Cambridge Consultants launches new ‘squeeze’ device for interacting with computers
Tech product designers and developers Cambridge Consultants have launched what is described as a uniquely intuitive low-cost squeezable user-interface technology that creates a new way of interacting with computers. The device is called Suma.
With nearly 60% of US households predicted to own 3D displays within 5 years, the Cambridge-based firm said Suma offers a full 3D highly sensitive control experience for gamers and others who expect a high degree of interaction.
The patent-pending Suma sensor system translates the 3D deformation of a squeezed object into a software-readable form. Enabling highly sensitive control by finger movements and whole-hand grip in this way means that Suma-based devices can capture far more of the degrees of freedom of the hand than conventional controller technologies, without the need for cumbersome gloves or sensors.
Cambridge Consultants said a Suma-based device is like a traditional gaming controller with the normal casework replaced by a ‘Suma skin'. This incorporates the proprietary Suma sensor network at an incremental parts cost of less than $1. Suma will enable companies developing a wide variety of products and applications - from gaming and design to music and creative arts - to unleash the full capabilities of both the human hand and the user's imagination.
"Our hands are extraordinary instruments for control and communication," said Duncan Smith, head of Consumer Product Development at Cambridge Consultants.
"One of our earliest instincts as babies is to grip and grasp, and about a quarter of the motor cortex of the human brain is devoted to the muscles of the hand. Yet current input devices for computers and games do not fully exploit these capabilities. Although gesture-based control is a huge step, even this does not convey the subtlety and flexibility of what our hands can do. By capturing that complexity, Suma enables product developers in a range of industries to greatly enhance the experience of their users, adding multidimensional interaction to both existing and new applications."
Cambridge Consultants plans to demonstrate a prototype gaming-controller based on the new squeezable Suma technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from 7-10 January 2010.
