Picture, if you will, a scene common to many offices around the world. The break room coffee debate. We’ve all worked with that guy, the one who apparently has not yet grasped the simple courtesy of making another pot of coffee after he’s guzzled the last one. You might have also had the pleasure of working with that other guy, the lone decaf-drinker in the office that stubbornly fills both pots with his preferred weak-as-water brew while the rest of the office twitches and stammers in desperate need of a potent caffeine fix.

Smartphone Sword Fighting

There are plenty of solutions to these irritating co-workers. They could be fired, but have fun explaining that one to HR when they come back with a lawyer. They could be strung up by their ankles and dangled over a pit of hungry crocodiles – a delicious mental image, but unfortunately not too doable in the real world. So what’s the answer? An old-fashioned Smartphone sword fighting duel, of course!

No, we don’t want you to run out and buy a shiny new set of matching pistols. Really. DO NOT BUY PISTOLS. We’re not talking about the type of duel that left many an old-timey gent crumpled to the ground after a sound glove-slapping. No, we’re talking about bringing the duel into the modern age. We’re talking about dueling with your smartphone.

Impossible, you say? Not quite. The folks at Microsoft have come up with a technology (yeah, we know, they might have a bit too much time on their hands) which effectively turns your smartphone into a sword – or, if you’re a Star Wars aficionado, an uber-cool light saber.

Smartphone Sword Fighting – How It Works

The technology behind smartphone sword fighting is actually rather simple (We think) Your phone emits tiny, high-pitched chirps of sound, which are detectable by other smartphones with the same technology. These chirps let you know when you’ve landed a hit or been hit yourself, and they’re reportedly accurate within two centimeters.

Pretty cool, right? We thought so too – actually, we have visions of delightfully wasted work hours dancing through our heads right now. However, mobile motion gaming technology isn’t coming to your smartphone anytime soon. In fact, the technology isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Smartphone Sword Fighting – From Microsoft Research

Apparently, Microsoft doesn’t see the massive time-wasting appeal of this feature. Either that, or they’re secretly creating an unbelievably cool game to go with it. Either way, however, there are no plans whatsoever to release this technology to the general public. One very understandable reason for this is the sound itself – apparently it’s as annoying as an angry cat clawing a blackboard. The rumor mill suggests that lively game music could effectively cover up the noise, allowing you to joust and perry without bleeding eardrums – but as yet, these are just rumors.

We know, it’s a bit of a tease to tell you about this with no foreseeable way to actually test out the application. However, it’s pretty cool just to know it’s out there, and it gives tech lovers something to dream about and drool over. We hope Microsoft will find a way to bring smartphone sword fighting to the masses, and we hope it happens soon. In the meantime, however, we’ll just have to carry on as we have, attacking those evil decaf-brewing trolls with our handmade cardboard swords. Actually, there’s one heading into the break room now…gotta go…


Main Image: Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net


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