Money Research

Step 1: Template creation (Projection Module)

A template of the desired interface is projected onto the adjacent interface surface. The template isproduced by illuminating a specially designed, highly efficient holographic optical element with a reddiode laser. Note: the template serves only as a reference for the user and is not involved in thedetection process. In a fixed environment, the template can just as easily be printed onto theinterface surface.

Step 2: Reference plane illumination (Micro-illumination ModuleTM)

An infra-red plane of light is generated just above, and parallel to, the interface surface. This light isinvisible to the user and hovers a few millimeters above the surface. When the user touches a keyposition on the interface surface light is reflected from this plane in the vicinity of the key and directedtowards the sensor module.

Step 3: Map reflection coordinates (Sensor Module)

Reflected light from user interactions with the interface surface is passed through an infra-red filterand imaged on to a CMOS image sensor in the sensor module. Custom hardware embedded in thesensor chip (the Virtual Interface Processing CoreTM) then makes a real-time determination of thelocation of the reflected light. The processing core can track multiple reflection events simultaneouslyand can thus support both multiple keystrokes and overlapping cursor control inputs.

Step 4: Interpretation and communication (Sensor Module)

The micro-controller in the sensor module receives the positional information corresponding to thelight flashes from the sensor processing core, interprets the events (e.g. keydown, keyup, mouse ortouchpad control etc..) and communicates them through an appropriate interface to external devices.

Money was originally a physical substance like gold and silver. It could even be alive -cattle were one of the oldest forms of money. Today, although much of the moneyused by individuals in their everyday transactions is still in the form of notes andcoins, its quantity is small in comparison with the intangible money that exists only asentries in bank records. Perhaps coins and banknotes will become as obsolete ascowrie shells.A major change in the nature of money would have significant unintendedconsequences. The advantages for criminals and tax evaders could be considerable

Payment Systems and Organisations

Linden Dollars: Currency ExchangeSecond Life is a 3-D virtual world created by its residents with a marketplacecurrently supporting millions of US dollars in monthly transactions.

This commerce ishandled with the the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at severalthriving online Linden dollar exchanges. Oyster wave-and-pay trial is successfulA combined travel and payment card from Transport for London, Barclaycard andVisa works, a trial has found. 8th May 2007. Free Digital Money

Free Digital Money is a free open source project aimed at promoting ideas andstimulating further innovation in the field of digital bearer money. It is like cash andcan be transferred person-to-person without going through a bank or PayPalaccount. Triple DealAn international payment service provider (PSP), Triple Deal offers a full-servicepayment based in the Netherlands. As a guarantor between buyer and seller on theInternet, Triple Deal acts as a reliable third party to create confidence and certainty inInternet transactions. Merchant Account ServicesThe aim of the site is to provide merchants with the tools they need to make informeddecisions when acquiring merchant services. BT click &buy

This BT facility allows Internet users to pay for online content and services via their BT home or business telephone bill. South Korea ready to hang up on cash A television news report on how South Korea has introduced a common system for payments via mobile phones that has been accepted by all the country's banks. BBC,13 February 2009. Paymo

By 2009 70% of the world's online population still did not have credit cards but over 3billion people owned a mobile phone. Paymo allows consumers anywhere in theworld to buy online and pay with their mobile phone.

LUUPLUUP is a payment solution for online and mobile payment. Participants get a mobilewallet they can use to pay with their mobile phone or online. Just like an ordinarywallet, the LUUP wallet can contain cash and credit/debit cards. Developing world's text bank planA three-year project led by the UK will build on an earlier money transfer programmeset up in Kenya. It is hoped that a banking system using mobile phones could soonhelp millions of the world's poorest people to tackle poverty. BBC, 13 February 2009. Money transfer service wows KenyaThe lives of many Kenyans are being transformed by an innovative mobile phonemoney transfer service, M-PESA. BBC, 3 April 2007. Mobile Phone Banking and Low-Income Customers: Evidence from South AfricaA report by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, the World Bank and UnitedNations Foundation and the Vodafone Group Foundation, 2006.Out of AfricaAn article by David Birch describing how mobile phones are being used to transfer money in Africa. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, December 2005, vol.10, no.3. Upwardly mobileHow mobile phones and scratch cards can be used to transfer money rapidly andcheaply in Africa. Dave Birch, The Guardian, August 18, 2005. The real digital divideMobile phones are used to make cashless payments in Zambia and several other African countries. The Economist, March 10, 2005. Africa's cell phone boom creates a base for low-cost bankingIn South Africa mobile phones are beginning to perform another function: personalpiggy bank.Christian Science Monitor, August 28 2005. Taking chargeAs BT seeks to grow its online payments business, Ken Young asks if it can rivalPayPal's success. Guardian, February 3, 2005. Phones Become All-Purpose Payment DevicesGartner Research has issued a report detailing the possibilities of using mobilephones as all-purpose payment devices. June 28, 2004. Put the tab on my mobileAn innovative payments system for your phone could give credit card companies arun for their money. Ben Hammersley, the Guardian, May 27, 2004. ePointA system designed for annonymous electronic transactions, includingmicropayments. Geek CreditGeek Credit is a digital complementary currency for internet. It is decentralized,secure, interest and demurrage free. It is backed by mutual credit (time). There is nocentral issuing and control authority, so it is a true peer-to-peer currency. Smart Voucher