Researchers create tangible table interface

Apparently inspired by some late night bouts of air hockey, a team of researchers at the University of Design in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany have crafted a so-called "tangible table" interface that uses a series of pucks to handle all the controls. The system works by using a camera underneath the table to track the movements of the pucks (which are distinguished by marks on their undersides), along with a combination mirrors, infrared lights, and a projector to display the image on the surface of the table. While it so far only appears to be cable of simple tasks like moving, zooming, and rotating, we suspect it's only a matter of time before they realize the true potential of the device and whip up a game of Breakout.

[Via Pasta and Vinegar]

[Joshua @ Mar 29th 2007 11:47AM]

Reminds we of the table the doctor uses in The Island.

[TheZodiac @ Mar 29th 2007 11:52AM]

Been done before.

http://mtg.upf.edu/reactable/

[Jon @ Mar 29th 2007 12:09PM]

TheZodiac:
I was going to say the same. And the reactable is much more detailed and advanced than the table posted here or Endgadget. In fact, reactable has been around for awhile.

Everyone should check out http://mtg.upf.edu/reactable/ (as posted by TheZodiac) to check out some awesome manipulation.

[Nick Catalano @ Mar 29th 2007 12:06PM]

This is rather old technology... see link above

[crackpipe @ Mar 29th 2007 12:31PM]

There's a company called Headward? that's displaying interfaces to the user who has an installed headchip. Objects (sliders, switches, buttons) appear to be real and feel tactile but those around the user without a linked headchip can't see the interface or the objects. Direct to sensory integration is closer than you think.

[grjohnston @ Mar 29th 2007 12:44PM]

Why cameras and markers when you could use RFID and scanners? You could have a 3D interface, that way...

[Aaron @ Mar 29th 2007 12:46PM]

Yeah, but I'd like to see something for my PC

[LordJohnWhorfin @ Mar 29th 2007 12:46PM]

It's stolen Asgaard technology.

[JD @ Mar 29th 2007 1:05PM]

"While it so far only appears to be cable of simple tasks like moving..." I don't get what "cable" has to do with any of this. Does it use cables somehow, or do you use to to change channels on your digital cable tuner?

[AndrewNeo @ Mar 29th 2007 11:23PM]

I think they misspelled 'capable' somehow.

[Jamie Zigelbaum @ Mar 29th 2007 1:44PM]

it's a pretty implementation but this technology is ten years old: http://tangible.media.mit.edu/projects/luminousroom/ and the user interface potential has been explored far past this stage: http://tangible.media.mit.edu/projects/audiopad/
http://jamespatten.com/pico/ current versions track pucks using something similar to RFID rather than computer vision.

[Overturf @ Mar 29th 2007 1:44PM]

There's a lot of interactive tables out there, per the posts above. Many universities with creative engineering depts have come up with like concepts.

That said...they are extremely helpful to the PhD candidates who design them. Lets them easily chart out their respective choices in life. Lets them see where things went horribly, horribly, wrong.

And zoom in on those moments to re-live them.

[Shane @ Mar 29th 2007 4:21PM]

This has also been applied to music creation in a damn cool way:
http://www.jamespatten.com/audiopad/

[Ryan Shafer @ Mar 29th 2007 4:51PM]

Similar to TheZodiac's URL:

http://www.jamespatten.com/audiopad/

[Hemrik @ Mar 29th 2007 6:10PM]

i'm pretty sure someone at MIT did this with RFID in the pucks and it was used to control a synthesizer, although that one i'm pretty sure used a projector tethered to a linux box to project the interface onto the table. but the table had all the stuff to track the pucks in it, so maybe it's a completely different animal.

http://www.jamespatten.com/audiopad/

that's the link to it.

[Italo @ Mar 29th 2007 7:09PM]

Very intersting! pretty! grettings from mas Tecno

[Tim @ Mar 30th 2007 6:57AM]

How is this any better than Jeff Han's Multi-Touch screen design?

[bert @ Mar 30th 2007 10:21AM]

watch the small video here
http://www.urbanlearningspace.com/projects/improve

loads of Germans playing with interactive VR thingy's including tables

[pyramus @ Feb 16th 2008 6:54AM]

www.feelingthemusic.com

same idea, but nicer music output and clearer interface techniques in my opinion...