GESTURE CONTROL The world in your hands
THE PROMISE When your PC was anchored to a desk, a mouse or track pad was a perfectly adequate tool for relaying commands. But the arrival of mobile devices and the expan- sion of computing into nearly every aspect of daily life neces- sitate better solutions — say, for example, using simple hand motions to control the volume on a stereo or advance a Power- Point slide.
THE PURVEYOR Thalmic Labs, founded in 2012 by three engineering grads from the University of Waterloo, wants to un- leash the constraints of computer interaction and truly merge people with technology. Its Myo gesture control armband, launched last July, was one of 2014’s most anticipated wearable devices; more than 10,000 developers applied to create applica- tions compatible with the product. The armband uses embed-
ded sensors to monitor electrical signals in the user’s muscles and to track motion. That information allows the band to iden- tify specific hand positions or movements to initiate actions on computers, phones and other devices.
THE PROSPECTS Currently selling for US$199, Myo started its life among consumer electronics, but the company expects to venture into the realms of gaming, health, medicine, mili- tary, manufacturing and much more. “We’re interested in how we can use technology to enhance our abilities as humans — in short, giving us ‘superpowers,’” says Stephen Lake, cofounder and CEO of Thalmic Labs. Indeed, the company is partnering with San Francisco’s Augmedix to help doctors record medi- cal data during patient exams and is in other trials to help sur- geons access medical images while operating.
1950 Cobalt-60 (“cobalt bomb”) cancer treatment
1954 Electric
wheelchair 1954 Alkaline battery
1955 Instant replay
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Retractable beer carton handle
1959 Hockey
goalie mask
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Ski-Doo 1959 Crash position indicator
JUNE/JULY 2015 | CPA MAGAZINE | 37
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