With so much of our computing shifting from the traditional mouse/keyboard combo to multitouchinterfaces over the last four years, it’s hard to imagine another big shift coming anytime soon. Yet researchers at the Carnegie Mellon Human Computer Interaction Institute (along with Microsoft) are hoping they can spur on another revolution. While it’s far from being ready for mass consumer use, they have developed – and are already demonstrating – tech that will essentially turn any surface into a touchscreen interface.
The tech, called OmniTouch, projects a smartphone-like UI onto common surfaces. Not limited to obvious planes like tables and walls, it can also work with a hand or an arm, adjusting the projected interface along with movement. It detects touch points, including multitouch, and is friendly with the likes of pinch-to-zoom. It also plays nicely with Kinect-like 3D gestures, allowing for examples like cupping a hand forward for “private mode,” and back for “public mode.”
More at Techcrunch
Top Comments