ZeroTouch via Interface Ecology Lab At the Computer Human Interaction conference in B.C. this week, a team from Texas A&M University unveiled a touch screen technology they’ve been incubating for a couple of years that isn’t really a screen at all. ZeroTouch, as the project is known, is more like an empty picture frame lined with LEDs and filled with criss-crossing beams of infrared light. Like a mashup of traditional 2-D touch interface with the 3-D applications of, say, Microsoft’s Kinect, its applications are many.
The design seems so simple that it’s almost surprising we haven’t seen something like this until now. ZeroTouch is basically an empty window pane, and the LEDs and IR sensors mounted around its edges detect anything that crosses the plane of that frame (it can recognize up to 20 independent touch points at a time). It doesn’t just register that something is there, but also the size of the object--whether it’s a finger, an entire hand, a tiny stylus, etc.--and whether it is rotating or twisting (this is better explained visually in the video below).
Related Articles
A New Tactile Touch Screen Can Change from Smooth to Sticky for Better Feedback
Multitoe Turns Floors Into Massive Multitouch Screens You Control With Your Feet
A Mobile Touchscreen Projectable On Any Flat SurfaceTagsTechnology, Clay Dillow, computer interfaces, computers, kinect, texas a&m university, touch screens, zerotouchSince ZeroTouch allows a user not only to touch but to reach through the “screen,” it opens itself to numberless applications. Laid on a flat surface, it can be used as a drawing board or a drafting stylus. Placed over any conventional screen, it instantly and inexpensively turns it into a touch screen. Or it can be suspended in space so the user can actually reach through it, offering it a 3-D capability that other touch screen interfaces lack.
So far, such 3-D applications haven’t really been exploited beyond a pretty straightforward painting program, but the possibilities are there. The Aggies behind ZeroTouch next plan to create a layered device wherein multiple screens are stacked atop one another, giving it a greater degree of depth of control.
See it work in the IDG report below.
[PhysOrg]
Previous Article: Video: Telepresence Balloon Lets Your Boss's Face Watchfully Follow You EverywhereNext Article: Crab Nebula Emits Largest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen, Puzzles Astronomers 6 Comments Link to this comment Jivaii 05/12/11 at 3:26 pmCould they make it into a kind of 3D box for full 3D interaction? Along the lines of, there's a sphere in the middle, and you reach in and brush your hand along it, and the sphere starts to rotate due to your "interaction" with it?
Proud Sailor of the USN
Link to this comment Clifford Cannon 05/12/11 at 3:59 pmI think they have that idea, the article mentions layering several for a box like sensor.
so take that box and place it in front of one of the new glasses free 3D screens and you would have a box that you could reach into and manipulate things.
the only thing missing would be tactile sensations, no sense of touch :/ but otherwise it would be a really good tool for 3D computer work and may be popular with cadcam programs.
Link to this comment empjag 05/12/11 at 6:08 pmKind of reminds me of Iron Man's lab. Maybe in 10 years or so.
Link to this comment -my name here- 05/12/11 at 6:13 pmit kind of reminds me of a theremin.
Link to this comment extremechiton 05/12/11 at 9:09 pmlol @my name here
may be there could be a computer program that lets the zerotouch turn into a thremin.
that would be so cool!
Link to this comment JediMindset 05/14/11 at 12:01 pmgreat technology. i wonder if we could apply this with hologram/3d technology? something like that touch screen in Avatar.
To comment, please Login. Popular TagsTechnology NASA International Space Station robots Burt Rutan Peter Diamandis space DARPA Airbus A380 Mars UAV global warming Boeing satellites All Tags All Photos All Videos Photo GalleriesRSS LinkTechnology
Gallery: All the Hardware You Need To Build a Hackintosh
Gallery: The Wonders of the Year 2020
Archive Gallery: PopSci Visits Glorious Old NYC+ More Photo Galleries 
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our iPhone App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
May 2011: How to Save The Oceans
In this issue, seven bold plans to rescue 71 percent of the planet.
Plus: Blimps are back; a blind race-car driver; the most expensive Internet cable ever; and much more.
Read the issue here.
