Microsoft research has come up with a pretty cool new technology that allows for multitouch input on everyday surfaces. Utilizing a laser-based pico projector and depth-sensing camera, Microsoft is able to create a interactive touch screen on any surface, even on your hand.
Dubbed OmniTouch, this technology is a wearable system that allows multitouch input on “arbitrary, everyday surfaces,” according to a description on Microsoft’s Research website.
“We wanted the ability to use any surface. Let the user define the area of where they want the interface to be, and have the system do its best to track it frame to frame. This creates a highly flexible, on-demand user interface. You can tap on your hand or drag your interface out to specify the top left and bottom right border. All this stems from the main idea that if everything around you is a potential interface, then the first action has to be defining an interface area,” Microsoft stated.
Microsoft Research is continuing to experiment with the unconventional use of touch in devices to extend Microsoft’s vision of ubiquitous computing.
