Facebook unveiled its mind-reading wrist device and an augmented reality keyboard that would allow users to replace the mouse and keyboard in future hardware products.
The company’s Facebook Reality Labs division showcased the prototype technologies in a virtual liaison with members of the media this week. Division executives talked about the technologies while videos of the projects were shown to the public.
The wrist device is capable of reading neurological signals sent from the user’s brain to the hands. Theoretically, he could read these signals to get an idea of what the user wants to do and replicate the action in a virtual or augmented reality environment.
“In fact, you have more of your brain dedicated to controlling the pulse than any other part of the body, probably twice as many neurons controlling the pulse and hand movement than actually dedicated to the mouth to feed and speak,” he said. TR Reardon, director of scientific research at Facebook Reality Labs.
Facebook researchers demonstrated “force” actions that a user can pinch with their fingers in real life to hold and control distant virtual objects in augmented reality. The name of the action is a reference to the Star Wars franchise, where certain characters can use the Force to control and move people or objects that are far from them.
In addition, the company demonstrated electromyography wristbands that users can use to type on any surface, as if they were typing on a physical keyboard. Although there is no keyboard, the EMG wristbands would record the intentions of the user’s fingers and write down letters and words.
The development of these technologies by Facebook occurs at a time when the company is preparing to launch its first smart glasses later this year. This device will be Ray-Ban glasses and will be launched in partnership with Luxottica.
Unlike smartphones, which have touch screens, or Oculus virtual reality headsets, which have portable controllers, there is no obvious input mechanism for smart glasses. That’s why Facebook is working on these projects.
Asked when these technologies could reach the public, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer said they were in the early stages of development.
“It is difficult to predict your timeline,” Schroepfer. “How these things happen in the market, when they appear – they are things for which I have no precise answers. Our focus is on strengthening these technologies.”