Slashdot Mirror
Holographic Keypads Float Into View
prostoalex writes "The New York Times tells the story of a Connecticut-based company called HoloTouch that is developing input devices that literally "float in the air". The technology will be licensed for information kiosks in New York city. Some other sample applications are available from the company's Web site. HoloTouch already managed to secure the patent on its technology."
And that's .. part of our world.
Isn't it hard enough surfing for porn with one hand already?
I don't see where I'm supposed to poke this hologram.
Hopefully the porn industry latches onto this technology.
- what is the definition of simultanagnosia?! I've been meaning to look it up!
input devices that literally "float in the air".
No comment. None at all.
The coolest voice ever.
HoloTouch already managed to secure the patent on its technology.
Jeebus - if it's not Microsoft bashing, it's the "all patents are evil" nonsense. Is there a template for Slashdot submissions or what?
What about hexadecimal and dvorak (or other more efficient layouts)? Let's transition there first.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
I don't know about you, but the first thing I did when I got to that page was download the gigantic 500k image of the Holotouch president's gigantic yellow-toothed bald HEAD. Talk about putting a pretty face on the industry! yeah...
'When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.' -HST
One step closer to being able to operate a computer like Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
Pretty spiffy if you ask me... I always thought the holographic technology in Minority Report was phatty...
This sounds similar to the devices that were used in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. I have been anxiously awaiting these sorts of gadgets ever since seeing that movie. With a few extra advances in holographic technology this could lead to input devices that a perfectly tailored to your body shape and preferences.
bytesmythe
Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together.
-- Scott Meyer
But have they really been able to build one, or are they just patenting the idea with hopes someone else will and they they can sue and get rich? I see nothing on their website (other than very obviously mocked up fake pictures) or in the patent that says they really know how to do this.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
The pictures are too obviously Photoshopped, though, so it's not like this is how the implementation will actually look. I'm rather disappointed that such a snazzy technology couldn't include a few photos of the actual product in action.
it's still vaporware.. hold your horses folks. the provided images are obvious hacks.
Seems less like trolling and more like random filler material to me.
How about a holo-hand that gives you a holo-handjob? Sex always leads the way with new technology.
Yeah, but what if you only have one eye? You can't see a hologram with only one eye. There's a whole bag of "this is not handicap accessible" with their name on it.
Not to mention, I like command line consoles. I guess its just that old style charm. I think I prefer plain old buttons under my fingers too. Maybe you could learn to type fast on a hologram, but with no physical feedback, it seems like it would be a royal pain to type at any great speed.
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
And so the CEO discovers the consequences of posting a 450k jpeg of himself.
I can't be the only one that thinks holographic keyboards would be a great idea for public computers, just so we needn't worry about the disgusting pub-funk that seems to coat most public keyboards.
The coolest voice ever.
hmm.
:: Grin ::
/. It's nice to know that they issue patents for things that rightfully deserve patenting too.
HoloTouch already managed to secure the patent on its technology.
You mean, real devices, with physical implications, (semi-)practical uses, and no Prior Art can be patented?
We are hard on the US patent office here @
I assert that my comment is only my opinion, not that of any employer, past, present or future.
This reminds me of the GR show, Earth:Final Conflict, where they fly spacecraft via interactive holographic display panels. I find this another funny way in which GR 'predicted' technology (although I am sure it is possible it appeared elsewhere earlier.. I just happened to catch it in EFC).
Mmmmmm... Bold, yet refreshing!
I know companies have been known to do it... but... I thought part of the patent law process was that you had to have a working model, in order to be awarded a patent?
(I'm not a patent lawyer, so I could be very wrong on this, and probably am)
How does that work then? Could I go out and patent something, like say, "Faster-than-light spaceship drive" and sit back and wait for someone to develop it, and then get rich?
That seems kinda messed up...
Not that that is any reason it couldn't be real...
The site is slashdotted already.
Just imagine the spectacle of "404 error" numbers flashing and floating in mid-air.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
How do you think the responsiveness of these will be? For all we know these could make for piss poor keyboards like those found on cheap laptops...
Just what we need, more distractions for drivers.
"already managed to secure the patent on its technology"
That almost implies that there is some measure of difficulty associated with getting a patent. I take it that you're not from the US?
