NailO – The thumb sized trackpad

The future of hands-free control could actually have everything to do with your hands if MIT’s Media Lab student’s new gadget catches on. It’s an incredible wearable device that fits on your thumbnail, and then turns it into a mini wireless trackpad!

A trackpad the size of a thumbnail, How on earth could that ever be useful? Well, apparently NailO could really come in handy in situations when your hands are full, but you need to control a nearby device like your smartphone or computer. For example, your hands are really messy from doing some DIY around the house and your smartphone starts ringing. Instead of covering your phone in dirt and damaging it, you could operate it using your thumb trackpad instead!

Yes, this device can be used to do simple things like answering your phone while your hands are full, but it could also be used to do multiple operations at once to streamline activities on devices. Just imagine you are typing a message on your phone, and then simply tapping the NailO to toggle between symbol sets without interrupting your flow of typing.

If you enjoy reading a lot on your smartphone or tablet, you might also find this gadget very useful. You can use the NailO to push down the page with minimal effort and movement, which is far less compared to constantly swiping your finger all the time.

MIT graduate student, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, said “Because of its small size, it is very subtle and discreet. If I am busy cooking with both of my hands, but I want to scroll through a recipe, I can use NailO as a third hand to help me do so – without getting my tablet or smartphone dirty!”

This impressive little device has capacitive sensors, a rechargeable battery and three separate chips squeezed inside of it. Of course, it can be personalised too… fashionistas, techies and anyone in between, NailO can make a style, art or design statement.

The NailO isn't exactly intended to be a full-time trackpad like the one on your laptop. It is designed for just simple, quick interactions like to send a message or email reply that you've mapped to a specific gesture. Or it can just be used to answer or end phone calls.

While the concept of it seems very interesting, it is more of a novelty device then anything. But the researchers at MIT have a different opinion, they believe if they can get the size down to something smaller or thinner then it could be an interesting addition to the sea of wearable devices that are popping up everywhere.

So, is this NailO trackpad really a great idea? Could you see yourself going about your day at home and at work with a trackpad on your thumb?

Learn more about the NailO, by checking out the video here…

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town