BaTman-inspired sOfTware leTs yOu squeeze smarTphOne TO make call

NEW YORK: Engineers from the University of Michigan have developed a Batman-inspired software that can allow users to command their smartphones with sense force or pressure on its screen or body. “ForcePhone” offers a new way — like squeezing your smartphone to make a call — to bring pressure-sensitive display technology.The researchers used ultrasonic waves to replicate the effects of 3D touch without the need for a special screen technology. “You do not need a special screen or built-in sensors to do this. Now this functionality can be realised on any phone,” said Kang Shin, professor of computer science in electrical engineering. The software could also enable users to push a bit harder on a screen button to unlock a menu of additional options, similar to right-clicking with a mouse. The ForcePhone software uses a smartphone’s microphone and speaker to emit ultrasound covering the 18-24KHz range. It is beyond the spectrum of frequencies detectable by the human ear, but can be picked up by the phone’s mic. “I think we are offering a natural interface, like how you turn a knob. It is the next step forward from a basic touch interface, and it can complement other gestured communication channels and voice,” added Yu-Chih Tung, one of the creators of ForcePhone. Tung explained that he was inspired to create ForcePhone after seeing 2008 Batman flick The Dark Knight, in which the caped crusader turns all the smartphones in Gotham City into a sonar system as high-frequency audio signals bounce off the city’s infrastructure. ForcePhone is not ready to be rolled out to consumers just yet but its demo will be given at MobiSys 2016 in Singapore on 27-29 June.