A Kickstarter campaign is heating up over a device called Phree. It’s for writing on nearly any surface you want to and seeing your writing instantly appear on your screen. In a promotional video, a presenter says, “In 2015 we love our touchscreeens.” Only, there’s one problem: “They are not a perfect input device.” Users need better precision and more space, and so a mobile input device Phree was created, taking you way beyond the screen.
This is a high-resolution mobile input device, where you can sketch or jot down notes, thoughts, addresses, numbers, and such, without the added effort of having to unlock a phone, open an app and wait. Phree will connect to a range of devices: phone, tablet, laptop, TV, anything with a Bluetooth connection.
The design involves an oval cross-section for usefulness and comfort. Held in writing position, Phree’s touch display always faces the user. One can touch to change from pen to highlighter or from red to blue or from messaging to dialing. Phree prototypes are in black, graphite, silver and gold. The battery will last around one week for typical usage. Full charging time is about one hour.
The key driver that enables Phree is “Optical Translation Measurement” (OTM) technology. The OTM sensor is a 3D laser interferometer which tracks the relative motion of a nearby surface, they said, by measuring the interference signal between a laser beam projected on the surface and reflections from the surface. The signal is translated to X-Y-Z motion information by their signal-processing algorithms running on a small, integrated electronics component.
For developers, this is an open platform. They said, “An open API allows developers to make use of the screen for specific interaction with their applications.
The range of prices for the Phree device(s) is said to be between $220 to $320 depending on the package and estimated delivery is April 2016…….
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