Evoluce 47-inch HD multitouch display gets off-screen gesture control
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted May 13th 2010 1:49PM
posted May 13th 2010 1:49PM
Evoluce, the manufacturers of that mammoth 47-inch full HD touchscreen, are out of control! Apparently, they've decided that unlimited simultaneous touch inputs (and thus unlimited simultaneous phalanges) was not enough, so they've gone an' added gesture support -- up to half a meter from the device. Apparently this bad boy supports Windows 7, although if you want your interface du jour to put the "unlimited" in "multitouch" you'll most likely have to roll your own. Interested? Wealthy? Check out some righteous video and PR after the break.
Evoluce introduces off-screen gesture computing to large format multi-touch LCDs.
2010-05-12 10:22:52 - The leading provider of advanced multi-touch screen technologies, Evoluce, today introduced the first gesture computing enhancement to its ITSO (Integrated Through Screen Optics) Sensing Technology, offering true multi-touch, multi-pen functionality for large flat screen LCDs. For the first time, multi-touch-enabled applications can also see and respond to in-the-air gestures up to 1 m from the screen for more intuitive and direct user interaction. The combination of gesture with multi-touch input unleashes exciting possibilities for a multitude of collaborative, design, and information visualization environments.
This breakthrough facilitates true multi-modal computing. Evoluce's ITSO Sensing Technology supports an unlimited number of simultaneous screen inputs from touches, pen and stylus inputs, objects, and tags. Now users can also directly manipulate objects on the screen through making scrolling, rotating, stretching, shrinking, or pivoting motions close to the screen without touching it.
The innovative ITSO Sensing Technology software solution is built into the Evoluce ONE, a 47-inch large-format interactive full HD LCD screen with true multi-touch and multi-pen functionality. The Evoluce ONE delivers sharp, bright images for rich multimedia applications ranging from educational teaching and learning environments to medical imagining and interactive gaming. Its smooth, scratch-resistant screen delivers the durability necessary for point-of-sale (POS) public product presentations and interactive exhibits at events, VIP lounges, art galleries, and museums. Because of its flat edges, Evoluce ONE is easily integrated into either horizontal or vertical spaces, or may be used as a stand-alone surface. ITSO Sensing Technology supports multi-touch operation of Microsoft Windows 7 desktop and applications, providing the familiar Windows interface to users.
"The range of applications that can benefit from gesture enhancement paired with true multi-pen and multi-touch capability is extremely wide," said Wolfgang Herfurtner, CEO of Evoluce AG. "Collaboration, product and industrial design, business intelligence, information visualization, medical imaging, and command and control functions become more accessible without additional complexity. Product information can be delivered directly at the point of sale to customers in a completely new interactive way, revolutionizing shopping, for example. The possibilities are truly mindboggling."
Evoluce supports all standard interfaces for multi-touch application software development, including Java, XML, and TUIO.
For more information about ITSO Sensing Technology and Evoluce ONE, please visit www.evoluce.com/.
Evoluce ONE is available from Evoluce specialist partner dealers.
About Evoluce
Founded in 2000, Evoluce AG, based in Hallbergmoos near Munich, is a leading manufacturer of high quality multi-touch displays. Evoluce as a supplier of core technology is supporting the trend for multi-user applications becoming an integral part of human-computer interaction. Evoluce has gained significant experience from the in-house development of multi-touch tracking software and Micro Layer screens. This has led to the innovative high-resolution optical-sensing technology used in large format frameless full HD multi-touch LCDs produced by Evoluce. Worldwide system integrators and developers already successfully use Evoluce hardware and software for their interactive design and applications.
Press Contact
EVOLUCE AG
Ms. Sabine Seewald
Ludwigstrasse 47
85399 Hallbergmoos
Germany
Phone: 0049 (0)811 99 81 96-0
Mail: presse@evoluce.com
Internet: www.evoluce.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Evoluce
Newsletter: newsletter.evoluce.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/evoluce1
2010-05-12 10:22:52 - The leading provider of advanced multi-touch screen technologies, Evoluce, today introduced the first gesture computing enhancement to its ITSO (Integrated Through Screen Optics) Sensing Technology, offering true multi-touch, multi-pen functionality for large flat screen LCDs. For the first time, multi-touch-enabled applications can also see and respond to in-the-air gestures up to 1 m from the screen for more intuitive and direct user interaction. The combination of gesture with multi-touch input unleashes exciting possibilities for a multitude of collaborative, design, and information visualization environments.