We used to live in caves. Your body is perfectly capable of seeing off any nastyness you pick up of public keyboards.
To much cleanliness is just as unhealthy as too little. People that wash their hands all the time are generally ill far more often than those that feed their bodies immune system and let it develop in the way in which it is supposed to.
Oh God. Just imagin if you want to go to Google.com but instead land at Gooogle.com... Or pop-ups... Or better yet... Japanese Killer Seizure Robots floating floating in your face!
People discover the meaning of life between getting piss drunk and the following hangover.
Yes, now the keyboard is holographic but Gravity still comes into affect here, so now it will just land on the holographic-producing device.
*Splortch*
Yes! I listen to NYC Speedcore and do math at 3AM. I suggest you try it too.
This was displayed quite well in the otherwise pretty much lame Johnny Mmemonic (1995), two years before "Earth: Final Conflict" (1997).
These are just the examples I've seen. I would suspect that this first appeared elsewhere even earlier than 1995.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Although they really should patent their secrets rather than rely on cursing people who break the silence.
Especially, if they plan to use this sort of thing for remote medical procedures. Imagine a doctor trying to perform a delicate surgery, without any sort of sensation of touch whatsoever.
Maybe they'll come up with force feedback gloves or something.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
I have a doormat in front of my front door. It's a holodoormat, not a square drawn on the ground with chalk as someone of lesser intelligence might think. When you step on it it'll ring the door bell (after you hit the button). Anyone wanna buy one? Oh and I have 10MB images that you can download of it; and they aren't picture of my front door with a photoshopped square drawn where a doormat should be. I swear.
-Valiss
that's my friend's dad! here
I write code.
Cant blame slashdot but the NYT is lagging a bit as I remember seeing it in an article last september here even has some of the same pictures.
article follows:
HoloTouch Unveils "Controls that Float in Thin Air"
Darien, Connecticut, September 12 - HoloTouch, Inc. announced today that it will introduce its new holographic control technology into operating rooms and other sterile environments. HoloTouch(TM) patented technology enables controls that float in thin air, allowing healthcare personnel to manage a wide variety of electronic devices by simply "touching" 3D holographic images floating at a convenient location.
"Surgeons often need to view footage from the beginning of a medical procedure. With HoloTouch, the controls are contained in holographic images, projected directly in front of the surgeon. The surgeon's hands may be covered in blood, but, since the "button" to be pushed consists only of beams of light, there are no contamination issues," said HoloTouch inventor and President R. Douglas McPheters.
John D. Fisher, M.D., Director of Arrhythmia Services and Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, praised the new technology as a significant improvement over existing methods. "During angioplasties, pacemaker implantations, and other cardiac procedures we must be able to quickly see the visual record of the patient's condition at various times since the beginning of the procedure. With HoloTouch, the surgeon is in direct control of this visual record, eliminating the delay and risk of misinterpretation that exists under present systems," Dr. Fisher said.
The company is speaking with several manufacturers interested in licensing HoloTouch for use in high-end audio-visual equipment, car phones, "factory floor" applications, military hardware, and other electronic devices, McPheters said.
Not much detail on the company's website. I'm interested in how they construct the image. If it is truely holographic, then it will require a medium for the image to be projected on. After all, a hologram is just an interference pattern. That is unless of course they plan on projecting directly onto the retina which I find hard to believe. So the image won't float in the air above the body of the person being operated on, it will float in front of some display case. It won't be visible from all angles either. They don't call it a free floating volumetric display, so it must be projected. It sounds cool, but not as cool as it's made out.
This'll take all the fun out of therapeutically banging the bejesus out of keys in frustration, unless Rimmer's "hard light" becomes a reality. Wouldn't you feel silly just slamming your fingers on air?
The coolest voice ever.
for that new Spy Kids movie!
The CB App. What's your 20?
I can see some advantages to a keyboard you wouldn't have to touch, but I don't think I could use it. The feedback I get by pressing the keys is how I know that I hit the correct one and that I pressed down far enough. The feel of the keyboard is also how I know where to position my hands without looking. I would probably have to look at something like this while I type, which would slow me down drastically.
