At MWC 2012 Texas Instruments demonstrated a stylus that could be described as a mix between a stylus and a laser pointer, allowing the user to navigate the interface of a tablet over ultrasonic frequencies. This will allow the user to select, navigate, and zoom in and out without having to actually touch the screen unless they wanted/needed to. This is achieved with the use of microphones placed in each of the four corners of the tablet, which will help the tablet pinpoint where exactly on the screen is the stylus pointing at.
We can imagine the many uses of such a tablet, for example in the education sector, or used in business meetings to conduct presentations, and can even be used by designers to allow them to gain various unique perspectives of their work without having to sit hunched in front of their screens.
At the moment this appears to be merely a tech demo, but according to Texas Instruments, getting it out into the market will probably take a quarter or two.
