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

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.

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