How It Works
Smart TV Buying Guide
Sound+Vision Buying Guide Popular on Popsci Most Viewed TechnologyThe Helicopter That Crashed in the Bin Laden Raid Was a Secret Stealth HelicopterVideo: Japanese Mind-Controlled Cat Ears Erect and Flatten To Reflect Your ThoughtsBefore the Raid, SEALs Rehearsed in a Full-Scale Replica of the Bin Laden CompoundComputer Scientists Induce Schizophrenia in a Neural Network, Causing it to Make Ridiculous ClaimsNASA Gravity Experiment Finds Space-Time Vortex Around Earth, Like a Vat of Fourth-Dimensional MolassesU. of Maryland's Human-Powered Helicopter Aims to Make Aviation History Next WeekAmazing Video: 'Jetman' Yves Rossy Makes First U.S. Flight, Cruising Above the Grand Canyon at 190 MPHSpotted: A Very Rutan-Looking Experimental Aircraft Cruising California SkiesGallery: All the Hardware You Need To Build a HackintoshSponsored Post: Philips EnduraLED Most Commented TechnologyBefore the Raid, SEALs Rehearsed in a Full-Scale Replica of the Bin Laden CompoundNASA Gravity Experiment Finds Space-Time Vortex Around Earth, Like a Vat of Fourth-Dimensional MolassesThe Helicopter That Crashed in the Bin Laden Raid Was a Secret Stealth HelicopterAmazing Video: 'Jetman' Yves Rossy Makes First U.S. Flight, Cruising Above the Grand Canyon at 190 MPHVideo: Japanese Mind-Controlled Cat Ears Erect and Flatten To Reflect Your ThoughtsComputer Scientists Induce Schizophrenia in a Neural Network, Causing it to Make Ridiculous ClaimsNew Buoyant-Aircraft Design Could Lead to Fleets of Efficient Cargo Zeppelins Video: Japanese Speedster Robot Levitates on a Cushion of AirTech Evangelists To Meet in DC to Figure Out the Future of the Postal ServiceDid the Secret 'Beast of Kandahar' Drone Provide Aerial Recon for SEAL Team Six? Most Emailed TechnologyNew Diamond Aerogel is the Airiest Diamond Ever MadeVideo: German Researchers Smash Robot Arm With a Baseball BatFinancial Trading Algorithms Aren't Just Making Deals, They're Making WarGallery: All the Hardware You Need To Build a HackintoshCrab Nebula Emits Largest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen, Puzzles AstronomersVideo: New ZeroTouch Interface is a Touchscreen Without the ScreenVideo: Telepresence Balloon Lets Your Boss's Face Watchfully Follow You EverywhereVideo: Japanese Speedster Robot Levitates on a Cushion of AirVideo: Ranger Robot Sets New Distance Record, Walking 40 Miles on a Single ChargeCarbon Nanotubes Coated in Bee Venom Can Detect Even a Single Molecule of Explosives
Name Address 1 City State STATE Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware DC Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York N. Carolina N. Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island S. Carolina S. Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington W. Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Zip Code Email Today on PopSci.com 
Before the Raid, SEALs Rehearsed in a Full-Scale Replica of the Bin Laden Compound53851411
Bold Plans to Save the Seas53493412
FIRST Robot Competition Showcases Geekiness, Ingenuity and the Dreams of 12,000 Kids53804413
Archive Gallery: PopSci's Quirkiest DIY Projects53793414
2020 Vision: A Look Forward To The Promises of a Truly Amazing Year53650415
Video: They Sure Don't Make Pyrex Like They Used To52576416
Testing the Goods: Hasbro's My3D Goggles Turn Your iPhone Into a 3-D Gaming Powerhouse53623417
Archive Gallery: The Futuristic Glories of Old New York53599418
How Humans Manipulate the Planet For The Sake of a Good Game53017419
Atomic Gardens, the Biotechnology of the Past, Can Teach Lessons About the Future of Farming536154110
2011 Skyscraper Contest: Energy Harvesters, Domes With Holes, and Other Buildings of the Future533954111
Archive Gallery: Revisiting the Golden Age of Zeppelins532664112 Footer Menu SubscribeRenew SubscriptionCustomer ServiceSite MapAbout UsContact UsAdvertisingPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseAbuseRSS FeedsPS Showcase Copyright © 2009 Popular ScienceA Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js' %3E%3C/script%3E")); COMSCORE.beacon({ c1:2, c2:"6035029", c3:" ", c4:" ", c5:"", c6:"", c15:" " });
No comments:
Post a Comment