TouchSmarter: Touch Screen Gadgets

UK based Arcstream AV, an exhibition and event company, engages into OEM Partnership with Natural User Interface to integrate NUI Suite Snowflake in their multi-touch hardware solutions.

You can read the press release on the NUI website, in the newsection: http://www.natural-ui.com/aboutnui/news2009.html

Image: David Wallin aka Whitenoise, Initiative taker and developer of Touchlib

Because of the fact that my blog is two years old, NUI and I want to give something back to the community by offering a free Ipod touch, which is sponsored by Natural User Interface Europe AB.

I would like to give this to one of the persons that has contributed one of the most to the entire NUI Group multi-touch community, namely the person that started coding Touchlib, David Wallin. David, NUI and several key people of the community have contributed and developed Touchlib, to what it is today.
If there is somebody who deserves something for his hard efforts, then it is David.

David does not always get the credit that he deserves. Despite that NUI has developed their own multitouch tracking solution, Touchlib has been very useful for us in the early days. Furthermore my guess is that about 99,99% of the companies out there that offer multitouch, offer this with the open source solution Touchlib.

Without Davids help the NUI Group and the multi-touch community wouldn’t have been what it is today.

Below a video shot by DB Systems from UK, demonstrating NUI Suite Snowflake running on their interactive multitouch surface wall.

DB Systems successfully integrated NUI’s multitouch software solution into their own hardware solution.

If your company is interested to integrate NUI software or in addition if you want to become an OEM Partner, you can fill in the contact form on the NUI website here.

Image: Hands on, on the NUI Horizon with NUI Suite Snowflake multitouch software solution

I just went through my Google Analytics and noticed that on 27 of January 2007 I activated Google Analytics for my blog.
So it seems I’ve already been blogging about multitouch for the last two years, time sure flies.

I started with multi-touch technology back in October 2006, before Microsoft launched their Surface and Apple their Iphone, so before the big multi-touch hype.
To give you an idea of multi-touch back then, there were maybe ONE handful of researchers (like Bill Buxton, who were far ahead of their time), that had done anything related to multi-touch. There were 2! websites that mentioned something about multitouch and there were no to hardly any hits on Google attached to the word “multitouch”, but there was one movie regarding multitouch, from Jeff Han, that inspired us. I met Jeff in Amsterdam a while ago, a great guy, too bad he is so busy

Image: NUI Horizon interactive multitouch table

Since there was hardly information available about how to create this technology, I had this idea together with 1 student and 2 mentors from school (Martin Kuipers, Jurriaan Mous, Riekus van Montfoort), to start a community in order to share ideas related to multi-touch technology hardware and software and accelerate development of this new emerging technology.
I was tasked to set up this community and online I found a small group of people who supported that idea (Chris Moore, David Wallin, Tom Juby and Pawel Solyga) and we started the NUI Group community.

A lot has happened since then. Today in NUI Group we have over 4000 members (students, companies, institutes) and I expect that we will be hitting 6500 members by the end of the year.

Large corperations are continously monitoring the NUI Group website and this blog, so it is not just a cool technology. It is good to see that large serious companies are looking at this technology, which means that there is a big wave coming and it is not a hype or a technology or product that failed, just because it came too early. There have been amazing technologies and products in history, but they were too early for their time, people didn’t grasp it, so there was no significant demand. Multi-touch technology amazes people, it grasps them and it will be a successful switch in human computer interaction, creating a lot of business, opportunities and jobs.

It is not for nothing that people in the NUI Group community get job offers and that for example one of the former NUI interns went off to Redmond to pursue a job at Microsoft.

Video: A customized project NUI delivered for Cityscape Abu Dhabi

Multitouch.nl was the first blog worldwide that was solely dedicated to multitouch, describing how to make multitouch technology accessible. The tutorial that I wrote during my studies on how to build your own multitouch hardware solution is been downloaded very often and despite that it is old for its time (early 2007), it has luckily been very useful for a lot of people and I appreciate everybodys kind words. You can download the tutorial in the bottom of the right column on this blog.

Image: NUI Suite Snowflake product packshot

Aside to that, together with 1 angel investor and 3 fellow students we started Natural User Interface, a multitouch pioneering commercial company located in Sweden that is delivering sophisticated multi-touch hardware, software and service solutions. Nowadays we have software development operations in Poland and an extended office in Singapore with over 15 people involved in operations.

We have been involved in amazing projects (both hardware and software as well as services), from the colds up here in north Sweden, close to the North Pole, to the desert of Saudi Arabia. Our multi-touch software solution NUI Suite Snowflake is the result of almost 2 years of hard work, which is being used by companies worldwide and has been demonstrated in USA, South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Video: NUI Suite Snowflake on multitouch wall at event in UK

We are proud to work with very strong partners, that integrate (OEM) and resell our solutions.

I would like to thank everybody who is frequently visiting my blog here to stay up to date on NUI and the people who are making this technology happen.
If you are interested, you can follow daily operations of NUI @ Twitter:

Find below some links:
NUI studies
Testimonials from partners
NUI videos
NUI news
In the media
NUI Suite Snowflake multitouch software solution
NUI Horizon interactive multitouch table

NUI developed the compatibility of NUI Suite Snowflake for HP’s TouchSmart multi-touch computing system, running on a NextWindow integrated touchscreen overlay, operating under Windows Vista.

NUI Suite Snowflake also operates on any kind of NextWindow overlay, that can be placed on top of LCD’s and Plasma to make them multi-touch compatible, running both on Windows XP as well as Windows Vista.

