At the very first TED conference, approximately 20 years ago, Nicholas Negroponte, founder of MIT's Media Lab, predicted the world would soon began to replace styluses with a human finger.
The likes of Apple and Samsung have seen Negroponte's 1984 prediction come into fruition, but the latest batch of innovators in this week's Crowd-Fueled Kickstarter Thursday are pushing tech that gives people even more control over how they interact with user interfaces.
"I'm very interested in touch-sensitive displays," stated Negroponte back in 1984. "And a lot of people think fingers are a very low-resolution sort of stylus; in fact they're not. You have to just do it sort of twice."
Swiftpoint GT
Attempting to blend the best elements of mice and men's fingers -- woman and children. too, of course -- Swiftpoint GT is a compact mouse that operates in two modes.
When set in point-and-click mode, the wireless peripheral can be use as a traditional mouse. In stylus mode, users can take advantage of the tiny peg on the bottom of the Swiftpoint GT to execute touch-like gestures on any solid surface.
Popular gesture controls like swipe and flick can be executed when using the Swiftpoint GT in stylus mode. Documents and web pages on desktops and tablets alike will respond as if receiving input as if the individual was manipulating a touchscreen.
Swiftpoint GT's 969 backers have helped the campaign beat its $25,000 goal four times over, pledging $112,856 in support for the peripheral with over two weeks remaining. The Swiftpoint GT is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
Fuffr
Though there are oceans between Fuffr's goal of $250,000 and its $7,203 in pledges, 79 supporters have gotten behind the touchscreen extension. There still roughly three weeks to go.
Fuffr is a smartphone case that's rimmed with infrared sensors. When placed on a flat surface, users can interact with a game or app by swiping and tapping the surfaces near the infrared sensors.
Because Fuffr frees up touchscreens from fingers, the peripheral opens up games to more hands.
"Most mobile games are single player and their controls are limited to what can be fitted on the screen," states the campaign. "We wanted games to be more than this, opening up for multiplayer and better controls."
6thfinger
The 6thfinger is the latest in farming technology. For mobile game enthusiasts who must attend to other affairs, the 6thfinger can mind through hours of grinding to provide a bountiful harvest of new levels and perks.
The round peripheral sits atop touchscreen devices, mimicking the taps and swipes of human input to keep the farm running when the owner is off to market or something.
"We developed the 6thfinger because of our love for mobile games," the campaign states. "We longed for something that can keep the game active while we have to step away."
With roughly a month to go and 73 farmers pledging $1,341 to the 6thfinger, the campaign's $8,000 goal is well within reach.
Check out last week's Crowd-Fueled Thursday to find out about some of the projects that are looking to make a splash in the wearable tech industry.
