Hand gesture recognition technology has been emerging for a number of years with a variety of applications. The TAP Strap™ introduces a new way of utilizing this process in the world of communications, music, and social media interaction.

The TAP Strap, developed by Tap Systems, Inc., headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, integrates one-hand advanced sensing into a compact yet comfortable ‘strap’ that communicates via Bluetooth HID to your smartphone, smartTV’s, tablets, readers, computers, and other IOS or Android devices. With each tap on just about any tappable surface, the TAP Strap sends a character command in three-dimensional space through the device from whichever finger makes contact making even VR a more immersive and natural experience. Anything you touch now becomes your keyboard: your desk, armchair, window, book, even your arm, knee or head. As long as you can tap, you are typing.

The Tap Strap at work

This disruptive technology is particularly important to those who cannot see conventional keyboards and cell phone keypads very well. For those using Voiceover or text-to-speech programs, the TAP Strap is extremely valuable. Most new users can usually learn the tap method in about an hour using TAP’s TapGenius App™ which is based on a mnemonic-based learning system combining musical and visual game tutorials making the learning curve fun and engaging.

The WikiTek staff also sees an emerging application for this technology in the court reporting arena where minimal keystroke use is part of the task and accuracy is crucial. The need for expensive court reporting machines could potentially be a thing of the past. The only thing the reporter need bring to the courtroom is a small briefcase with a laptop and two Tap Straps. The reporter is ready within seconds typing away on the surface of the court reporter desk. This is the sort of futuristic technology that only science fiction generally dreams up, yet available today.

The Tap Strap

“Tap has the potential to become the communication mode of the future, providing fast, accurate interfacing in situations where no physical keyboard exists,” said David Schick, Tap’s inventor. “Tap is more discreet and accurate than voice input, and is faster and more precise than gesture-based systems.”

“Tap brings an entirely new dimension to how we can interface with the digital world,” said Ran Poliakine, Tap’s co-founder.  “Tap’s fundamental technology is applicable not only to language but also to music, gaming, and control.  It is a new modality that opens up a world of creative possibilities.  We are partnering with creative developers and select OEMs to help us unlock its full potential.  Our goal is to create an ecosystem in which our partners utilize Tap to deliver new and exciting experiences for our users.

Developer Opportunities

A Tap Development Kit will be available to developers to allow them to harness the capabilities of Tap into a broad range of applications including gaming, AR, and VR using the Tap platform.  By supporting an ecosystem of developers, the Tap value to consumers can ultimately extend to other languages, games, music, interactive AR/VR and perhaps to new and creative solutions for the future needs of computing. A Tap reference design will also be made available to select OEMs for integration into their existing and future product lines including wearables and other innovations.

TAP Roots

Tap Systems, Inc. was founded in 2015 by veteran entrepreneurs David Schick, Sabrina Kemeny and Ran Poliakine.  The company’s debut product, Tap, is designed to provide unparalleled freedom and access to electronic devices anywhere and at any time.  The Tap Strap is a wearable Bluetooth keyboard that allows you to send messages, texts, and emails by simple tapping on the nearest surface.  Tap is fast, accurate, easy to learn, eyes-free, and entirely mobile. Go online and reserve yours today.

The Tap Strap works on almost any surface