Wouldn't you just need to project a series of these in a row to create a 'cube' space where you could then project 3D scenes?
'He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot.' - Douglas Adams
Floating controls?
" they float,we all float down here...."
The keys lit up and beeped when you "hit" them to provide some level of feedback. Pretty sweetly designed tech for an RPG cutscene.
Oh, and gimme one of those KOD-MOS battle androids, too, as long as I'm dreaming.
--- Ban humanity.
They just pointed out that it was already patented. This isn't a ridiculous patent with an enormous amount of prior art to illustrate that it never should have been granted in the first place (AFAIK, IANAL).
--Chag
I get the feeling their technology is only the part that detects the "keypress" and not the actually display of the hologram.
...they do it just fine on the NYT article
With a holgraphic keyboard, you get the ability to customize on the fly, so you can adjust the keyboard position and size for the person.
But...... it can't be used as a long term replacement for a keyboard. A regular keyboard provides lift to the fingers when releasing the keys, thus reducing the work on the fingers. This cuts down on RSIs.
Fight Spammers!
Can you read the patent and figure out how the "The holographic image generator 200" works? I sure can't. Maybe I'm just dense and others can point out the invcention here, but how the hell does their supposed holographic image generator 200 work? If the purpose of a patent is to disclose how a device functions, and in doing so give the inventor a limited time monopoly on the invention in return for information that becomes public knowledge and will eventually become freely useable by all, then I think this patent falls far short of this requirement. I have serious doubts that the company even invented anything at all, it looks more to me like they hope someone else will and that they can then sue them, based on having obtained a patent without actually inventing anything or provide the public any value in return for the patent.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
For some reason, the image comes to mind, unbidden:
Cowboy Neal, marching down the street, wearing display goggles. His special custom hologram GUI/keyboard hovers in front of him (he can see it in his goggles, no one else can).
Trying to keep Slashdot afloat, he is furiously moderating the new posts: both fists are stabbing middle fingers all over the place right and left in front of him in mid-air as he walks down the street.
To passersby, it looks like a cross between Mike Tyson, an NYC cabbie flipping the bird out the window, the the crazy homeless man who walks around talking to himself.
Well, looking at the friendly pictures on that site, it seems pretty dandy if you have just sliced someone open and are interested in figuring out what the contents are by pushing some buttons without getting that blood all over the place.
Did anyone find one single piece of evidence that this product even exists? Their web site is less than a year old and only has a couple of photoshopped images. The patent has a couple of pencil drawings, and that's it. The NYT article has a picture of a keypad inside a cardboard box? And 'infoperk' turns up ZERO RESULTS ON GOOGLE! I simply can not believe that a company liscencing this technology would have ZERO RECORD OF THEIR NAME ON THE ENTIRE INTERNET!!
I don't mean to spoil the fun, but I developed a device much like this one many years ago using holograms and lasers. Poof goes the patent :)
-Jason
Now people won't have to strain their necks to see your pin number while shoulder surfing.
[sarcasm]
I can hardly wait!
[/sarcasm]
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
That's why I said "worry." Often, fact is one thing, and peace of mind is quite another.
Millions of people would like thinking that they're being cleaner than before, even if there were no real danger to begin with.
The coolest voice ever.
Those are some smart bastards. The patent office really makes me sick.
From the patent:
'He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot.' - Douglas Adams
Hey, you wont short your kbd when spilling your coffee...
I could see a pilot accidently put his hand through the controls and eject himself.
Even if it does work it would probably be more of an inconvenience/hazard than a help.
See him in 'Born on the forth of July', 'Jerry Maguire', 'Magnolia', or 'Eyes Wide Shut'; all excellent performances which did little to help his carefully crafted leading man-hunk for the gals image.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Unfortunately they didn't do their homework :(
From the website:
HoloTouch, images of keypads can be any size, entirely independent of the size of the hardware.
(emphasis my own)
From the patent:
When a hologram is illuminated by a reconstruction beam, it produces a real image (which appears to be between the plane of the hologram and the viewer) and a virtual image (which appears to be behind the plane of the hologram). [snip] Thus, it is preferred that the holographic image 207 be a real image.
