MIT Wear Ur World: Turns any surface into a touchscreen display

By Juniper Foo on 10 February 2009, 10:32am

Step aside, Apple and Microsoft. If the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's gadget sees the commercial light of day, we can toss our multitouch devices out the window. Who needs a Surface or an iPhone when you can access information by turning any flat surface into a touchscreen display? No surface available? Simply project a screen onto your hand. It's all rather Minority Report-esque.

The folks at MIT have christened their wearable prototype 'Wear Ur World' (WUW). It's a device cobbled together using everyday gadgets like a mobile projector, webcam and mobile phone. Hopefully, when the final product ships, it'll have a discreet mode for when you need to access information privately.

As an example of the device's capabilities, the wearer can draw a circle on their wrist, prompting the gadget to project a digital clock face. That's especially useful for the short-sighted.

In the near future, WUW could provide product and price-comparison information when shopping, retrieve flight information to let the wearer know about delays, automatically pull up information from the Web when requested, and even snap pictures when you frame a subject with your fingers.