Finexus
This page is a stub, please expand it if you have more information.Features
The VR input devices present in the market cannot be classified as ideal, since they require line of sight and are limited by occlusion. Finexus, a new project, has pushed the boundaries of the VR concept even further. This newly designed product, utilizes fingernail sized magnets, placed on the fingertips of the user, to project the location of the user’s fingers in 3-dimensional space. This revolutionary device does not require to maintain a line of sight, is immune to occlusion and gives a natural experience to the user. The electromagnets in Finexus operate at different frequencies, thus differentiating the movement of different fingertips at different sensing points. The project uses four magnetic sensors which are found to be accurate within 1.3 millimeters.
Any future product derived from Finexus will be composed of two main components: a glove that contains the electromagnets and a smartwatch or wrist band that contains the sensors. Currently, the maximum possible distance between the electromagnets and the sensors, without compromising the functionality, is around 12 centimeters. It is expected to be almost double in the future with the advancement in this technology.
Principles
The principle of operation of Finexus is somewhat similar to that of Global Positioning System (GPS). In Finexus, the distance between an electromagnet and the four magnetic sensors is determined and the intersection of these distances is used to project the position of the electromagnet in 3-dimensional space. In the future, more electromagnets can be added to the system without the introduction of additional sensors to project the movement of the user’s fingers in 3-D.
Background information
Finexus was created by a group of researchers from the University of Washington and Oculus Research. Oculus Rift is a project of Oculus VR and is basically a pair of VR goggles that can be used with a gaming console or a computer. Finexus project was initiated by Keyu Chen, a graduate student at the University of Washington during his internship at Oculus Research. The project is currently being handled by researchers from both the institutions and a research paper on the project will be presented at the ACM CHI Conference in May 2016. According to Chen, Finexus can not only revolutionize the modern gaming but also can be used to perform some tasks which require delicate finger motion such as writing in the air or playing a virtual keyboard.
