Sharp shows off multi-touch optical scanning portable LCD

Our hats go off to Sharp for this one. We wrote about this display in late August, but sometimes seeing really is believing. Today at CEATEC Sharp showed off its optical scanning LCD -- a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 portable display with an optical scanner integrated into each pixel, making the screen capable of scanning business cards and other visual information placed on its face. Unfortunately, the early version we tested couldn't read our lower contrast Engadget-blue biz cards, but clear black and white cards scanned quickly. The pixel-integrated optical scanning technique is also able to be used to enabled more robust multi-touch interfaces; instead of a touch-sensitive film (like most touchscreen phones) or a capacitive display (like on the iPhone), these future Sharp displays literally constantly scan for finger touches, enabling multi-touch input with all five fingers simultaneously.

Gallery: Sharp shows off multi-touch optical scanning portable LCD

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[Gregg @ Oct 2nd 2007 10:57AM]

I guess one day these will become high enough resolution to be the sci-fi palm scanners we see in all the movies.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:05AM]

These would make a great addition to voting machines as they could be used to verify the identity of the person casting the vote and would thwart most attempts at trying to hack (sway) the outcome of an election.

[paul34 @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:11AM]

Please put the business card!!

Put it!

[Nerdtalker @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:27PM]

Where?! WHERE!??!

I put the card. Now what?

[E.J. @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:03PM]

All your base are belong to us.

[Matt @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:12AM]

this bottles my mind.

[melloncollie @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:34AM]

It bottles mine, too!

[bombastinator @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:43AM]

It knocked me on my can.

[Matt @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:32AM]

What a lot of technology just because people want to print their names on dead trees. Why can't they just send their details over bluetooth (for example)?

Next they'll be coming up with some gizmo for digitizing the sounds made when caveman chums turn up and bash their addresses out with sticks on a lump of rock.

Stop living in the past people!

[melloncollie @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:37AM]

You realize this scans the cards right?
It has nothing to do with printing business cards.
In fact, it digitizes the information on the card.
Effectively not "living in the past".

[jibba jabba @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:50AM]

@matt
I think you are missing the point. Imagine this as the screen on your smartphone, iphone..etc. Now you have the added feature of being able to scan business cards in and what ever other surface type apps they come up with. Sounds pretty neat.

[bombastinator @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:06PM]

..ummm I'm pretty sure this one here is a troll.

Remember: Don't feed the trolls. They tend to follow you home. If they do they tend to scratch at your back door and poop in the yard.

[Matt @ Oct 3rd 2007 4:35AM]

Um yes. I do realise it doesn't _print_ the cards, yes I do realise it _scans_ the card.

Why are people still giving me bits of paper that I need to scan in? i.e. This is a bit of technology that I would need because _other people_ are still living in the past. They should shape up - buy some tech.

Hmm. In fact maybe it should print as well. Because the aforementioned neanderthal handing me bits of dead tree with his address on would probably want a similar bit of dead tree back from me with my address on it. No point me trying to bluetooth it directly into his skull.

Matt. (trolling for fun and profit since '72)

p.s. The other surface type apps. are a cool idea though.

[Travis @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:52AM]

I hope someone other than Apple licenses it! That way we can have multi-touch PMP's with more than 16GB of storage. 80GB or 160GB would work for me :)

[Bad Beaver @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:56AM]

See my post, you're out of luck.

[paul34 @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:14PM]

If Apple did it, they'd only allow scanning of the cards of Apple-affiliated businesses.

[bombastinator @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:20PM]

Nah. They'd put it in alright, they would just refrain from putting in any software to allow you to actually use it, Then destroy your phone if you tried to do it your self.

[Bad Beaver @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:53AM]

Hmm, geek knowledge. Back in the day Apple had the Knowledge Navigator concept (involving exactly such a type of display) and Sharp produced some of the Apple Newton MessagePads... it all comes together. Check it out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Navigator

"In the year 2010".

[Brandon L. @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:55AM]

I have 10 fingers to use the touch screen with... I'm sorry for your loss of one hand.

[Jimmy Bosse @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:15PM]

So you're holding it with your third hand?

[bombastinator @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:06PM]

It does present some opportunities for security through obscurity as well. If it got the rez down to 300 dpi data glyphs could be embedded onto an ID, making it very hard to copy unless someone knew they were there. For that matter you could use any random thing in your pocket such as a regular metal key pressed against the glass.

[EMTZAlex @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:35PM]

But with that resolution, wouldn't the key look different every time it got a new scratch (ie every time it was put in a lock). Same'd be true with almost anything in your pocket. I can see the wear and tear on everything with my naked eye.

[bombastinator @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:21PM]

You'd need some edge recognition software, but it's very available. Almost any OCR program could probably be tweaked to do it.

[Ken @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:58AM]

Please put the business card

...or it gets the hose again.

[Jaroslav @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:03PM]

The logical extension of this seems like it could make a screen that is also a video camera. That would enable the holy grail of video chatting/conferencing, namely, being able to look the person one is talking to in the eye and have it appear that way on the other end. (Right now, if you are looking at the person you are talking to, the person on the other end sees you looking somewhere below their eyes, because that's where you are looking in relation to the camera.)

[bugmat @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:22PM]

Sounds good...maybe this will appear in tablet PCs soon?!

[Fox McCloud @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:34PM]

OMG! Please tell me this is for PSP2 / Sony Erricson/psp/phone. Crap would that rock my world. Nobody else put this 2 and 2 together?!?

i think sharp made the first psp screens btw, and these are the same size and resolution... strange? NO ITS REALITY! any psp2 would most likely be backwards compatible.

yay i win

[imacmatt09 @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:37PM]

No you lose.

[Patrick @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:44PM]

I guess the idea with it being wasteful of paper is that it supports the use of business cards by making them easily assimilated with digital data rather than awkward and undesirable. With this, a digitally oriented person might more readily accept a business card, knowing that scanning it in would be so effortless, rather than only accepting digital information which would help lead to people distributing electronically. On the other hand, if this is easy and quick enough, someone could grab a card, scan it, and give the card right back. Maybe...

Also, what is the power usage for the scanning?

[Wwhat @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:02PM]

OMG YOUR LCD IS WATCHING YOU!!!!
They were right all along!

[Juice Daddy @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:12PM]

twister (finger edition)


pinky to blue... index to red... thumb to yellow...


awesome.

[Greg Baz @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:53PM]

Sounds like the Apple patent for an LCD with a small camera intergrated with each pixel. Maybe apple will sue them for patent infrigment.

[john @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:48PM]

this technology would be incredibly awesome for tablet computers, especially for students. imagine being handed a worksheet, pressing up against the screen, then, blam-o digital version.

[john @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:51PM]

i also want to know how much power it takes to drive it. that could limit its use on mobile platforms

[Jesse S @ Oct 2nd 2007 6:14PM]

Hello telescreens!

But in all seriousness, this would rock. And look, REAL innovation, instead of the iPhone multi touch.

[Thee @ Oct 2nd 2007 10:57PM]

Since Sharp manufactures sidekicks, maybe we'll be seeing some touchscreen sidekicks in the future?