“Look Ma No Hands!” - To Turn On iPod
08.21.07 - 09:33am
This is not what the head gear looks like rather it is more like a typical headphone set that a research team at state-run Osaka University have developed that you can turn on and off your iPod and switch tracks less conspicuously by using the head gear than you can by taking it out of your pocket, (so one can get rid of the image of wearing around a Frankenstein like screwed in iron head contraption).
The head gear actually looks simply like regular headphones. It works by using infrared sensors and a micro-computer that reads when someone is clenching or grinding their teeth and turns on the iPod when clenching is performing for about one second. Tracks can also be skipped by clenching just the left teeth.
“I just thought it’s inconvenient to have to use your hands to switch on iPods or phones, especially on packed trains,” said Kazuhiro Taniguchi, who is playing a leading role in the research.
While the uses for the iPod are simply one of fun for most of us, the technology can also be used in a much more significant manner. It could be incorporated so that someone who is paralyzed could still work a motorized wheelchair. This could mean “freedom” for those trapped in a body that won’t move, for them simply being able to move a about the house without help would be incredibly meaningful.
Speak Your Peace