This breakthrough facilitates true multi-modal computing. Evoluce's ITSO Sensing Technology supports an unlimited number of simultaneous screen inputs from touches, pen and stylus inputs, objects, and tags. Now users can also directly manipulate objects on the screen through making scrolling, rotating, stretching, shrinking, or pivoting motions close to the screen without touching it.
The innovative ITSO Sensing Technology software solution is built into the Evoluce ONE, a 47-inch large-format interactive full HD LCD screen with true multi-touch and multi-pen functionality. The Evoluce ONE delivers sharp, bright images for rich multimedia applications ranging from educational teaching and learning environments to medical imagining and interactive gaming. Its smooth, scratch-resistant screen delivers the durability necessary for point-of-sale (POS) public product presentations and interactive exhibits at events, VIP lounges, art galleries, and museums. Because of its flat edges, Evoluce ONE is easily integrated into either horizontal or vertical spaces, or may be used as a stand-alone surface. ITSO Sensing Technology supports multi-touch operation of Microsoft Windows 7 desktop and applications, providing the familiar Windows interface to users.
"The range of applications that can benefit from gesture enhancement paired with true multi-pen and multi-touch capability is extremely wide," said Wolfgang Herfurtner, CEO of Evoluce AG. "Collaboration, product and industrial design, business intelligence, information visualization, medical imaging, and command and control functions become more accessible without additional complexity. Product information can be delivered directly at the point of sale to customers in a completely new interactive way, revolutionizing shopping, for example. The possibilities are truly mindboggling."
Evoluce supports all standard interfaces for multi-touch application software development, including Java, XML, and TUIO.
For more information about ITSO Sensing Technology and Evoluce ONE, please visit www.evoluce.com/.
Evoluce ONE is available from Evoluce specialist partner dealers.
About Evoluce
Founded in 2000, Evoluce AG, based in Hallbergmoos near Munich, is a leading manufacturer of high quality multi-touch displays. Evoluce as a supplier of core technology is supporting the trend for multi-user applications becoming an integral part of human-computer interaction. Evoluce has gained significant experience from the in-house development of multi-touch tracking software and Micro Layer screens. This has led to the innovative high-resolution optical-sensing technology used in large format frameless full HD multi-touch LCDs produced by Evoluce. Worldwide system integrators and developers already successfully use Evoluce hardware and software for their interactive design and applications.
Press Contact
EVOLUCE AG
Ms. Sabine Seewald
Ludwigstrasse 47
85399 Hallbergmoos
Germany
Phone: 0049 (0)811 99 81 96-0
Mail: presse@evoluce.com
Internet: www.evoluce.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Evoluce
Newsletter: newsletter.evoluce.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/evoluce1
Interested? Yes
Wealthy? No
:(
@Glodokboy
It has FLASH support...lol
Can you imagine playing StarCraft 2 on this beast?
@Glodokboy
Is an Iron Man suit included with purchase?
@Glodokboy this is ALIEN TECHNOLOGY! from Area 51!! :)
@Glodokboy
If you have to touch it... they blew it
@Glodokboy Reminds me of the minority report computer by sony. http://j.mp/atractable-super-computer
Minority Report...
Here we come...!
That guy sucks at Tic-Tac-Toe.
Is it "spilled drink" proof?
@John22s
of course it is, they made sure since it comes packed with a beer pong app
Thats pretty insane.
I saw the guy play the RTS game and I was sold.
Off screen gestures are even crazier. One step closer to Minority-Report types of interactions.
How does this work without touching it when there are no cameras involved?
@SeeKo
Array of cameras (well, light sensors more than cameras) in the screen between pixels I suspect.
@SeeKo I'm not sure if you remember, but there were a couple defective iphones that did not require actual contact with the screen for the phone to register contact. I'm assuming you can use the same old multitouch sensors and scale it up to create something like this. If so, you don't have to worry about expensive cameras and long wait times for costs to become reasonable.
@SeeKo Well, capacitative sensors can work at distances of few centimetres at least. I'd be dubious that it works like that though... More likely to be some kind of camera based system.
One step closer to Minority Report, without requiring a glove at that!
@Master of the Intangible
Man you guys are quick with this Minority Report stuff!
I like it....
but i dont think i would use it for anything other than strategy games
Dawn of War 2 would work amazingly on there
what game is that???
just wow!
@dark star
looks like world in conflict but a little different?
@dark star
That's R.U.S.E. by Ubisoft
Very cool
I want this so badly. I may open a new savings account just to save for this on the side.
I find this technology interesting, but at the same time I think touchscreens are way over-hyped as a true input method for anything other than cursory applications.
For instance, using a touchscreen on a phone makes sense to a point (as long as you don't need to add a lot of text), but if you really want to surf the internet to get much more precise control of the UI a pointing device such as a mouse is vastly superior.
