This is another very unique, very innovative interface project. PICO (Physical Intervention in Computational Optimization) not only accepts multiple physical inputs, but it actually physically moves those inputs (in the form of electromagnetic pucks). From http://www.jamespatten.com/pico/:
PICO is a tabletop interaction surface that can track and move small objects on top of it. It has been used for complex spatial layout problems such as cellular telephone tower layout. The interface provides ample opportunities for improvisation by allowing the user to employ a rich variety of everyday physical objects as interface elements. The physical form of many everyday mechanical systems helps users quickly discover how these systems work and how to use them. One example is the record turntable. Because the mechanism through which this device functions is exposed to the user, some users have developed interaction techniques that the inventors of the device likely had never imagined, such as “scratching” the record as a part of musical performance. In a similar spirit, we have developed a system called Pico (Physical Intervention in Computational Optimization) that simultaneously represents and controls the high level structure of a software process with a mechanical process. The user can leverage his or her mechanical intuition about the way physical objects respond to forces and interact with each other to understand how common objects, such as a rubber band or coffee cup, might be used to constrain the underlying software process. Objects on the Pico table are moved not only under software control using electromagnets but also by users standing around the table. The combination of these interactions, all governed by the friction and mass of the objects themselves directly affects the result of the task being performed. Additional information is graphically projected onto the table from above. To date we have built Pico applications for factory floor plan layout, CNC toolpath optimization, and cellular telephone tower layout.
Like the author of that post, I find myself using touch to navigate, but falling back to keyboard for text entry. Navigating with your finger is just such a natural experience. The issue is that a finger is not an ideal pointing device, and buttons and text on screen is often rather small, so pointing your finger exactly where you want the computer to recognize the touch is often difficult.
This is where some of the work currently going on with multi touch may quickly benefit regular touch applications. What seems to be needed is some logic behind the scenes, which would analyze the finger press, and consider what the user wanted to touch, as opposed to exactly where they touched. For instance, when browsing the web, clicking on a text link is more likely the desired outcome compared to clicking on a plain text word. The PC should realize that and act accordingly, even if the finger touched slightly off of the hyperlink.
Head over to Silicon Republic for an Irish perspective on the HP TouchSmart PC. It was a mostly positive review, with the only negative bits focusing on HDMI lacking, and the hazards of putting an expensive PC in the kitchen.
Larry Larsen points out that a multi touch computer is a featured part of Bjork’s current tour. A reactable is being played by Grammy-nominated Damian Taylor. We covered reactables previously, but to recap, they are, in essence, a table top computer that makes sounds via multi touch interactions with pieces placed on the surface.
This is certainly a different technology than touch/multi touch computing, at least at this stage. However, it is easy to envision scenarios where the two techs cross paths.
Autodesk has done up a video of a vision it has for how multi touch could assist in the workplace, specifically managing a construction project.
Scott Sheppard, a long time employee of Autodesk, has additional information on the background of the video demo.
Every day, it seems that either a new company, or a new individual, has some work to show and share about multi touch. The future keeps getting a little closer and clearer each day.
Shannon McMahon got more than meets the eye with his iPhone. After working so well for him for the first while, the iPhone developed a mind of its own, and started pressing buttons and sliding items around on screen on its very own. Thankfully, Apple came through and replaced it without any difficulty.
Shannon checked around, and could not find any other users with similar issues, so at this point it would seem to be an isolated defect. Still, given the technology in the screen, and the previously reported issues, one has to wonder if it is in fact a related problem.
It is not just touch/multi touch driving innovation in display technology. As this article from Statesman.com elaborates on, 3D and flexible screens are just a couple of other elements that are being worked with. The article goes on to talk about MS Surfaceand HP TouchSmart as well.
PatentMonkey.com has a very negative outlook on the future of multi touch (at least as it pertains to Apple). If anything, it is worth a read to see some of the areas multi touch technology needs to work on to have a better chance of success.
We won’t spoil the read with the explanations, but here are the 6 points that are brought up:
Typing is not a multi touch process
Multi touch isn’t being extensively used today
Multi touch requires computational resources
Pictures and movies won’t be edited
Voice recognition is the future
Greasy nasty finger marks
Lets just say, we do not think the article makes too many accurate points, but have a read for yourself.
A great big thank you to Feroz’s World for posting a walk through of how to build your very own multi touch display table. It can be done in a weekend, and uses pretty standard parts and tools.
We hope this encourages folks to build the hardware, and then get busy designing great software that will help bring the technology to the mainstream.
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