Comments on: Microsoft TouchWall can inexpensively turn any flat surface into a multi-touch display

By: shankar

shankar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:50:29 +0000

read it at technet

By: swami nathan

swami nathan — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:14:14 +0000

tamil nathu

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:55:02 +0000

About six years ago, I had the opportunity to set up my fifth grade classroom with the technology I chose (within a budget). The InterWrite school pad, a ceiling mount projector, and a document camera were some of my choices. The InterWrite school pad was FABULOUS because it changed the way I could teach. No longer was I bound to the front of the room as required by a chalkboard or a StarBoard. Now I could move around the classroom, interact with my students and still control what was displayed on the screen, whether it was notes, Internet resources, or a video clip. In addition, the pad was easy to use and wireless, so it could be passed to students facilitating their control the display, ability to add information or make their own presentations. When researching this product I saw video clips of European classrooms in which several pads were in operation at the same time. Small groups of students each had a pad and contributed their input on the screen. In my humble opinion, technology tools brought into the classroom should do just what the School Pad does, broaden the ability of the teacher to interact dynamically rather than just reinforce what we’ve always done, which is teach from front and center.
As you can see, I am a big supporter of this technology. So, once in my classroom why did my school district go the way of the much more expensive StarBoard option? One reason was the Blue Tooth technology which the pad used to communicate with the computer. Although technicians came to my building to test interference possibilities and found none, the new wireless phone system the district purchased had the potential for interference so we have the phone system and the StarBoard in every classroom, but not the Interwrite SchoolPad. Go figure….

By: Brock

Brock — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:44:33 +0000

Really fascinating multi touch video. Looks new and cool believe it or not! Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDyg_Hxbw0

By: Pentacor

Pentacor — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:14:10 +0000

The immediate application of this is exactly what was shown in the video, a large monitor, not a presentation anything. When they can put the picture into the beams, you’ll have the 3d visualisation that is seen in the movies.

By: khardiss

khardiss — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:25:36 +0000

I don’t get why this is such a big deal. Basically, it’s the same as an interactive whiteboard (see SmartBoard, Promethean, Mimio, and dozens of others). The only real difference is that this is multitouch and the interactive whiteboards are single-touch. Is that all the “wow” that this is about?

Also, it states that it only costs “hundreds of dollars”. But if you re-read it, you’ll see that it’s “hundreds of dollars” to produce it, not to buy it. If it costs $500 to produce, you know they won’t sell it for less than $2000. And I don’t understand why M$ would bother to “design” something like this and not market it. Doesn’t make sense to me.

As for the projector shadowing, if you have a ceiling mounted projector (as many school classrooms and business conference rooms do), then the shadow is minimized. Your hand will still cast a shadow as you’re using the board, but it’ll only be the size of your hand, which is the same amount of area already blocked by… your hand. So it doesn’t really matter too much. Having a projector on a table and doing this would produce the full body shadowing that you’re complaining about.

Somebody above was interested in using a tablet to control the screen instead of a mouse, these too already exist. I was looking at one called an InterWrite just the other day. $400 (school cost) each. You can have up to 7 connected to a system so your coworkers/students can participate as well.

By: David Yates

David Yates — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:12:42 +0000

They should have just checked out e-beam.com — been using and loving this product for years. I don’t often get to pair it up with a rear projection setup, but I have installed it on huge rear-projection televisions and it makes for a really cool rig. Imagine how big a “touch screen” you can build for 10-12k, especially when used as a web conferencing device.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:15:55 +0000

A teacher using a traditional whiteboard in a classroom has to step away from the board for the whole class to see it. At least if the image was projected onto the wall, some of the image would be visible to the class on the teacher’s back. I can see bald teachers really having fun with this one.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:21:51 +0000

Actually if you have ever given a lecture to a large group you know that even a rear projection system like this would prevent the audience from having a full view since you have to stand in front of it to move objects. This would be nearly the same as blocking the image with a shadow effect. Even the person filming this example had to stand to the side to capture the visuals.