@Hazdaz
Well that's only because the accuracy of touch hasn't been perfected yet. I'm sure if you compared computer mice (old ball mice) to the newest laser with high DPI, you'd find a vast improvement in the precision too.
Once touch improves it'll be like "remember when we actually typed on physical keyboards and moved that one thing around.. what was it called? A mouse or something?"
While I agree that the tactile feedback helps a great deal, it's not necessary at all. Once you get used to not having it, it's not so bad.
@Hazdaz Since your actually not "touching" the screen this is way better. gesture control without touch means this technology can be used in the home and commercial world. no more worry about nasty smudgy screens.
@Master of the Intangible
It has nothing to do with the accuracy of the touchscreen itself and everything to do with the accuracy of your arm gestures.
Less a limitation of the technology and more a limitation of the human form.
Try waving your hands in the air - unsupported - for more than a few minutes and let me know how that feels.
It's not a comfortable or natural position to be in. Even when you can actually touch the screen itself, it's still an unnatural position. Mice are extremely accurate because your arm is supported and your fingers are doing the movement - your fingers have an order of magnitude more dexterity than your arms.
@Hazdaz I completely agree. Even if the touchscreen is incredibly accurate, the human finger touching it is not. This is in part due to the fact your finger blocks your visibility of what's under it.
We've been working with touchscreens for our EMR software, and the problem is some of the buttons and radials are too small, your finger completely covers them when touching. Zooming in and out solves this, but is frustrating to do.
I think a great software fix for this could be done simply by making a drawable area of the screen function like a laptop touch. Either a specific gesture pulls up one pre-positioned, or a 4 finger "Square" could create one anywhere on the screen. Then slide your finger around to move a cursor, tap to click, and a specific gesture gets rid of the pad.
@LazyLemming
But then you are just back to using a touchpad kind of defeating the point of using this fancy new touchscreen display, right? I mean sure since you would dynamically change the shape/size of the "touchpad" area it would be more advanced than that, but it's kind of like using a chainsaw to carve a turkey... lots of fancy/powerful technology and you are using it for a rather mundane purpose.
I have said from day one of seeing this technology that it looked cool as hell, but was pure fluff.
In 20 years the office of tomorrow is not going to have tons of these kinds of screens with people flailing their arms wildly to open documents or "type" on imaginary keyboards.... it's going to be rather similar to a current office where people use similar tools that we have been using for decades now - because they work.
@neeko18 I don't like gesture in the air, you can accidentally do things. Lets say, you are moving your arm from one screen point to the other, screen can recognize it like gesture in the air, then you just want to tap somthere. And it becomes not accurate I thing.
I want one.
This almost made me cream my pants. I will find a way to have one!
I love that they are playing R.U.S.E on that. Looks awesome. too bad the game got delayed until september :( its addicting
gestures half a meter above the screen! shizzle!
Gesture control and other stuff? Cool
Price? Uncool
Frivolous Apple multitouch lawsuit in 5, 4, 3, 2....
Multi touch? I smell an Apple lawsuit. Afer all this clearly impinges on Apple's new iTable and iWall, not to mention the iHouse.
Microsoft Surface? What happened?
What, Windows 7 can do multi-touch? I thought you guys said we needed a mobile OS for that. oh well I'll wait for the iTable, it will cost more and do less, but Apple will get it right.
Ok, glad to get that out of my system. Now how much is this table?
OMG I'll never play tic-tac-toe on paper again.
Apparently the guy controlling this thing can multitouch blitzkrieg across Europe but can't figure out how to not loose in tic-tac-toe.
I fear for the future.
@m00g00 So true.. I can multitouch a stick figure... or 2 at the same time B-), but I can't win tic-tac-toe either :(
@m00g00 And apparently I can't figure out how to spell. I LOSE.
Bah, Bond films have had this for years ;-)
Looks awesome, but I'm not sure anyone could work or play for hours on this without a little suffering. Especially since it looks impossible for ones fingers and forearms to rest anywhere on the surface without interacting with it...
imagine using a samsung 3d tv in it with the off screen gestures to control the rotation of an object in true 3d
Crazy display. Price would be like a million?
@techlord 9 900 Euros.
well and the specs are on this pdf: http://www.evoluce.com/downloads/docs/Multitouch-LCD-Evoluce-ONE.pdf
@pankomputerek
WHAT?!?!?! That's over 9,000!!!!!
Seriously though, that's less than I expected, and it is pretty darn cool.
10 Euro's cheaper than Microsoft Surface(10,000)!