Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/12/zerotouch-optical-multi-touch-force-field-makes-a-touchscreen/
The rise of tablets and smartphones has made the touchscreen a rather
ubiquitous interface, but they aren't
everywhere quite yet. A group of students from Texas A&M intend to change that, however, with the invention of ZeroTouch: a seemingly empty picture frame that lets you turn any surface into an interactive touchscreen. It might not look like much, but ZeroTouch is packing a series of pulsing LEDs and infrared sensors that turn that blank space into a highly sensitive surface. Basically, the strategically placed LEDs cover the open area in a sheet of invisible light. When a hand or stylus enters the picture (or lack there of), those beams are interrupted, providing cues to a piece of software that tracks the object's movement -- and boom! You've got a touchscreen. Of course, this isn't the sort of thing that's going to make it to market anytime soon, but you can check out ZeroTouch rocking the
rippling water effect in the video below.
Continue reading ZeroTouch 'optical multi-touch force field' makes a touchscreen out of just about anything
ZeroTouch 'optical multi-touch force field' makes a touchscreen out of just about anything originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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