Reactable multitouch table / musical instrument goes into production
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 2nd 2009 7:18AM
posted April 2nd 2009 7:18AM
This so-called Reactable built by some researchers at Pompeu Fabra University has been making the rounds of trade shows and other events for quite a while now, but it looks like the group is now really getting their act together by forming a company (Reactable Systems) and putting the device into production. The table itself is not too dissimilar from some of the other multitouch tables out there, but it takes a slightly different tact by focusing primarily on the device's potential as a musical instrument. To make things even simpler for the users, the table makes use of a series of "pucks" that each control a different aspect of the system, and are able to interact with each other when they're in close proximity. No word on a price or actual release date just yet, as you might expect, but you can check it out in action in the video after the break.
[Via MusicRadar]
[Via MusicRadar]
Multitouch never matured beyond a somewhat lame "emerging technology" exhibit from SIGGRAPH. After years of hype, we've seen it do two things: zoom and rotate.
It's definitely the "pen computing" of the '00s. Let's get over it quickly and move on to something useful.
There are a large range of applications for touchscreen tech that will benefit from an OS and hardware that support true multi-touch. Sorry if it's not going to change your life but I guess a lot of people miss out on the subtleties of life.
I dont quite understand your comments, you must have never seen the better applications of the touch tables. Sure, it may not become mainstream for quite some time, but did tablet PC's and pen computing disappear , no. No, they were not popular, but given the exciting technology such as paying for meals, knowing when to refill drinks at bars, you know in "the future" a system will be used like this. It may be ahead of its time, but its a step forward non-the-less. Get educated
crap gadget.
I used this at the science and industry museum in chicago-
it was pretty interesting, pretty complicated when trying to make sounds.
it didnt seem like the microsoft surface at all though because of its limited uses.
Thank you for saying this. I got shown this stupid thing 4 years ago...how long are they going to milk it?
WOW! i can't track multiple RFID devices and there positions...WE GET IT..there is much better uses...its not that incredible, and multitouch is way beyond that....
It's almost as stupid as dropping 2000 bucks for a lemur.
It's full of gimmick.
"did tablet PC's and pen computing disappear , no. No, they were not popular, but given the exciting technology such as paying for meals, knowing when to refill drinks at bars"
Two problems that... aren't problems. And if they were, they could be solved just as (if not more) easily with a card reader or Call button at your table. This is like the never-ending effort to sell the "connected home", where "your toaster can talk to your refrigerator over a network, and the refrigerator can communicate with the oven!" Uh, never mind the fact that you have to physically take the ham out of the refrigerator, unwrap it, put it in a pan, open the oven, and put the ham in.
It's great that there are companies and people out there willing to try different interfaces, and someday we'll see something truly useful. But this is one gimmick that's been driven into the ground and still hasn't borne fruit. Let's move on.
Sort of want
+1 for a recession antidote?
Meh, I'd still rather have http://www.z-tar.com this just doesn't evoke the glam rock white gold imagery I have if a musical instrument
I'd be much more interested in seeing some software designed for this type of environment, something people could use on a daily basis.
Even if you had Windows or OSX on one of these multi-touch devices they wouldn't work.
Someone needs to build an OS from the ground up to work on these multi-touch tables.
Who the heck is this for? It's not going to be inexpensive enough for a curiosity purchase, and it doesn't look like a professional level instrument.
Bjork
Phillip Glass
It would be perfect for educators. I teach a music technology course, and this would be ideal for teaching them the basics of digital (and even analog) audio.
It's a nice toy and all, but I don't think people will be, you know, using it for a very long time (I imagine this being used in clubs and bars for quite a bit of people, of course). The novelty will probably wear out pretty soon...
And it's just because you don't do much with it after all.
Well, at least I haven't seen any other application besides that music table yet, although this is simple enough to be demonstrated.
Also, it'd be better if there was nothing to be used over the table. Just the table itself = good. The table plus thingies over it = not good.
Earthquake!!!!!!!!!!!! SHIT, now I lost my bangin track I just made!
It reminds me of the Asgard UI control panel from Stargate SG1.
@dcmetrocoaster ... im 3 days late, but dizzam, you beat me to it. First thing i though of when i saw this was "I'm gonna have to get one of these so i can learn to pilot an Asgard ship."
If the pucks are programmable, the DJs should be all over this!
It's... Round?!
I saw a device like this at a Bjork concert last year in Atlanta....she was singing Desired Constellation.
Travis
OMG, this thing is so awesome. My wife and I ran across this while we were at the MSI in Chicago, and I swear we spent an hour there just playing around with it and showing the other little kids how to use it. It isn't too often that my wife and I find something we both can completely geek out over that we haven't already found and exausted, but this really did the trick.
It's completely useless in this state, mind you, but still totally awesome.
Starship Enterprise had touch screens over 30 years ago and they worked well enough to save the galaxy!
Terry Thomas
Atlanta, Georgia USA
hello this is reality.... STAR TREK IS NOT Real
that is all
I played with one of these at the museum of science and industry in Chicago a few weeks ago, and it was amazingly addicting. The interface was insanely quick to respond, and very intuitive. If they made the blocks user programmable, it would be a legitimate music making device. You could easily waste a few hours screwing around with one of these
I have jammed a reactable. I saw a performance at Mills College last year and the performers let the audience play with the table after the show. It is really a lot of fun to mess around with.
Thought you might want to see my friends from Boulder, Motion for Alliance, use this bad boy out in the wild. these guys are great electronica musicians, and this thing is such a toy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tac1q6UEMdc
Yea I saw this at a bjork concert too in Denver in June 07 IIRC... It was on her volta tour. Amazing concert btw. I kept seing that table in a few songs and searched on the net for a month after that concert and found very little out about it. Pretty neat little piece of machinery right there
Just for the record, Bjork wasn't specifically using it, Mark Bell (aka LFO) was.
Maybe something truly musical could be done with it but creating an illusion to users that random acts done with an interface akin to playing with baby blocks isnt empowering them to be composers, its just a fashionable toy for rich kids who have everything. Its like owning an arcade version of Haley's Comet or Defender back when they first came out. Cool and fun for a bunch of kids with too many jello shots? hell yea! Deep and resonating any part of real music? nein!
hey......guys........yeah, ummm, BOOZY the AMERICAN here........you need to waterproof it and put a coin slot on the side so bar owners can rent/lease them for their customers.
tomo