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"See-Through" Touchscreen Solves Fat Finger Problem
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."
but I don't like it when people operate things from the rear.
"Micro"soft.
I'll be here all weekend, folks!
Does anybody else think that eventually we might see some sort of tiny "stylus pad" that fits round the end of a finger? It could be a little white dot, so we can see where we're "clicking", there-by further decreasing fat finger syndrome.
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This is first thing in a long time from Microsoft that has truly impressed me. Amazing what you can accomplish with a little fear of competition. If this is truly novel, nice job!
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
Operator: The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now.
"I may be full of crap about this game, and I may be wrong, and that's fine." -Jack Thompson
This is a great idea. It effectively doubles the real-estate usable for interface. You won't get smudges on the screen now. It's more comfortable like they said.
With bigger screen people could even sit opposite you and you could watch what they do.
A face to face game of transparent screen checkers would be sweet.
Some of the inherent inaccuracy has to do with using touchscreen devices while walking, driving (in-car controls), riding mass transit, etc. Under these conditions, even 1cm accuracy is pretty good. I think most users would prefer a larger interface that works every time, rather than a smaller one which can be frustrating to use on a regular basis.
Paleotechnologist and connoisseur of pretty shiny things.
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".
http://www.slashgear.com/apple-patent-shifts-controls-to-rear-of-ipod-105191/
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
Ya, I tried pressing my watch from the back, but my wrist got in the way. On the up side, my pulse is strong.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Many people will have a hard time getting a feeling for exactly where their fingers are if the screen is not see-through.
Think about the first time you used a mouse. It takes about 20 seconds to get used to the idea that you're moving your hand in two dimensions and the cursor moves in two dimensions, even if you can't watch both at once. If you've used a trackpad on a laptop, it's EXACTLY like this (except it's not on the back of the device). I think you'd be surprised how quickly you'd get used to this.
Google's already got working prototypes of see-thru fingers.
Do you forget the shape of a finger? Unless you've had a catastrophic accident with a snowblower (as did my father), the shape of the finger is such that a gentle touch can easily hit a small target. We're not talking about pressing the entire finger pad onto the surface of the touchscreen.
I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...