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UoT prof and startup CEO to discuss future beyond keyboards at San Fran conference

University of Toronto professor and CEO of digital makeover platform ModiFace, Parham Aarabi, will head down to San Francisco next month to speak at the MobileBeat conference on the mobile user experience and the future of mobile keyboards. 
 
In an article he wrote for VentureBeat explaining the basis of his talk, Aarabi looks at intelligent touch screen devices and dynamic keyboards, which change based on probable letters. But what he's most fascinated by is the world "beyond keyboards," which makes up the backbone of his current research at the University of Toronto. 
 
Extended Touch is a technology that turns any surface into a keyboard just by placing a mobile device on it. 
 
"…A user can tap a location on any surface that a mobile device is placed on, and based on the unique vibrations and sounds, we detect the exact location tapped," Aarabi explains. "Although the core tap detection technology works reasonably well, there are several important challenges that will need to be overcome. However, it is possible in the future that such an interface (i.e. typing on any surface) combined with a probabilistic keyboard will make a viable method for text entry."
 
Aarabi is developing this technology alongside a team at the University of Toronto's Mobile Applications Lab (APL). He believes this technology will influence everything from presentations to the creation of novel musical instruments and game interfaces.
 
Check out the full article here and learn more about APL here.
Original Source: VentureBeat
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