Gearfuse

I’ve always wanted to integrate a touch pad into my clothing and thanks to Hannah Perner-Wilson (aka Plusea), that dream could become a reality. For those not familiar with Plusea, she’s all about wearable computing. Her latest work, the Knit Touchpad, is just like the touchpads we use on our notebooks, except this one is made of fabric.

It works with an anti-static glove that Plusea uses to scale the four corners of the fabric pad. Thanks to her intricate walkthrough at Instructables, this DIY yields a lot of potential for wearable touchpads in the future. I can’t wait to add one to my built-in keyboard pants.

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Identity theft has become a major problem in today’s world. There are tons of hackers stealing credit card and social security numbers online, but some people still resort to good old mail snooping. The Keyless Locking Mailbox hopes to put your identity in your hands, where it should be.

The mailbox has an angled slot which allows for the mailman to deliver your mail, but the mail cannot be retrieved until you type in your four-digit PIN code onto the touchpad, activating the unlock mechanism. It’s kind of like a USPS mail drop box for your home. Available now in a choice of white or black for $299. — Andrew Dobrow

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The days of Minority Report-like technology seem closer and closer everyday. With the popularity increasing on touch screens and touch based interfaces, the Ukraine made 3D Touchpad is a step ahead of the crowd.

It’s not even really a touchpad at all technically. You don’t have to touch the thing to make it work. The touchpad can sense movements above the pad area, without any real physical contact. Great for those OCD germ weirdos who hate touching things they’re unfamiliar with.

The 3D touchpad can be kept below the computers keyboard, so the pad won’t take up any extra room to clutter your desk. The Ukraine inventors have high hopes for the 3D touchpad, expecting them to eventually be on every computer. Now that, my friends, would be revolutionary.

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