Quick review of holography: an extremely high resolution film takes pictures of the interference pattern generated when a coherent light beam strikes an object.
When coherent light of a similar wavelength later shines through this film, the interference patterns cause it to be shined through in exactly the same manner as the original coherent light, up to about half the resolution of the film. Most holographic film is 3000 lines per inch, so the hologram has a "resolution" of about 1500 lines per inch.
You see an image because the light reaching your eyes through the film is exactly as it would be had the object been in front of your eyes and illuminated by the original beam.
The light reaching your eyes is coming through the film and then traveling in a straight line from the film to your eyes. You can only see such light if the holograph is directly behind it, because the path of the photons cannot change after it passes through the hologram (disregarding minor lensing effects due to the atmosphere, that is)
What does this mean? Well if the hologram appears to be one half meter in front of you and the holographic film is one meter in front of you, and the holographic image appears to be 10 cm x 10 cm, then the minimum possible size for the holographic film is 20 cm x 20 cm.
I don't call that entirely independent; as a matter of fact, it's a pretty simple relationship governed by a version of the inverse square law.
Oh, an interesting fact about it is if you take a holographic film and cut it in half, because all the information about the image is stored throughout the film, you don't have half a hologram; you have a hologram of the entire object that is half the size of the original. Pretty cool stuff actually.
I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see that I am serious?!
Is that the dude from Night Rider on this page?
Knight Rider 2003! Now with Holographic panel!
Looks like they have a holographic web site as well...
And if, by some fscked up logic, you are allowed to patent ideas that have no implementation, what's stopping all the movie producers who portrayed things like this in their movies from patenting this or any other idea seen in a futuristic movie. Hey, I got one... How 'bout patenting cyborgs? Hmmm... Good deal.
I noticed the website was going a little slow for me. Decided to check it out -- I'm in Connecticut too, so I know the local providers -- and found that the site is hosted in Hong Kong. Seems a little fishy to me.
host name : holotouch.com
alias name: www.holotouch.com
address : 202.85.141.141
inetnum: 202.85.141.138 - 202.85.141.201
netname: CHANMUIPING-HK
descr: CHAN MUI PING
country: HK
admin-c: CM600-AP
tech-c: DI16-AP
mnt-by: MAINT-HK-IS
changed: hostmaster@iadvantage.net.hk 20020507
status: UNSPECIFIED
source: APNIC
person: CHAN MUI PING IRINA
address: PO BOX 68015
address: KOWLOON EAST OFFICE
address: KOWLOON
country: HK
phone: +852-97585654
e-mail: icdsoft@icdsoft.com
nic-hdl: CM600-AP
mnt-by: MAINT-HK-IS
changed: hostmaster@iadvantage.net.hk 20020507
source: APNIC
person: DNS IADVANTAGE
address: MEGATOP,
address: Mega-iAdvantage,
address: 399 Chai Wan Road,
address: Chai Wan, Hong Kong
country: HK
phone: +852-22088333
fax-no: +852-22672237
e-mail: dns@iadvantage.net
nic-hdl: DI16-AP
mnt-by: MAINT-HK-IS
changed: hostmaster@iadvantage.net 20010807
source: APNIC
sux the llama's purple ass!
;-)
nuff said.
( Always wondered why i feel the need to post like a retard when i post anonymously.. oh well
I can't say that I've ever done this, but it seems to me that if your intention was to patent something and hope that somebody else invents it you would want to keep the patent as quiet as possible. Setting up a website to try and advertise it and getting published on the NYT website and
I'm really hoping they are gonna build something like this, if for no other reason that the "cool factor." With my limited knowledge, it certainly seems possible. And if they do, there will be working models to figure out how the device works so one doesn't need to try and decipher what's on file with the patent office when that limited time monopoly expires.
Life has many choices. Eternity has two. What's yours?
posts about moderation make baby jebus cry
I especially liked the "Holographic President". The perfect solution to bloated executive salaries!
Okay, just assuming that this is a case in which they haven't invented anything, and it is actually a good idea [neither of which I feel able to judge], here is a workaround, NOW PUBLIC DOMAIN!
Instead of making holographic keypads, make use of the double-parabolic-mirror optical illusion. You know the kind, shown in Edmund Scientific, where there are floating coins in the air. That is clearly not a hologram, but it would work just as well.
