Proverbial Wallet Manages Your Expenditure

Researchers  came up with the Proverbial wallet.Although the wallet looks almost like any other wallet, the team's latest invention features a small device fitted in the middle.There are three types of Proverbial wallet. One variation of the wallet vibrates when the owner makes a purchase using a RFID-enabled credit card.

 Another variation grows or shrinks in size, depending on the amount of money in the user's bank account. The third type is getting harder to open when there account balance decreases.

In order to be able to perform the upper mentioned functions, the latest invention from MIT researchers has to be connected to the user's bank account through a Bluetooth signal from a cell phone or computer, reports Boston.

Currently the Proverbial wallet is just a concept, but it certainly has enough potential to be launched into the market in the near future.

Low-Cost Invisible Computer Mouse

Researchers used an infrared laser beam and infrared tracking camera to develop a system that reads the movement of a user's hand and then translates it onto the display in form of a cursor.

It is worth mentioning that the laser beam's plane is aimed slightly above the surface of the user area and after the user's hand takes the form as if it is holding a computer mouse, the beam breaks at the points where each finger comes into contact with the surface.

Afterwards the infrared tracking camera registers the movements of the hand and interprets them accordingly. The camera can identify such actions as clicking and double-clicking.

Currently the team is working on improving the tracking and identification algorithms in their latest invention in order to obtain a large list of different commands, which could lead in the future to multi-touch gesturing.

This  costs about $20.

Tongue Drive System to Operate Computers

Scientists developed a new revolutionary system to help individuals with disabilities to control wheelchairs, computers and other devices simply by using their tongue. Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say that a new  technology  called  Tongue Drive system will be helpful to individuals with serious disabilities, such as those with severe spinal cord injuries and will allow them to lead more active and independent lives.Individuals using a tongue-based system should only be able to move their tongue,  which is especially important if a person has paralyzed limbs. A tiny magnet, only  a size of a grain of rice, is attached to an individual's tongue using implantation, piercing or adhesive. This technology allows a disabled person to   use tongue when moving a computer mouse or a powered wheelchair. Scientists chose the tongue to control the system because unlike the feet and the hands, which are connected by brain through spinal cord, the tongue and the brain has a direct connection through cranial nerve. In case when a person has a severe spinal cord injure or other damage, the tongue will remain mobile to activate the system. "Tongue movements are also fast, accurate and do not require much thinking, concentration or effort." said Maysam Ghovanloo, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The motions of the magnet attached to the tongue are spotted by a number of magnetic field sensors installed on a headset worn outside or an orthodontic brace inside the mouth. The signals coming from the sensors are wirelessly sent to a portable computer that placed on a wheelchair or attached to an individual's clothing. The Tongue system is developed to recognize a wide array of tongue movements and to apply specific movements to certain commands, taking into account user's oral anatomy, abilities and lifestyle."The ability to train our system with as many commands as an individual can comfortably remember is a significant advantage over the common sip-n-puff device that acts as a simple switch controlled by sucking or blowing through a straw," said Ghovanloo. The Tongue Drive system is touch-free, wireless and non-invasive technology that needs no surgery for its operation.During the trials of the system, six able-bodied participants were trained to use tongue commands to control the computer mouse. The individuals repeated several motions left, right, up and down, single- and double-click to perform computer mouse tasks. The results of the trials showed 100 percent of commands were accurate with the response time less than one second, which equals to an information transfer rate of approximately 150 bits per minute. Scientists also plan to test the ability of the system to operate by people with severe disabilities. The next step of the research is to develop software to connect the Tongue Drive system to great number of devices such as text generators, speech synthesizers and readers. Also the researchers plan to upgrade the system by introducing the standby mode to allow the individual to eat, sleep or talk, while prolonging the battery life.