Projected capacity with the Atmel-powered Ootsidebox

Jean-Noël says projected capacity is the primary principle behind his Atmel-powered Ootsidebox.

“An electric field projected in front of the existing touch surface is [affected] by movements of the hand,” he recently told Elektor.

“By measuring the perturbations of an oscillator caused by the movement of the user’s fingers (or any object, for that matter) at several centimeters from the control surface it is possible to calculate 3D coordinates and recognize certain gestures.”

According to Jean-Noël, the underlying technology is based on e-field analysis, which offers “touchless” gesture-based interaction for a wide range applications, including mobile devices such as tablets, along with portable game consoles, electronic cookbooks and healthcare equipment.

Jean-Noël says his goal is to raise funds for Ootsidebox with a crowdfunding campaign on either Kickstarter or Indiegogo later this year.

“As potential customers for this innovation, we are addressing the DIY community of Makers, hackers, modders and independent game developers,” he told Bits & Pieces in an interview conducted via e-mail.

“This is really an open source and open hardware project that is compatible with the Arduino IDE. Even the mechanical parts will be designed in a way that they will be easy to print in 3D. This way you will be free to make your own custom version.”

Jean-Noël also noted that he specifically chose the versatile AT90USB1286 Atmel microcontroller (MCU) to power his invention.

“The main benefits will be the easy integration in Arduino’s ecosystem, along with the existence of a great and powerful community,” he explained. “One of the [primary] keys to [ensuring] success in a crowdfunding campaign is building a fan community that will help us spread the word.”

Jean-Noël has already presented the Atmel-powered Ootsidebox at a wide range of hacker and maker venues, including the San Francisco HackerSpace and various Fablabs in France. Jean-Noël has also clinched a partnership with the Elektor/CircuitCellar Group.

“As I said, this project is 100% open and we invite everyone to participate on Twitter. Just post your questions and suggestions here: @OOTSIDEBOX, while including the hashtag #AtmelBlog. I’ll answer you personally,” he added.

A paper-thin wireless touch surface with Atmel

Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) has developed an uber-thin wireless touch interface. The flexible interface, measuring less than 0.5 mm thick, turns any area into a touch surface for mobile devices and even desktops.

“Lightweight and flexible, the device can be integrated into a protective cover or used to create large touch zones on a desktop,” a CSR rep explained. “With minimal weight and bulk, a full keyboard experience can be added to a tablet without taking up valuable screen area. Thin enough to slip behind the pages of a notebook, it can be used to pick up handwriting and sketches from the nib of a modified pen.”

So how does it work? Well, the paper-thin surface is wirelessly connected using the CSR1010 chip which is optimized for Bluetooth smart, allowing it to link to the latest iOS7 mobile devices and Windows 8 PCs. Meanwhile, touch latency is minimized to less than 12mS, ensuring near instant visual feedback and enabling a seamless user experience.

To create the ultra-thin wireless touch surface, CSR partnered with Atmel and Conductive Inkjet Technology (CIT). More specifically, the device uses Atmel’s touch silicon tech to sense multiple contact points on a surface – and is therefore capable of offering a full touch surface or power optimized key detection.

CSR will be showcasing its ultra-thin touch surface at IFA Berlin (Hall 1.2 Stand 104) from September 6-11, 2013.