PhonePoint Pen lets you scribble in the air with your handset

Damian Koh | Jun 23, 2009

We knew that the built-in accelerometers in our phones can be used for more meaningful purposes other than just rotating screens and muting calls, but we didn't know exactly what they were previously. Now, a team of engineering students from the Systems Networking Research Group at Duke University has come up with an answer in the form of a prototype mobile phone app dubbed PhonePoint Pen.

How it works is surprisingly simple. The application lets you use your phone like a pen to scribble text in the air. Sounds very sci-fi, but it's actually not. The app makes use of the motion sensors that are already commonplace in handsets and is able to decode the handwriting gestures. Granted the application is rough right now as you can see from the demo where the students had to draw big, precise gestures in the air. But this is a concept that can take off once they refine the interface. The researchers said the PhonePoint Pen will be suitable for people who don't like typing on the phone, and envisions a future where users can simply sign for their credit card bills by drawing in the air. Let's hope that future comes sooner rather than later.

Via Yahoo News

Filed under: Future Tech, Mobile Phones
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