Forget transferring files via email, flash drives or services like Dropbox. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on a project that will allow you to move files from one device to another with nothing more than a swipe of your finger.
Swÿp, the brainchild of MIT PhD student Natan Linder and undergraduate researcher Alexander List, both of whom work with MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces group, is a "framework" allowing the transfer of files through apps from one device to another with a physical gesture.
Even better, according to Co.Design's Suzanne Labarre, devices don't have to be hacked or altered in any way for Swÿp to work; List and Linder developed the framework so that it works with a device's existing capabilities. She explains:
Swÿp gathers information such as your phone and iPad’s approximate location (available via WiFi) and account details (via sites like Facebook or Gmail), then ties that information to a real-time gesture, the swipe (or Swÿp). Hold up two Swÿp-enabled devices next to each other, and they’re able to communicate in a language both understand: a hybrid of the digital and physical worlds.
While Swÿp is still in the works, Linder hopes to eventually make the framework widely available to app developers, who can incorporate its services into their products.
"I really think the future of this is to go to a point where, if you have an iPhone or an Android or a screen to connect, then you can apply this software," Linder told The Huffington Post. "You can point it to these different devices...and just use it freely for apps because it’s just general purpose."
As shown in the video above, Swÿp will work not only with devices but also with another of Linder's projects, LuminAR, technology that works with existing light fixtures to augment normal surfaces with the same media and information you can view on your laptop or smartphone. LuminAR technology was recently showcased at MIT Media Lab's Inside Out conference held last month through the Augmented Product Counter project, which, according to CNET, allows you to control a computer with a surface augmented with tappable images.
Check out the video above to learn more about how Swÿp works, then tell us: What do you think about this new technology? Share your thoughts with us below!
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