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"See-Through" Touchscreen Solves Fat Finger Problem

Posted by kdawson on from the eight-finger-salute dept.

Urchin sends along a New Scientist writeup on Microsoft Research's nanoTouch prototype, a way of operating a touch screen from the rear (video here). The prototype will be presented at the Computer and Human Interaction conference in Boston, Mass., in April 2009. Coming soon to a wristwatch or neck pendant near you. "Electronic devices have been shrinking for years, but you might be forgiven for thinking that one that's only a centimeter across would be just too difficult to operate. Microsoft Research's new nanoTouch device suggests otherwise. Touch-screens are difficult to control with any precision — the fingers get in the way of the tiny targets you're trying to hit. But putting the touch interface on the rear of the screen instead gives users more precision because they can still see the whole screen as they interact with it. Microsoft Research has produced a prototype device called nanoTouch with a rear-mounted touch interface. User tests show it lets users accurately and reliably hit targets just 2 millimeters across on a screen under a centimeter across."

8 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I've never heard of this before. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Except Apple already described it a year and a half ago:

    http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/next-gen-ipod-patent-has-touch-surface-on-back-259271.php

    Props to MS for publically demonstrating it first though.

  2. Dupe by Thelasko · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is a dupe from two weeks ago.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  3. Apple has the patent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.slashgear.com/apple-patent-shifts-controls-to-rear-of-ipod-105191/

    1. Re:Apple has the patent by russotto · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, at least Microsoft has sped up their development cycle. Now they're stealing Apple's ideas before Apple has even implemented them.

      ObInnuendo: Though somehow I'm not surprised it's Microsoft promoting a new way to take it in the rear.

  4. only useful for hand-held devices by petes_PoV · · Score: 2, Informative
    Just put the touchpad on the back of the device.

    Yes, it's a novel idea and hopefully one that will catch on. However, it's certainly not practical for "proper" monitors, or coffee-table sized thingys (like the toy microsoft demo'd a couple of years ago). Although I suppose in those cases, there is less need for small targets, as FFS is less of a problem

    I still think the whole concept of touch screens for office use is fundementally flawed. It requires you to have your arms raised to operate the screen - which is an unnatural position and very tiring to do for long periods of time. It does look impressive on s.f. files - with guys wavinhg their arms around. However, in terms of results obtained for human energy expended they're very inefficient and I suspect the consequences would make RSI claims pale into insignificance.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    1. Re:only useful for hand-held devices by yincrash · · Score: 2, Informative

      surface doesn't require your arms to be raised

  5. Re:I've never heard of this before. by ctscan · · Score: 3, Informative

    It was Microsoft that time too http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/2219242

  6. Re:I've never heard of this before. by D+Ninja · · Score: 5, Informative

    That image compositing software is extremely awesome. If you'd like to learn more about it, check out this article.