物聯網時代的Myo 不只是超級遙控器
The keyboard; the mouse; the touchscreen: each new generation of computing has been accompanied by its own new kind of input device. But as we enter the internet-of-things era, no standard has yet been established.
鍵盤、鼠標、觸摸屏，每一代新的計算機技術都伴隨着一種新式的輸入設備。但在我們進入物聯網時代之際，輸入領域還尚未建立起統一的標準。Several companies are trying to free us from the screen altogether, creating ways to control our digital lives by using little more than the “input devices” we were born with — the natural gestures of our hands and fingers.
有幾家公司正在嘗試讓我們完全從屏幕前解脫出來，它們利用的不過是我們與生俱來的“輸入設備”——手和手指的自然活動——從而發明出控制我們的數字生活的方法。
Gesture-control technology has come a long way since Nintendo’s Wii got gamers off the sofa and waving their arms around in the living room. Now Microsoft’s Kinect can track precisely how our limbs move. The 3in Leap Motion controller, which plugs into a PC, can detect the tiniest changes in the position of a finger.
自任天堂(Nintendo)的Wii遊戲機使玩家離開沙發、在客廳四處揮舞手臂以來，手勢控制技術已經取得了很大進步。現在，微軟(Microsoft)的Kinect可以精確追蹤我們四肢的任何動作。連接個人電腦的3英寸Leap Motion控制器，可以探測出手指位置最細微的變動。
But using Kinect or Leap means keeping within the field of view of their cameras. A new device, Myo, which I first tried at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, takes a whole new approach to gesture control that does not require a camera.
但使用Kinect或Leap Motio需要處於它們的攝像機鏡頭範圍內。我在1月美國消費電子展(CES)上首次體驗的一款新設備Myo，採用了一種全新的、不需要攝像機的手勢控制方式。When it works, Myo can make you feel like Luke Skywalker using the Force or Tom Cruise in Minority Report. But rather than lightsabres, Myo’s maker, Canada-based Thalmic Labs, has decided the killer app is rather less Hollywood than that: helping to give slideshow presentations.
當Myo運行時，它可以讓你感覺像使用光劍的盧克•天行者(Luke Skywalker)或者《少數派報告》(Minority Report)中的湯姆•克魯斯(Tom Cruise)。但Myo的製造商——加拿大科技公司Thalmic Labs——決定了這款殺手級應用遠沒有好萊塢大片裏的光劍那麼神奇：它可以用來協助幻燈片演示。Slideshow start
幻燈片開始The Myo armband comprises eight rectangular 2in blocks, linked with stretchy rubber and worn snugly on the forearm in direct contact with the skin. Its electromyography (EMG) sensors read electrical activity in the muscles to detect gestures in the hand, while other sensors track the motion of the arm. The armband sends this information to a paired computer or smartphone via Bluetooth, with a barely perceptible delay.
Myo臂環由8塊通過彈性橡膠相連、2英寸大小的長方塊組成，可以緊貼着套在前臂上，直接與皮膚接觸。臂環中的肌電圖(EMG)傳感器可以通過讀取用戶肌肉中的電活動來識別手勢，還有其他傳感器跟蹤手臂運動。這款臂環可以在瞬間將這些信息通過藍牙發送到配對的電腦或智能手機上。Syncing the armband with a computer requires a special pairing gesture: start with your arm across your chest, gently flex your wrist away from your body, pause, then move the whole arm. The movement is purposely not natural to avoid accidental activation, and it took me a while to get right every time.
將這種臂環與電腦同步需要一套特殊的配對手勢：首先將雙臂交叉在胸前，將手腕輕輕移開身體，暫停，然後放下整個手臂。這套手勢有意設計成有別於手臂的自然動作，以避免意外激活設備。每次同步，我都要花點時間才能做對姿勢。Other gestures are a mixture of the intuitive and the awkward. In place of the double-click of a mouse, you double-tap your finger and thumb together. In the slideshow presentation mode, this action replaces the basic clicker or space bar traditionally used to advance through PowerPoint or Keynote, and it works reliably well. I found it a little harder to go back a slide by cocking my wrist inwards and holding it there for a second.
其它手勢有的是本能的，有的看起來也不優美。只要兩根手指頭觸碰兩下就可以取代雙擊鼠標的動作。在演示幻燈片時，這一動作可以取代基本的遙控器或者傳統上用來瀏覽PowerPoint或者Keynote的空格鍵，而且表現相當可靠。我發現通過向內豎起手腕並保持一秒鐘以回看一張幻燈片有點難度。One might ask why, other than sci-fi show-off value, one would wish to replace a clicker with hand gestures. The Myo does add a couple of features: making a fist and rotating it anticlockwise turns on a virtual laser- pointer that can be guided around the screen just by moving your arm; turning the fist clockwise zooms into whatever you are pointing at.
有人可能會問，除了科幻小說式炫耀的價值，人們有什麼理由希望用手勢代替遙控器。Myo的確增加了幾個功能：握拳並逆時針轉動可以開啓一支虛擬激光筆，然後可以通過移動手臂引導光束在屏幕上游走；順時針轉動拳頭，可以將你指向的任何畫面放大顯示。Overall, it is a neat trick, especially for those who like to move around the room as they give a presentation.
總的來說，這是一套很巧妙的設計，尤其是對那些喜歡邊走動邊演講的人來說。More broadly, I worry that pitching Myo as a super-clicker sells its tech short. The device can also be used to control PC applications such as video games, music and movie players, and even email, where opening and closing a fist or rotating a hand can control playback, volume or delete emails. These are fun, but not quite compelling enough to wear Myo all the time.
總的來說，我擔心，將Myo定位爲一款超級遙控器低估了其科技價值。這款設備也可以用來控制電腦應用，如視頻遊戲、音樂和電影播放器，甚至電子郵件，只要你張開或握緊拳頭或者轉動一隻手就可以控制播放、音量或者刪除電郵。這些都很有趣，但要讓人始終佩戴Myo，還不夠有說服力。However, an enthusiastic developer community is coming up with new and ambitious uses all the time. The Myo can already be used to control internet-connected lightbulbs, a GoPro camera, toy robots or fly a drone.
不過，一個熱情的開發者社區正在不斷提出新的、重大的用途。Myo已經能夠被用於控制接入互聯網的燈泡、GoPro攝像機、玩具機器人或者操控無人機飛行。It has huge potential in virtual reality, where there is a desperate need for a breakthrough input device that brings hand and arm movements into a virtual world. Demonstrations have already shown the Myo working with the Oculus Rift, Facebook’s virtual reality headset.
它在虛擬現實中有巨大潛力，這個領域亟需一種突破性的輸入設備將手和手臂的運動帶入虛擬世界。演示活動已經顯示出，Myo可以與Facebook的虛擬現實頭戴設備Oculus Rift協同工作。Mass movement
大衆市場Stephen Lake, Thalmic Labs’ chief executive, says presentations will be a “gateway” reason for the mass market to buy Myo — not just the geeks who want to click their fingers to turn lights on or to disappear into virtual worlds.
Thalmic Labs首席執行官斯蒂芬•萊克(Stephen Lake)稱，幻燈片演示將是大衆市場購買Myo的“入門”原因——而不只是那些想要輕擊手指即可開燈或者消失於虛擬世界的極客會購買。I hope the marketing tactic works, because Myo’s applications are still catching up with a technology that might one day become the standard for how we will operate the internet of things.
我希望這一營銷策略能夠奏效，因爲Myo的各種應用仍在追逐一種技術，或許有一天這種技術能成爲我們操控物聯網的標準。
