Myo is a motion-control device that puts
the user in control of various electronic devices: phones, tablets and
computers. In the form of a one-size-fits-all armband, this product utilizes
Bluetooth 4.0, is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac and can be integrated
with both Android and IOS. To date, the device recognizes only the five
gestures pictured above.
The armband has a wide variety of uses. It can be used to control
media and game applications, presentation software such as PowerPoint, a
computer's mouse and even drones. Although the apps supported by Myo are in
small numbers for the time being, as is Myo can control Netflix, VLC Media
Player iTunes, as well as the aforementioned. It does so by pairing to devices
via Bluetooth. The configuring process is rather brief, approximately 10
minutes. The armband will also work “out of the box” for those users who
can, “add your own configurations using the Keyboard Mapper in
Myo Connect or writing your own
Myo Connector!”
We see what Myo can do, but a good question is
how? And more importantly why? Myo is designed to eliminate the need for
remotes. According to the blog, the Myo only recognizes five, simple hand
gestures for two reasons:
“First, it’s really, really hard to recognize
gestures on each individual person’s arm. The muscular and skeletal structure
of every arm is unique: what looks like “spread fingers” in one arm might look
like “rock on” fingers in another, and so on. Also, the Myo armband needs to be
able to work at any position and any orientation on your arm: you should be
able to deliver a presentation, slip it off, hand it to the next person (at a
different position and upside down) and have it work perfectly for them
after a good sync gesture.”
Creators recognize how the human hand is far
less complicated than the remotes which they use although it is far less
capable of utilizing unique “buttons.” Instead, the Myo’s “version of a button
is a gesture. They’re simple, on-off inputs that a computer can understand.
Either you’re making the gesture or you aren’t.” The band does require
users to set a specific hand gesture which will activate motion control in
order to prevent accidental input.
The ultimate goal is to eliminate “false
positives,” and it’s something the Myo team is hard at work on. Currently, they
are collecting data from all different types of consumer arms. Even if the band
is contoured to appropriately execute more hand gestures, the real problem lies
in the technology being controlled. As the blog points out, for the augmented-reality
technology to excel, the technology itself will need to be designed around
products like the Myo instead of “remotes.”
“The day you plug it in, it will show you a
brand new way to interact with technology. The really remarkable part
is that developers haven’t even really had a crack at it yet. Once
they unleash their imaginations on the Myo Market building applications,
sky’s the limit,” says a blogger for Thalmic Labs. The practical use for Myo is
nothing in contrast to what it could do! Think of the possibilities in the
medical field!
Sources:
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