Balloon turned into an input device

When’s the last time you used a balloon for anything other than making animals or decorating a party? Well in the future, those inflatable flexible bags filled with gas could be repurposed for other purposes. Some folks over in Japan have come up with a way to turn balloons into input devices with the use of a pressure sensor and a microphone. Every time a user strokes, strikes or squeezes the balloon, the sensors can detect the distinctive sound of stroking the balloon or change in pressure to recognize the action.

The creators of the system intend to use the balloon as a way to enable long distance communication, with the balloon working as a two-way system – but that will come in the future. They are also working on making the system easier to use by utilizing a more durable object like a beach-ball, which makes more sense, since balloons tend to pop easily. Check out the video demonstration of this interesting input system:

George Wong
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Japan