Touch
screen-based interactivity has rapidly progressed from being a desired feature
to an almost mandatory requirement for displays utilized in various types of
equipment. Vending machines, home appliances, vehicle control consoles and
industrial instruments increasingly feature a touch screen. The evolution of
human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and computer interfaces (HCIs) is proceeding
with simple button on/off controls giving way to advanced gesture-based screen
interaction requiring so-called multi-touch operation.
The multi-touch technology
revolution essentially began in the year 1982 when the Input Research Group at
the University of Toronto, Canada, developed the first human input multi-touch system.
Frosted glass panel was used with a camera placed behind the glass. As a
result, when a finger or several fingers touched the glass on the otherwise
white background, the camera would detect it as an action, thereby registering
it as an input. Additionally, the system was pressure sensitive since the size
of the dot depended on how hard the person was pressing the glass.
In 2005, Jefferson Han’s presentation of a
low-cost, camera-based sensing technique using Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) truly highlighted the potential role the
technology could play in developing the next generation of human/computer interfaces.
Han’s system was cheap, easy to build, and was used to illustrate a range of
creatively applied interaction techniques.
In 2007, Apple Inc. changed the face of consumer-electronics
market with the release of iPhone, a mobile phone with a multi-touch screen as
user interface. The iPhone’s interface and interaction techniques received
considerable media attention, paving the way for numerous companies flooding
the market with similar products since then. Later that same year, Microsoft
announced their Surface multi-touch table, which had the appearance of a coffee
table with an embedded interactive screen. Cameras were fitted inside the table
that captured reflections of hands and objects as inputs. By employing a grid
of cameras, the Surface has a sensing resolution sufficient to track objects
augmented with visual markers.
At
last year’s CES, 3M debuted its larger-than-life 84-inch Touch
System. This “touch table” supports 4K and is currently
demonstrating its abilities at Chicago’s Museum of Science. There are reports
that a 100-inch version is under development. Multi-touch display technology
holds great promise for future product development. By focusing on simplicity
in the manufacturing process, cost efficiencies, and effectively using existing
technologies, Lemur music controller came
into existence— believed to be the world’s first commercial multi-touch display
product to market in a time span of only three years.
Undoubtedly,
multi-touch technology has reshaped the ways in which we interact with the
digital world on a daily basis. As consumer technology continues to evolve,
there’s no telling what the future might hold. From smartphones to tablets,
multi-touch devices have become a routine part of our everyday lives.
Multi-touch PC experiences are well on their way, and Ractiv’s Touch+ is one of
many; launched this August. Touch+ by
Ractiv enables users to utilize or any flat surface as a controller for their
desktop or laptop, similar to that of an iPad or other tablet device. By utilizing
the technology that detects a user’s hand movements, Touch+ effectively removes
the necessity for a traditional mouse or trackpad, and simulates the experience
of using a tablet or touch-screen device on a desktop or laptop.
Multi-touch
technology combined with surface computing is
radically transforming our relationship with computers. Films like Minority
Report, The Matrix: Revolutions, District 9, and Quantum of
Solace have all included multi-touch interfacing in their predictions for
the future, a future we are already beginning to experience today. One of
the most important technological advances of the past five years has been about
the interface. As new and improved gadgets become capable of an ever-expanding
variety of functions, consumers are equally thinking more creatively about how
they interact with them. Usability is a huge priority in technology design. As
a result, the world's leading technology manufacturers are investing millions
of dollars into making their devices easier to control.
For
our relevant report on multi-touch technology, visit the following link:
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