You are correct in pointing out the facets of this setup are ‘fun’ but are not going to create a desire for this as a must-have product. The concept may be useful in other arenas such as an interactive information board accessible to visitors in a museum, but it’s not a satisfactory technique for presentations.

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:00:17 +0000

i forgot my original point…I object to the title of this article and the way it is presented. It is very misleading. You cannot turn ‘any’ surface into a multitouch screen (as shown in all the vids), because they are all using rear-projection.

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:55:56 +0000

Kris: ’shadow to work around’ is an understatement. You would need to step away from the projection altogether if your audience are to see the whole picture. Moving closer to the source would increase the size of the shadow cast. Anyone who’s ever done a slide show will know what a nightmare this is. (why do the long pointy sticks exist??). Front projection and user interaction are simply not compatible. This is fun but not a solution to any problem. Projection systems are old technology, this is NOT hi-tech. The idea is good but I’m waiting to see a big/cheap LCD (or equivalent) with the same multitouch techno. (FYI, I built my own multitouch table about a year ago now). Rear projection is ok, but you need the space behind.

Your OHP idea sounds spot on. Get yourself a tablet PC and hook it up to a projector. Job done.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:39:02 +0000

That’s supposed to be “translate into”. Typo, sorry.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:36:18 +0000

@Peter: It is shown as a rear projection setup in the video but if you listen he says it could be used as a front projection…of course there would be a shadow to work around.

As a former teacher I could have used something like this in my classroom but ultimately it would have been very tiring by day’s end. Using a laptop, projector or surface like the old overhead projector is easier as short, quick movements translator into larger effects that an entire class can see without the teacher getting in the way. Some sort of confluence of the two using both technologies would be ideal for teaching.

By: Sayied

Sayied — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:54 +0000

Al, CNN uses a different product which is called “Magic Wall”, I guess, from Perceptive Pixel. A stripped-down version of it costs about 100,000$, while the one CNN has is loaded with various things.

By: DigiMyth

DigiMyth — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:30:02 +0000

This is the future of computers. I can’t wait to use one multi touch computer!!! (I hope soon enough to enjoy it)

By: ms

ms — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:23:19 +0000

The use of the lasers here is a great idea. And when MS doesn’t productize it, somebody else will homebrew style. This is such a lame time. Nobody is hardly releasing anything good. Everybody is in a testing phase.

Why? Because of all the sh*t heads that have patented touch stuff. It’s stifled innovation so that all the people with enough guts to build products have to work around the patents. The industry is at a stand-still in many ways. The other day, MS exemplified it perfectly by stating the low-end laptop requirements for XP one was which it couldn’t be a touchscreen. Not because of capability, but because of stifling innovation.

Johnny Lee’s wiimote is multi-touch if you have multi stylus’s created.

I want a 52inch LCD with a touch screen that I can use as a coffee table, drafting table, that also will fold vertical to a TV against the wall. Somebody probably patented it, won’t build it and is ruining it for everyone. Certain parts of corporations pretty kill innovation. MS is definitely one of them.

By: Alvaro Arraes

Alvaro Arraes — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:43:23 +0000

I imagine that when the e-paper technology evolves further enough to allow for big color screens, we wouldn’t need a projector at all.

By: Suzmonster

Suzmonster — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:11:56 +0000

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/8193/ to check out a portable laser keyboard. It’s not like we haven’t come up with products like this, they have yet to be marketed to the public. Remember Sega’s color handheld gaming system that came out around the time of the black and white GameBoy? The Sega tanked because of inferior marketing, not product quality. It’s all in the sales pitch.

By: Pete

Pete — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:29:08 +0000

The difference between Johnny Lee and this (other than the specific technologies) are that Johnny’s is a SINGLE touch input (and requires the stylus, which is an infrared reflector essentially). This is a MULTITOUCH input setup. Not that that’s loads more useful, but the differences should be underlined vs. cost.

By: Danyal

Danyal — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:10:31 +0000

Well its great thing and will be the nice way for large presentations…