digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: Pranav Mistry's central idea is that computing should move off screens and onto everyday physical objects and surfaces, so digital information is accessed through natural gestures and "SixthSense" technology, a wearable projector-and-camera device. He presents it as a cheap, open-source-friendly way to merge the digital and physical worlds, with the goal of keeping people connected to their physical surroundings.
Key Points
- The SixthSense device pairs a head- or neck-worn projector with a camera that tracks hand gestures, turning any wall, paper, or palm into an interface for digital information.
- Earlier prototypes explored the same idea in reverse: a sticky-note-based paper input/output system, a 3D-drawing pen, and a "physical Google Map" where placing objects on a surface triggers relevant information.
- Mistry argues people want information, not computing for its own sake, so the digital world should be projected onto objects rather than confined to pocket-sized rectangular screens.
- The system can identify objects being held, such as matching a book cover against online databases to show reviews.
- Mistry also demonstrates a low-cost paper computing setup, where a microphone clip detects touch on a plain sheet of paper while the camera tracks finger position.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: The transcript gives no step-by-step build instructions, but Mistry describes the core hardware approach: a projector and camera mounted on the head or a pendant, with colored markers used in early versions to track fingers. For a paper interface, he removes the microphone from a webcam, clips it to paper, and uses the touch sound to detect contact while the camera tracks fingertips. He says he will release open-source software so anyone can build their own SixthSense device, and that the hardware is not hard to manufacture or make yourself.
- Early prototype cost was about $5,000; he states the current system costs about $300, compared with roughly $20,000 for surface tables.
- Early gesture-tracking experiments began around 2000 with a mouse whose rollers were rearranged into a motion-sensing device made from about two dollars of parts.
- Gestures discussed include pinching with both hands to zoom a map, a photo-taking gesture with the fingers, and dialing a phone number on the palm.
- Mistry mentions applications for people who cannot speak and ideas for a "missing sense," as well as an example where a newspaper shows live weather information and a boarding pass shows flight delays.
Bottom Line
The core payoff is making digital information available wherever you are through everyday surfaces and gestures, with the emphasis on cost reduction and open access rather than a finished commercial product.
