In a 13-person trial in Seattle, Washington, Skinput was found to be 96 percent accurate.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

Skinput is one of a number of prototypes, ideas and near-products aiming to make computing more natural.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

Before that can happen, Skinput's sensors need to get more accurate, he said.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

When fitted with a pico-projector, the Skinput system could display an image of a digital keyboard on a person's forearm.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

So, using Skinput, someone could send text messages by tapping his or her arm in certain places -- without pulling the phone out of a pocket or purse.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

The system, which has been under development for eight months, won't be commercially available for two to seven years, said Dan Morris, a Microsoft researcher who is working with Harrison on Skinput.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

These devices seek to move beyond the mouse and physical keyboard, letting people communicate with their gadgets by gesturing, using sign language or, in the case of Skinput, tapping on their hands, fingers and forearms.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons

Harrison, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University and a former intern at Microsoft Research, has developed a working prototype of a system called Skinput that does just that, essentially by turning a person's hand and forearm into a keyboard and screen.

CNN: Microsoft's Skinput turns hands, arms into buttons