multi-touch
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Video: Demoing the multitouch trackpad
There's a lot of noise about MacBooks with multitouch trackpads coming out at Macworld, but we're wondering why there's no similar frenzy over Taiwanese ODM Elantech, which is tucked away in the International Pavilion at CES demoing a multitouch trackpad technology called "Multi-fingers Smartpad." The prototype is actually in an older Asus laptop, but it's got all the pinching and spinning action you'd expect -- check it out after the break!
Wiimote re-purposed for glove-based multi-touch system
Our new hero Johnny Chung Lee has already put the Wiimote to use for various multi-touch and multi-point systems (not to mention head-tracking), but it looks like others are slowly starting to follow in his footsteps, and the folks at Cynergy Labs have now produced one of the most polished "hacks" to date. Dubbed Project Maestro, the setup is built upon Microsoft's Windows Presentation System (or WPF) and uses a pair of Minority Report-style IR gloves to give you "multi-touch at a distance." That, as you can see in the video after the break, allows for an interface not unlike Microsoft's Surface -- without the "surface," of course. Unlike Johnny Lee's projects, however, the goods behind this one aren't available to the public just yet (for free or otherwise), but hopefully that'll change before too long.[Thanks, Henry]
LG.Philips announces 52 and 84-inch multi-touch displays, double-sided LCD, and more
LG.Philips ain't screwing around this CES, bringing the pain on rival Sharp with five interesting new panels. Check it out: 52-inch multi-touch LCD - full 1080p, two touch detection 84-inch multi-touch LCD - 2 x 4 array of 42-inch panels, totaling full 1080p resolution, 500cd/m2 brightness 47-inch triple-view LCD - full 1080p, 250cd/m2 brightness, three separate images (much like Sharp's triple view), photo after the break 47-inch double sided LCD - 70mm thickness, 500cd/m2 brightness, displays images on both sides 42-inch transflective LCD - the 1,500cd/m2 brightness is nice, but damn that's large for a transflective display. Kind of goes without saying, but these aren't TV sets ready for sale or anything -- these are panels produced for OEMs to build into their gear, more than likely industrial and commercial type getups. Still, hot.
Sony unveils new optical multi-touch LCD display tech
Multi-touch LCD displays are suddenly all the rage, and it looks like Sony's planning on joining the party soon -- the company is touting a new 3.5-inch multi-touch LCD that uses optical sensing technology today. The 640 x 480 screen is made of what Sony's calling "low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistor" tech, and it supports recognition of up to five fingers at a time, as well as pen input. Of course, there's no word on when we might see these screens pop up in actual devices, but let's hope Sony's product designers find a better use for them than chicken-scratching holiday greetings like the press photos.[Via Engadget Japanese]
Apple hiring multi-touch engineer for Mac hardware group
Does it strike anyone else as strange that Apple is hiring a "reliability engineer" to work on "supporting multi-touch panel development with Mac... hardware groups"? Then again, it might just be a typo or a fudged up listing -- these kinds of speculative positions tend to pop up on Apple's job site rather frequently. See it for yourself after the break (just in case Cupertino HR wises up).
Windows 7 to get integrated touch features?
Regardless of how Tablet PCs have actually done in the marketplace, Microsoft has always been a staunch proponent of touch interfaces, and it looks like the next version of Windows, currently under the codename Windows 7, will bundle in multi-touch features like those found in the iPhone and Microsoft's own Surface. The news comes from Microsoft engineer Hilton Locke, who blogged about Dell's multi-touch capable (but not enabled) Latitude XT earlier today, and added, "if you are impressed by the 'touch features' in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7." Locke went on to imply that it's been challenging selling touch to manufacturers, saying "Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales." That's a surprise to us -- that Big Ass Table demo pretty much sells itself, don't you think?[Via News.com]
Dell Latitude XT tablet will have multi-touch, just not for a while
If you're at all like us, you spent a little time scratching your head after the Latitude XT's launch wondering just what Michael Dell really meant when he mentioned the convertible having multi-touch. Sure, he talked up the laptop's myriad capabilities when he showed the XT at OpenWorld, but multi-touch was suspiciously absent from the official launch details, so we gave Dell a buzz and got this juicy tidbit: yes, XT buyers now (and in the future) will all have laptops capable of multi-touch input, thanks to that capacitive touchscreen, but the software and/or drivers needed to enable it won't be released "until a later date." We have no idea what that date is -- or if that date is even in 2008 -- but there you have it, among the first would-be multi-touch tablet laptops is officially the among the first will-be multi-touch tablet laptops.P.S. -To tide you over, we've got a total snooze-fest of a product demo video after the break. Capacitive touch was never so... boring.
