Next year NEC hopes to target field workers with a new UI that consists of a virtual keypad that appears on the user’s arm thanks to recognition technology that brings together augmented reality glasses and a smart watch. The Japanese manufacturer released a video of its "ARmKeypad" in action which was translated by the Wall Street Journal.
The company believes the system will help workers that need their hands
free to operate - such as those in healthcare or involved with
equipment maintenance and inspection - and believes it builds on other input options
currently available.
It hopes the system - which it claims offers high-speed, high-precision
touch input - will be taken up in environments that are too
noisy for speech recognition.
When users look at their hand a virtual keyboard
immediately appears on the forearm, which NEC argues is large enough for easy
input and flexible key layouts depending on operation required.
The system can
detect between contact and non-contact, which NEC claims is more accurate than gesture recognition.