This should make for some interesting train commutes:
TOKYO (Nikkei)--NTT DoCoMo Inc. (9437) has developed a cellular phone
with which a user can "talk" to the person at the other end without
uttering a sound, according to company sources.
The phone will allow users to make phone calls without disturbing people
nearby and will also make it possible to get a message across even when
calling from a noisy spot, the sources claim.
A user just has to mouth words without making themselves audible because
the sensor on the phone picks up electric signals released by facial
muscles, producing the appropriate words for the listener.
The major mobile phone carrier intends to commercialize the phone within
five years.
In prototype trials, the phone recognized the five vowel sounds used in
the Japanese language close to 100% of the time, and it is also
technically possible for the phone to recognize consonants, the sources
claim.
DoCoMo says it is considering using the camera built in to
third-generation mobile phones to read the user's lips, enhancing the
handset's ability to accurately recognize mouthed sounds.
The company aims to use the technology to allow users to create e-mail
messages sent via cell phone as well as to place "voice" calls.
In the mid-1980s, Japanese universities developed technology that was
about 60% accurate in recognizing the sounds being mouthed by subjects
through analysis of electric impulses released by facial muscles.
While similar technological development projects are also underway in
the U.S., DoCoMo's prototype is the world's first able to produce sounds
in accordance with facial movements, according to the sources.
Kyle
x-9 design lab : http://www.x-9.com
Received on Fri Mar 22 04:44:13 2002