Apple patent applications reveal updated multi-touch system
Apple has already expanded its multi-touch empire quite a bit in the form of various patent applications, and it now looks like it could be set to give the core system itself an update, at least according to a trio of just-revealed patent applications. he main one is an application that describes a "sensor arrangement for use with a touch sensor that identifies hand parts." Among other things, that'll apparently allow for simultaneous tracking of "multiple finger and palm contacts" which, according to the patent, should allow for "unprecedented integration of typing, resting, pointing, scrolling, 3D manipulation, and handwriting." That last bit is apparently accomplished using a "pen grip detector," which can apparently detect if you're mimicking the position of holding a pen and adjust accordingly. Hit up the read link below for complete details in full-on patent-speak.[Via PC Joint, thanks Stasys]
Samsung follows crowd, preps M4650 Windows Mobile touchphone
Don't be fooled: Samsung officially calls this the M4650 Multi-Touch, but get this, it doesn't support multi-touch. It does support single touches of its 2.8 inch screen, though, which'll have to do seeing how it lacks either numeric or QWERTY keypads. The Korean company is prepping the Windows Mobile 6-based touchphone for its domestic market, matching a recent trend toward keyless, finger-friendly input that LG, HTC, Apple, and others have adopted in recent months. A customized build of Windows Mobile isn't the only trick up the handset's sleeve, either: haptics give users a little bit of positive feedback when they make contact with the display, and when Office Mobile finally ceases to be entertaining, the terrestrial DMB tuner should come in handy. Ironically, the M4650 will be offered through LG Telecom -- of all carriers -- for something in the range of 500,000 won (about $550) before rebates.[Via textually.org]
Taiwanese researchers create a dual-resolution touch display
We've seen projectors used in multi-touch applications before -- most notably in Microsoft's Surface -- but researchers at National Taiwan University have extended the concept by using two projectors at once. The i-m-Top system allows high-resolution overlays to appear over the main display, which can cover a 47-inch by 31-inch surface. NTU says that as soon as it lands a production partner, the $3000 system will be ready for market within six months, with costs expected to fall dramatically after that. Here's hoping -- we just watched Minority Report again the other night and we can't wait to have a Big-Ass Table of our own.[Via TG Daily]
Apple envisions tactility on touchscreen keyboards
Tactile feedback isn't exactly new to the mobile device arena, but Apple is apparently looking to add a bit of tactility to on-screen keyboards of the future. In a recent patent filing, the gurus in Cupertino have described four arrangements for accomplishing the aforementioned goal, some of which include adding dots / bars to keys and throwing an articulating frame underneath the panel to enable users to feel varying levels of resistance when mashing down. Per usual, we're left to imagine where such technology could eventually end up (tough job, we know), but considering that this is the third touchpad-related filing seen from Apple in the past 20 days, who knows what is (or isn't) brewing.UPDATE: Check it out -- seems this diagram looks an awful lot like something designed by Fingerworks. Thanks for the heads-up, Jason![Via UnwiredView]
Fentix Cube: If Rubik was smarter, had multi-touch
Developed by Andrew Fentem, the Fentix Cube features a cube of (patent pending) multi-touch touchscreens allowing for a myriad of multi-dimensional games, puzzles, and whatnots manipulated by the swipe of your greasy fingers. Best of all, it'll be on sale in limited quantities from London's (now infamous) Kinetica Museum. See it in action just beyond the break.Update: We just heard from Andrew, his cube also packs a "3D system of accelerometers for gesture sensing a la Wii."
