connection to something greater than what their physical senses are able to perceive.
To a layman, it would be something supernatural. Some might just consider it to be a superstition or something psychological. But the invention of sixth sense technology has completely shocked the world. Although it is not widely known as of now but the time is not far when this technology will change our perception of the world.
Pranav Mistry, 28 year old, of Indian origin is the mastermind behind the sixth sense technology. The device sees what we see but it lets out information that we want to know while viewing the object. It can project information on any surface, be it a wall, table or any other object and uses hand / arm movements to help us interact with the projected information. The device brings us closer to reality and assists us in making right decisions by providing the relevant information, thereby, making the entire world a computer.
The SixthSense prototype implements several applications that demonstrate the usefulness, viability and flexibility of the system. The map application lets the user navigate a map displayed on a nearby surface using hand gestures, similar to gestures supported by Multi-Touch based systems, letting the user zoom in, zoom out or pan using intuitive hand movements.The user can stop by any surface or wall and flick through the photos he/she has taken. SixthSense also lets the user draw icons or symbols in the air using the movement of the index finger and recognizes those symbols as interaction instructions.
For example, drawing a magnifying glass symbol takes the user to the map application or drawing an '@' symbol lets the user check his mail. The SixthSense system also augments physical objects the user is interacting with by projecting more information about these objects projected on them. The current prototype system costs approximate $350 to build.
Sixth Sense technology is the science of tomorrow with the aim of connecting the digital world with the physical world seamlessly, eliminating hardware devices. Mistry's flirtations with the digital world began in the early 2000s when he pieced together four mouse rollers with pulleys and springs to give shape to a motion sensing device.
