FingerWorks is an American company dedicated to the problem of recognition of human gestures by computers ( gesture recognition ). Known mainly for its multi-touch keyboard TouchStream .
| Fingerworks | |
|---|---|
| Base | 1998 |
| Location |  Newark, United States |
| Industry | Gesture recognition |
| Parent company | Apple Inc. |
Founded by John Elias and Wayne Westerman of the University of Delaware in 1998 , the company has been manufacturing multi-touch products, including iGesture panels and TouchStream keyboards, which have been especially useful for people suffering from DC voltage injury ( RSI ) ( repertitive strain injury ) and other diseases. Keyboards were discontinued at the beginning of 2005, when the company's assets were acquired by Apple .
History
Westerman worked on a dissertation on sensory surface manipulations at the graduate school of the University of Delaware . When Westerman was finishing his dissertation, he, along with Elias, a professor in his department, founded the company FingerWorks. Westerman's dissertation formed the basis for some of the company's products.
The company's products occupied a high-end niche, and were more likely to be "entertainment" for computer geeks, despite good press reviews and awards. [1] [2]
In early 2005, FingerWorks discontinued new products. The termination of the issue was associated with a change in ownership of the company. [3] Apple was the new owner; Elias and Westerman nonetheless remained at FingerWorks.
In June 2005, FingerWorks officially announced the cessation of production [4] . The founders of the company continue the process of obtaining patents for their products at the end of 2007. [5] And as of August 2008, they continued registering patents for Apple Inc [6] [6]
Products
- TouchStream LP - Full-size, folding keyboard [7]
- TouchStream Mini
- iGesture Pad
- iGesture NumPad
See also
- Computer keyboard
- Gesture interface
Links
- Fingerworks Official Website (Works only to support previously released products - Frequently Asked Questions and Documentation)
- Fingerfans fan site, with forums, for fingerworks keyboard owners
- We do not need a mouse and keyboard! overview of fingerworks products in Hacker Magazine
Notes
- ↑ No Press, No Stress: When Fingers Fly // New York Times, January 2002
- ↑ CES showcase Honorees Archived on June 13, 2010. included the WinPad, a new FingerWorks design that never made it into production, 2005
- ↑ In April 2005 former FingerWorks CEO Jeffrey White was described as follows: "Jeffrey White was most recently the CEO and Chairman of FingerWorks, Inc. a privately held producer of Computer Software and Hardware targeted at the input systems market. In this capacity, he successfully transformed a fledging startup into a leading edge provider of input technologies, which was ultimately acquired by a multi-billion dollar supplier of IT software and hardware for a price equal to 25 times revenue. from Coates Analytics (link not available)
- ↑ Mac Rumors notes the company closing the year before, March 10, 2006
- ↑ [6] ^ Patent list for Fingerworks, 2006-2007
- ↑ 1 2 [7] ^ Beyond Multi-Touch: Voice, Gaze, Facial Expression Recognition
- ↑ TouchStream ST / LP - User's Guide