To enquire about OEM Opportunities to run NUI Suite Snowflake on HP TouchSmarts or any NextWindow overlay, you can fill out the form on the NUI website located at: http://www.natural-ui.com/contact/index.php

I decided about a week ago to start a Twitter account to dump short messages on that are too short to dedicate separate blogposts to. These messages are not related to myself as an individual, but they are related to the activities of Natural User Interface (www.natural-ui.com) their operations, products and services portfolio. Here some of the highlights of NUI’s Twitter from last week (http://www.twitter.com/multitouch)

Multi-touch Google Earth (NUI TouchEarth) update
We are currently working on updating NUI TouchEarth with layer implementation. An updated TouchEarth will be available on upcoming Wednesday.

We received another trademark approval for a future product service name

Based on requests of clients and partners, we have developed support for Windows Vista for NUI Suite Snowflake aside to XP, now available.

Today and tomorrow NUI partner Arcstream is showing NUI Suite Snowflake at The Event Show in UK

The NUI logo is now also a registered trademark in the EU, in addition to Sweden

Bill Gates likes NUI Software

Inspring HP

Recorded some videos of NUI Suite Snowflake running both on our multi-touch table as well as on a dual touch HP TouchSmart with NextWindow, video will be online upcoming week.

NUI organized a multi-touch workshop

Looking for C++ interns

(End of Twitter highlights)

NUI Suite Snowflake multi-touch software was demonstrated in the UK at the Event Show on an interactive multi-touch wall surface by Arcstream AV on January 21 and 22, 2009.

Visyo and Mr. Ludovic Bouvier win the Schmuck of the year 2008 award

Keywords: Fraud, scam, multi-touch

And the Schmuck of the year 2008 award goes to, tension, drum roll, silence, spotlight on…. Mr Ludovic Bouvier of Visyo (France), registered living room office in Montpellier and 5m2 office in Paris.

Bouvier isn’t that a dog race as well? Hmmm figures, anyway Mr. Bouvier still owes us (NUI) several thousands of EUR’s for a project that we delivered for him, that he showcased at Cityscape Abu Dhabi and Cityscape Dubai, neither does he stick to agreements that he signed.
Perhaps you remember the project, the 100″ 2×1,5 meter multi-touch table, that NUI successfully delivered (for more info see the news section of the NUI website http://natural-ui.com/aboutnui/news.html).
Mr Bouvier didn’t think it was necessary to pay the remaining part of the invoice, in addition to not returning emails or picking up his phone. Instead he chooses to spit fire behind our back to other people and on events, which we think is not so kind. Therefore we are returning the favor by clarifying this.

Why am I blogging about this?
Am I doing it for my own satisfaction? No not really, maybe a little bit.
To avoid Mr. Bouvier from doing business? Ow yes.
What are my other reasons? To warn other hard working newly started companies about Visyo and Mr. Bouvier, to avoid that they run into the same issue and hopefully they learn from our experience in this matter.
Is this blogpost professional? No, I doubt it, however if you get screwed over, you probably want to tell about it and it is especially useful if you can avoid this same issue for other people.

Are we mad at Mr. Bouvier? No we are not. We delivered a flagship project, on which we worked hard for 3 months, so there was a big satisfaction right there, after having it successfully showcased in the United Arabic Emirates, with a delighted end customer. Furthermore we appreciate the lesson that we have learned from Visyo and I’m sure that other companies will learn from this lesson as well. Visyo is these days trying to pitch multi-touch projects to clients and suppliers that not know what they are about to walk into. So hopefully they think twice after they google his name.

Honesty will get people further, telling people at Cityscape that this table was built in France, seems more like somebody skipped some of his geography classes when he was younger, as last time I checked Skelleftea is located in Sweden.

Furthermore I suggest that Visyo changes their focus from a short term vision of making money fast through an unfair business conduct, to a long term vision of serving clients and partners with a fair business conduct. Some companies their primary vision is to make money and profit, like Visyo’s. Our vision is to change the way people interact with computers and profit is a necessary means to execute that vision, however not the primary reason of having NUI as a company.

A CEO of one of the largest global pharmaceutical companies Merck and Co, stated once during an interview something like, “Our company’s vision and primary driving force is to provide our clients with the best medication there is, to help them survive and become healthy. As long as you are good at what you are doing, money will come eventually.”

Our goal for 2009, other then serving our clients and partners with this exciting technology, is to avoid having to give away a Schmuck of the year 2009 award.

Thank you for your attention.

Harry
CEO NUI

For the sake of no further drama, discussion and losing energy I have disabled the comments.

A while ago I ran into this article at Techworld where they reported about an interview with Billl Gates where he mentions that he likes the the idea of Natural User Interface (NUI) for software.

Thanks Bill for the testimonial, we like our software as well.

Touch the Future, does it sound familiar? I know right, the slogan of NUI, but HP has thought deeply about their slogan at the end of the below video of theHP TouchSmart as well. They don’t just “Touch the future”, no they do it “now.” See the clip below to see what I mean.

Ow, to illustrate another example of some well “borrowed ;)” marketing texts from HP that look familiar. “Changing the way people interact with computers” sounds familiar? Yes its the the vision of NUI (see front page www.natural-ui.com).

I ran into a nice press release on the HP website a while ago, regarding their TouchSmart pc’s, located here, saying: “HP today unveiled a new generation of all-in-one PCs that change the way people interact with their computers”.

Well HP, we have more good news in case you are reading this “for inspirational purposes”, NUI Suite Snowflake, more info can be found here, is running on your HP TouchSmart, as we developed a plugin for the NextWindow product that is integrated in your computers, feel free to get in contact with us