If you feel at all inclined to make something, bookmark this reply!
- MickLinux
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
Here is a summary of some people who have a real live working invention, not something they just thought up that might be possible one day
Free cell phone tracking
Can you read the patent and figure out how the "The holographic image generator 200" works?
It's traditional film holography. Which (as I've posted elsewhere in this discussion) is woefully inadequate to meet their needs.
If you're interested in how traditional film holography works, this site is pretty decent at a guide, including a home howto.
I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see that I am serious?!
The 1981 Harry Harrison" book 'Starworld' (book three of the 'To The Stars' trilogy) features a pendant computer with a holographic keyboard...
I wonder if the Patent Office will accept SF as prior art..?
This sig left unintentionally blank.
Take a look at the images in the patent. After seeing what they've drawn, the idea isn't as impressive as it sounds. It looks like a sheet of glass over a metal keyboard, with the glass showing a hologram of the keys.
They're acquiring a patent, huh? Hm. Do TV shows that demonstrate this technology count as Prior Art? They hope not, because "Earth: Final Conflict" had this type of input device since season one.
I personally disliked the show, but thought their UIs were right-on for a "futuristic" technology.
Note: I also thought their "Globals" (handheld computers/communications devices) were well designed, too. I had guessed that they accurated predicted what our technological/design curve would end up being.
How about a combinatioon of visual and audio feedback? Make the holobutton change color and/or flash a little when "pressed," plus maybe play a .WAV file?
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
This reminds me of the company that attempted to patent waterbeds, but got it squashed due to it being in Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land". How many sci-fi movies and books before 1995 discuss holographic keyboards, etc? It doesn't exactly come across as an original idea...
Does this remind anyone of the white room that the ships have to go through to get to Zion in the Matrix Reloaded. You have to look at the pictures. Af first I thought these would just be holos over a table, but this is much more versatile. Especially if you mix this with the FOG screens over at arstechnica. That could create a pretty interactive environment.
(Sponsored by cheeseSource for President 2012)
Bullshit! Some of the 3D effect that some holograms have is lost when viewed through one eye, but you can certainly see a hologram through one eye and you can certainly photograph one.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
I don't want the annoying sound, but DC-comics-style sound-captions would be ...um... welcome!
/whammo/
*BING*
**CLICK**
+POW+
etc...
-Billy
Well, the article says it is being done by the Airforce, on heads up displays, right? If this is so, then yes, it can be done. As to a copyright, well, the HUD thing is prior art, right?
Just some thoughts
Right now, the main limiting factor in PDA adoption (IMHO) is size. They're too darned big, they don't fit nicely into my pocket. Perhaps something the size of a credit card would be well protected in my wallet - but then the screen and input devices are too small -
Hence - this device would be the savior of the PDA industry.
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
...I saw it demonstrated at SIGGRAPH last week. They projected a keyboard on a surface, and you could go up to it and "type" on the projection.
It worked quite well.
Best Buy can have you arrested
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Then it would give new meaning to the term, "vaporware."
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Okay, for once and for all: PIN means "personal identification number". So when you or anyone else say "PIN NUMBER" what you're really saying is "personal identification number number".
./, true) wince with pain.
If you absolutely must put a sound in after the abbreviation "PIN", say "PIN Code". That, at least, is marginally acceptable and does not make the educated amongst us (small crowd on
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/03/18/131420 7&mode=nested
your favorite Gibson joke here. :)
Cypherpunks: Civil Liberty Through Complex Mathematics. Those who live by the sword die by the arrow.
Is it just the geek in me? When I visited the Pressroom link, noted in the article as "other sample applications", I expected to see pictures of things I could poke. I got:
* A floating keypad in the driver's window. Located right where my vehicle is located when I merge onto the highway. Great, now I don't know if the guy pointing at me is letting me merge or calling dial-a-porn.
* A doctor viewing what appears to be a movie -- note the VCR-style buttons. It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Lisa yells to Doctor Nick from the gallery: "Hey! The incision should be made below the blockage! Below!"
