Kinect, you’re the One. You make bathtime so much fun.
Pop culture has taught me to keep plugged in electronics away from bath tubs lest I be victim of some accidental or nefarious plot upon my life. Because electricity. Thankfully, no one seems to have taught this to University of Electro-Communications’ Koike Laboratory researchers, who have managed to do another cool thing with a Kinect that most people will never experience.
By mucking up some water to make it opaque, the water then becomes a surface viable for projection. Add a Kinect, and it becomes a dazzlingly interactive touchscreen capable of reading finger movements from above or below the deep, among other cool actions. It’s more like Minority Report than any other Kinect things I’ve seen, but with the added bonus of a loving warmth, rubber duckies, and battleships.
Too bad I have a crappy, tiny bathtub I don’t fit in. Just the surface projection alone is sort of neat and could make for a wonderful, entertainment filled bathing session. Definitely beats my current set up of tenuously hanging my TV above my tub with a system of rope and pullies whenever I want to watch Jaws while I get my clean on. I’m going to need a bigger tub.
Holy Crap, This Water-Based Display Makes Water’s Surface a Touchscreen [Gizmodo]