Neiman Marcus to sell Perceptive Pixel's Interactive Media Wall: yours for $100k
You may know Jeff Han, you've probably seen his company Perceptive Pixel's Interactive Media Wall / Multi-touch Collaboration Wall (or whatever they're calling it these days -- if not, peep it here), but the missing link to this stuff is taking it home. Well, the wait is apparently over, and for once it's Neiman Marcus we've got to thank. While you're shopping for the latest must-have fall fashions, be sure to stop by the newly anointed Futuristic Displays That Don't Belong at Neiman Marcus Shop to pick up your 8 x 3-foot multi-touch display for a cool $100,000 US, only ten times the price of Microsoft's forthcoming Surface. Don't worry, your family will appreciate your investment; trust us, we really think they'd far prefer it to, say, Christmas presents, a home to live in, or dinner at some point in 2008.[Via thegadgetsite]
Hitachi announces StarBoard FX 77 Duo multi-touch whiteboard
While the jury's still out on the potential dangers of whiteboards (really), Hitachi is fearlessly forging ahead with its StarBoard line of big-screen interactive displays, with the company today announcing its 77-inch FX 77 Duo model (the non-Duo FX 77 is pictured above). The big selling point here is the board's support for dual inputs, which will let you get a taste of that multi-touch business everyone is so big on these days. Otherwise, the board looks to be a fairly standard affair, with 24 customizable buttons included to keep your presentations running smoothly, and software provided to remotely link up to 50 of the whiteboards together. While there's no official word on a price from Hitachi just yet, at least one retailer appears to be taking orders for them right now for $1,600.
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-8074%
"Slim" MacBook rumors resurface
Sure, you've had the space of a few minutes without Apple rumors, but be honest with us: it felt lonely, didn't it? Well don't worry, because the rumors are back... with a vengeance. According to 9to5mac (who recently nailed news on the iPod nano), Apple is readying a new line of black and silver aluminum laptops, which might be the slimmer MacBook Pros mentioned previously. Details are, of course, totally speculative and entirely unconfirmed, but it sounds like the systems will be considerably thinner and lighter than current models, will have screens that reach further to the edges (which apparently suggests a smaller footprint), have keyboards in the vein of the new Apple Bluetooth models, and are set to be priced "extremely aggressively." In addition, the report says that there is "something strange about the touchpad," which could mean we'll be seeing some sort of multi-touch functionality, or it could mean nothing at all. We'll keep you posted on what the mill has to say.
The 2008 iPhone display? Sharp's next gen multi-touch LCD revealed
Want to see the glass behind the iPhone's multi-touch panel? Well this ain't it, it's better. Sharp -- one of Apple's iPhone panel providers -- just unveiled their newest 3.5-inch, 320 x 480 pixel resolution multi-touch panel which does what its predecessor did in just half the thickness. The new 1-mm depth was achieved by integrating the optical sensor into each pixel while incorporating scanning functionality for fingerprint authentication or barcode and business card scanning. Right, with the appropriate underlying software of course. Sharp expects to adapt the new technology to multi-touch, glass panels as large as 12.1-inches. Sample LCDs will be made available in September before mass production beings in the Spring of 2008.Update: Whoa, reader Tony C just reminded us of this Apple patent application. Sure, the jump from scanning business cards to having your screen become the webcam is pretty big. Still, it's not as crazy as it once sounded, eh?%Gallery-6635%[Via Impress]
Revenge of Apple patent attack: giant laptop touchpad
Apple is up to its old tricks again: filing crazy patent requests for wild devices like the process is going out of style. This time, the boys and girls in Cupertino have really delivered a doozy: a wide touchpad for a portable computer. Okay, honestly, it does seem to be just a very large trackpad with some "multi-touch" capabilities. The pad would take up some of the space where you typically rest your hands when typing, though according to the patent documents, the system would be smart enough to distinguish between desired input and accidental movement. Clearly, this kind of technology puts Apple one step closer to its ultimate goal of really, really huge touchpads.Update - While this is a continuation of an older Apple patent, this is a new application filing, just in case there was any confusion.[Via PC Joint]
iPhone 101: Zooming in and out of maps
In the iPhone Google Maps application, it's pretty obvious how to zoom into maps. You double tap the screen. The map readjusts, zooming further in. So how do you zoom out? Sure you can pinch your way back but there's a far easier way. Use a single multi-touch tap instead. That is, tap with two finger at once. Separate your fingers so it's clear that you're making two contact points and...tap. Google Maps obediently zooms back out, one zoom stage for each multi-touch tap. Give it a try. It's a great tool to bring into your Google Maps vocabulary.
Apple patent attack: the multi-touch gesture dictionary
The unstoppable Apple patent machine has struck again. This time, the Cupertino-cash-cow has applied for a patent on a new multi-touch "dictionary" which would establish gestures, or "chords" in multi-touch systems. The dictionary would not only provide a guide and somewhat-programmable system of movements, but would also function as an application which runs either on its own or in the background during other applications, allowing gestures to be recognized. It would seem that based on other recent patent requests, Apple is keenly interested in not only defining a new system of input, but owning that system as well, which likely means that the future of the company is going to look a lot lighter in the "key" department -- and really, isn't that what Jobs is after to begin with?[Via PC Joint]