* And finally, the smiling face and very, very glossy head of "HoloTouch President and founder R. Douglas McPheters". This, folks is the guy asking for your Venture Capital dollars. Of all the holograms on this page, this one is the one that makes me want to reach out and poke something.
*honk* Gotcher nose!
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Anyone else imediatly think back to when this article was posted on Slashdot? More specifically the reference to Canesta and their projected keyboard. It seems like this guy has just basically taken the same thing and only patented it. Still kind of a intriguing idea!
Only 8 away from being prime (569919 - 569927) And mom told me I'm unique!!! Sheesh
Just think what someone using a computer will look like to anyone who can't see the keyboard (which will probably be everyone but the user or people peering over his/her shoulder). Sitting in front of a little box, wiggling their fingers in the air...
Speak before you think
Holographic images of what would otherwise be the computer keyboard, keypad or touch-screen are projected into the air in front of the equipment. An infra-red detector scans the plane of those holographic images to detect the intrusion of a finger into the desired portion of those images, identifies which number or symbol has been selected, and transmits that selection from the equipment's internal software, much the same way pressing a button on an ordinary computer keyboard or keypad would.
I get the feeling they're trying to tell me something.
Get off my virtual lawn, you damned virtual kids!
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
does "Cleverly Disguised" mean "so fucking obvious it's fake that slashdot should be banned from linking to things" now?
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
* This is vaporware, the patent system is worthless, rah rah rah!
* Yey! Finally [fill in reference to movie like Minority Report or Final Fantasy Spirits Within]
* Something funny
no comment
A keyboard that I'll be able to find no matter how much crap I stack on my desk.
I used a similar system at the 2003 Detroit Auto show. Ford had an interesting kiosk set up consisting of a frosted plate of glass with an image projected on to it from behind, giving that "Minority Report" kind of look. Some kiosks had a plastic thing that went in a U shape around the bottom and sides which was about one foot from the screen. Move your hand around in there, up and down and sideways, and the cursor on screen would work. Now, this is how I would assume this technology works, though what has me confused is how they manage to project holograms in the air, something I've never seen before (in real time that is). A similar item, is the keyboard that is projected on to a table or any surface, but one hanging in the air, well thats a different story.
Remember the iLoo concept from Microsoft UK? This is THE perfect input device. :-)
There have been sterlizes keyboard for way over 20 years. Sill have one from Tasa that is touch sensitive and still works!
The main question is what is projecting the darn thing in mid air? There are other companies with IR sensor for keyboard. One was from Isreal I think.
http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/tmhp0/grupo/grupo114 .jpg
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Whatever happened to PDAs and the like projecting the image of a keyboard onto a flat surface (i.e., table), allowing you to type on the virtual keyboard? I could really use that.
...are wonderful things. Too bad that the mentioned holographic keypads are nothing more than patented science fiction.
If I had money, baby, I'd create a star just for you
A usual film hologram (like those that have been around since 1940s) is made and placed somewhere.
Light shines on the hologram, producing a 3D image (you have seen it many times).
The image of the keypad is seen in front of the hologram (no, it doesn't float in the air, you have to look at the hologram to see it).
Infrared sensors (like those in the projection keyboards) detect the movement of your fingers.
The "key-press" is sent to the computer.
The inventors explain very well what this keyboard is. It is not the keyboard from Minority Report. It is a keyboard to be used in places where you don't want to actually touch surfaces for one reason or another.
This is an interesting invention that might prove useful in some areas.
There is nothing bad about the patent. Although inventors don't need to have a working model to get the patent (for 2 hundreds years already), this company has a working prototype (seen at the top of the article in NYT).
The media overstates the importance of this technology a bit.
The company has good PR manager.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
'Earth: Final Conflict' featured this technology heavily, even for more complex tasks like flying a small air/space-craft. Always thought it looked pretty cool. Just another example of life imitating art. Er, make that corporations imitating tv.
Prediction: HoloTouch will breath new life into the iLoo.
-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+ *** http://www.mountainfort.com *** +-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-
To quote their press release:
To obtain high-resolution photos of HoloTouch in action, visit http://www.holotouch.com/pressroom.htm.
Perhaps my English is not that good, but doesn't this mean there is a working prototype ?
Or did they actually mean to say 'hi-res images of HoloTouch in imaginery action' ?
