Input Device

Tired of running out of mousing room on your meagre li'l mousepad? If so, you might like the Padrone Primera mouse. It's worn like a ring, and is claimed to turn the entire top of your desk into a giant touchpad.

Last year we told you about the CharaChorder Lite, a special keyboard that lets users type faster by using groupings of keys to represent entire words. Well, any keyboard can now do that, if it's equipped with the CharaChorder X.

Back in 2016 we told you about a wearable device known as the Tap Strap, which lets users control Bluetooth-linked devices via finger-taps. Its inventors have now announced its sleeker and more capable successor, called the TapXR.

Although there are already complex prototype interfaces that track all of the fingers on a computer-user's hand, let's be honest – it's mostly just the index finger that matters. That's where the experimental AuraRing system is designed to come in.

It's not uncommon for us humans to communicate via pokes and other skin-on-skin gestures. Could the same thing work for communicating with devices? It turns out that if you give those gadgets a coating of "Skin-On" artificial skin, the answer is Yes.

​Smartwatches may be handy, but their small screens can make them awkward to use. It was with this in mind that scientists created a system known as DeformWear. It lets users control a smartwatch by using their fingertips to press, push or pinch a wearable sensor that's about the size of a pea.

If you're finding that there just aren't enough shortcuts on your computer's keyboard, the Finger-Aware Shortcuts system may be what you need. It accesses different functions assigned to the same key, based on which finger you use to press it.

The humble computer mouse hasn't changed much since it was first conceived back in the 1960s, but the new Logitech Yoga Mouse has an interesting trick up its sleeve. It doubles as a Windows remote control for taking command of your media player, presentation software and other applications.

The VRgo chair is a tilting input device that moves the user through a virtual reality setting by tracking the direction of their derrière, freeing up the hands for other tasks, like wielding weapons. ​

Touchpads with multi-touch support can have some pretty neat functionality. The Sensel Morph, however, is like a touchpad on steroids. In addition to multi-touch support, it is pressure-sensitive and can swap its top layer to become almost any type of controller.

There's plenty of smart pens that stream your scribbles to digital displays, but they typically require that you to write on a certain purpose-built materials. Phree aims to break free of such limitations by shooting a laser beam from its tip to allow writing on just about any surface.

The latest book to join a growing library of digitally inspired writing platforms is Rocketbook, and it does so with an interesting twist. Further to shooting handwritten notes and doodles to the cloud, when it fills up users can stick the book in the microwave to wipe its pages clean.