How it Work

How does sixth sense works?

The sixth sense technology uses different technologies like gesture recognition, image processing, etc. At present the commercial product isn’t launched but the prototype is prepared. The sixth sense prototype is made using very common and easily available equipments like pocket projector, a mirror, mobile components, color markers and a camera.

 The projector projects visual images on a surface. This surface can be wall, table, book or even your hand. Thus, the entire world is available on your screen now. When user moves their hands to form different movements with colored markers on the finger tips, the camera captures these movements. Both the projector and the camera are connected to the mobile computing device in the user’s pocket. Recognition is made using computer vision technique. These markers act as visual tracking fiducials. The software program processes this video stream data and interprets the movements into gestures. The gestures are different from one another and are assigned some commands. These gestures can act as input to application which is projected by the projector. Since, the projector is aligned downwards for compactness; therefore images would be formed at the user’s feet if mirror wasn’t used. The mirror reflects the image formed by the projector to front. The entire hardware is fabricated in the form of a pendent. The entire product cost around $ 350 and that also because of projector. It works very similar like a touch screen phone with entire world as the screen.

Evolution of Sixth Sense Technology

Steve Mann is considered as the father of Sixth Sense technology who made a wearable computer in 1990. He implemented the Sixth Sense technology as the neck worn projector with a camera system. He was a media lab student at that time. Then his work was carried forward by Pranav Mistry, an Indian research assistant in MIT Media Lab. He came up with exciting new applications from this technology. Sixth sense technology was developed at media labs in MIT and coined as Wear Ur World (WUW). The inventors have filed patent under the name Wear Ur World (WUW) in February 2010.

 “Rather than waiting for that time to come, I want people to make their own system. Why not?,” Mistry says in an article on Rediff Business. “People will be able to make their own hardware. I will give them instructions how to make it. And also provide them key software…give them basic key software layers…they will be able to build their own applications. They will be able to modify base level and do anything”.

So it can be expected that the software will be open source and there will be a wide market of apps too.