3.243F6A8885A308D313
that must have been tough, seeing that the USPTO issues patents on better ways to use a swingset, and improved methods of entertaining a cat.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
a projection keyboard?
force feedback for holograms.
I know you are psychotic, but please make an effort.
What I imagine would be optimal would be a visual feedback that looked like you were pressing your finger into an LCD panel. The more you pressed (the deeper you went) the colors would become darker, more intense, and the surface area of the "blotch" would become larger.
Actually, looks to me that aside from their obviously-photoshopped pictures, the photo on the NYT website might be showing the standard hologram. If you take into account where he's sitting and the position of the camera, and the fact that you won't get the stereoscopic 3d effect from a single-lens camera, the little prototype box might very well be displaying a holo a couple of inches above where the "glass" is. No great feat in this case (I remember playing Time Traveller 10 years or more ago using that tech,) but as others have said the patent's more about the input method than the holography itself.
He is also wearing one of those spiffy new Slashdot t-shirts
(the one with a Goatse on the back and the front covered with graphics that look like pizza stains so it all blends in).
What you saw was a projector not a hologram.
I'd find the link but I'm too lazy.
There's a major difference between projecting a keyboard onto a surface with a red laser, and projecting a 3d hologram.
"You worthless post!"
-Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
Ultimate interactive pr0n.
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
... don't show that the surgeons are really attempting to remove the active holographic plastic projection sheet that is somehow lodged in their patient's midsection. Their holodeck was obviously operating with its safeties disengaged.
Get off my virtual lawn, you damned virtual kids!
Imagine dialing a phone number on your holographic keypad in your car, as pictured here - http://www.holotouch.com/technology.htm. Methinks you'll be getting lots of dirty looks from people on the highway as you dial numbers! "Are you pointing at ME??"
http://www.fogscreen.com/
Perhaps they should just tap off an ant-eye matter stream from the warp core generator to create small force-fields where the buttons are supposed to be?
Stick Men
Cool, finally. The technology to have Washuu's laptop. ^_^
"You are only young once, but you can be immature forever." -www.animemusicvideos.org
I believe Holoware is the same thing as Vaporware!
Just a bit more transparent.
In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep.
There is a differentation here - he's likely has a working prototype of his invention (sensor for holographic display), but his invention is contingent on the existance of a holographic display for it to be coupled with. You can have an invention contingent on a non-existant technology as long as it's within the real of possibility. So as long as someone comes up with a usable holo-display in the next 20 yrs he has a shot at making money off the patent.
"HoloTouch already managed to secure the patent on its technology"
Man, Bezos is going to be pissed. How did R & D miss that one?!
The biggest problem with this and any other "picture in the air" technologies when it comes to interaction is that there is no force feedback.
Touch plays an important role in interaction by providing us with feedback without us having to think about it. Without that sensation, we would have to either concentrate on our interaction or constrain to to a very limited and well defined space. As the science of interaction is becoming more mature now-a-days, it is becoming generally understood that interaction should be natural and thoughtless. Hovering controls go directly against that principle.
Force feedback plays another important role. It is connected to the previous point yet resulting is a slightly different result. Force feedback makes interaction less physically straining. Waving hands in mid air is very tiring for any but very short interactions. This becomes especially tiring when the movements have to be so controlled as to operate such small controls as buttons.
With these points in mind, is is hard for me to be excited about this technology. I doubt it will be of any use, except for certain niche applications.
So it's totally off-topic, and the story's off the main pages so nobody will even read this comment... but I was just checking out the Slashdot Hall of Fame, and noticed that prostoalex just scored his 100th story submission with this article, putting him on top of the HOF by a good 23 articles ahead of his nearest competitor.
And I thought I was doing good with my 3-for-5 record!
His site looks cool... well, the main page is in Russian, but it still looks cool. I'm getting a kick out of his job interview section... I call myself a VB coder, but many of the questions in this section threw me for a loop -- I've been coding the same app *way* too long! It's going to be a must-read before I try to land a new gig (and a reminder why I'm staying put).
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
[This is probably funnier if you go to the page and see the photos...]
Not to mention the fact that their web site's 'photos' are _EXTREMELY_ misleading.