Fingermouse: UK Researchers Make Any Surface Touch Sensitive

Boffins at the UK's Nottingham University have come up with an extremely simple and frankly ingenious way to turn everything into a touch sensitive device. It works by using a camera to watch your fingernails and picks up on the color change when you press down on an object. Try it now: Put your finger lightly on the table and look at the nail. Now press. See how the tip becomes lighter? That's the blood shifting away.There is also a slight darkening at the base, and the researchers say that the system is accurate enough to determine the amount of pressure the fingers exert. The demonstration video below doesn't exactly make the same case, but it shows the tech in action.It can't be long before somebody takes this and puts it inside a finger-tip mounted widget. Add an accelerometer and you have a pressure sensitive, scrolling mouse. We will call it "Fingermouse"