This robotic finger for smartphones is just plain creepy
In yet another bizarre by-product of technological advancement, a researcher in France has developed a touch-sensitive robotic finger that can attach itself to smartphones. What does it do? Well...among other things, it can crawl across desks and waggle for attention when your smartphone receives notifications. If that wasn't creepy enough, it can also stroke its owners hand (?!). Here are all the bizarre details.
Details about what the robotic finger, MobiLimb, can do
The robotic finger, dubbed MobiLimb, was developed by French PhD student Marc Teyssier to explore the interaction between a "finger and a phone". Apart from its crawly and touchy functions, the robotic finger can serve as a joystick and can be used in games and by virtual avatars. It can also prop a device up for effortless movie watching, and offers other ergonomic functions.
The interface is so unexpected that it's not "accepted" yet
"People mostly say that it's crazy and it's creepy, and also...related to sexual stuff...It was not intended at all, but that's how people react. I guess it's because this interface is so weird and unexpected that it's not accepted yet," Teyssier told BBC.
Despite all the interest, the device won't be commercially available
Despite its creepiness, Teyssier said that there was a lot of online interest in the device. However, in spite of all the interest and "tons of emails", Teyssier has no plans to sell his weird, feely, robotic finger. Instead, he plans to put an open source version online to help interested parties understand and build the device themselves.
