Friday, May 23, 2008

Multitouch LaserTouch from Microsoft, Andy Wilson, Innovation..

I've been a Mac person since 1985, but I've warmed up to Microsoft a bit over the years. Microsoft Research is involved in many creative endeavors, despite how the company is personified by "PC" in Apple's MAC/PC commercials.

Ever since I had a chance to get my hands on an interactive whiteboard, I've been fascinated by large multi-touch and multi-user displays, and this fascination was part of my motivation to take graduate-level computer/IT classes at mid-life!

After spending an entire semester working on large touch-screen projects last year, Microsoft unveiled the Surface, which is not within my reach. Now that Bill Gate's mantra is "
every surface to be a computer", there might be hope for people like me.

Via CNET news 8/14/08: "During his keynote Wednesday at the CEO Summit, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates shows off TouchWall, a 4-foot-by-6-foot touch-screen computer prototype."(Credit: Microsoft)


Microsoft Research's Andy Wilson developed the software for the LaserTouch prototype. Andy is a member of the Adaptive Systems and Interaction group.

The system will be less expensive than the Surface, but it is not yet ready for the masses:


Via CNET: "Andy Wilson, a researcher from Microsoft Research's Redmond, Wash., campus, demonstrates LaserTouch. An infrared camera tracks how he touches the screen to prompt a response from the software." (Credit: Stefanie Olsen/CNET News.com)

Related:

InfoWorld Article about TouchWall
CNET TouchWall Article

InfoWorld Article about LaserTouch
CNET LaserTouch Article

Natural User Interface - Innovative Multi-touch Solutions


NextWindow NextWindow Videoclips

Shahram Izadi's Research Website

TouchLight: An Imaging Touch Screen for Gesture-Based Interaction pdf

Interacting with Wall-Sized Screens pdf

The Large-Display User Experience pdf

IEEE Tabletops and Interactive Surfaces 2008 Conference Website

October 1-3, the Netherlands

Note:
For those of you new to this blog, I've posted quite a bit about multi-touch displays, Microsoft's Surface table, urban screens and interfaces over the past year or so on the TSHWI and Interactive Multimedia Technology blogs. Also see the links on this blog's sidebars.

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