• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 1, 2015

A Google patent turns the human body into a keyboard. The patent, granted Tuesday, describes methods for a virtual input device that can detect the shape of a person's arm before displaying the image. 

The virtual input device in one example includes a camera and a projector that projects a pattern onto a surface. The camera captures images interpreted by a processor to determine actions. The patent's inventor describes mounting the projector on an arm of a pair of eyeglasses and the camera on an opposite arm of the eyeglasses.

The virtual input device can project the image on an arm or hand and change shape depending on the shape of the hand. The camera would detect when the user uses an opposite hand to select items of the virtual input device.

Quartz reporter Mike Murphy, who first spotted the patent, describes it as "a virtual version of Nintendo's Power Glove." The patent shows different keyboards for different situations, such as a keypad for calls, or a full QWERTY keyboard for longer messages.

While patents don't necessarily predicts the next product from Google, a representative for Google told Quartz that "the Google Glass team is 'heads down working on the future of the project,'" writes Murphy.