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Will Your Next Touchscreen Be Touchless?
forgot_my_username writes "The MIT Media Lab is developing a motion screen computer. It looks back at you. It measures light and gestures, and uses those to control the interface. 'Imagine every pixel on your LCD screen emitting light could also be receiving light,' said Ramesh Rakar, an Associate Professor at the Media Lab. They even mention the health benefits of not touching displays."
I can use my computer without barely moving at all. It's the perfect tool for my lazy self. ;-)
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I hope there's a sensitivity calibration - I wouldn't want me shaking my fist at an outrageous story inadvertently reformatting my hard drive.
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
Forget this "touchless touchscreen" nonsense. Combine this with the various clever stuff being done in lenseless digital imaging, and we will finally achieve the dream... A Telescreen in every house.
Look for it in the next dubiously compatible revision of HDMI: "Secure audience reporting protocol" an HDMI spec extension allowing your TV to report the number and approximate demographics of viewers to your Blu-ray device or cable STB. Pay-per view programs can now control the number of viewers, V-chip 2 can now detect child-size viewers and automatically halt display of R-rated content(sorry midgets, its for the good of the children)! Neilson will be completely obsolete!
What could possibly go wrong?
Especially for my co-workers. The last one who touched my display got stabbed in the hand by a spork.
What are you doing, Dave?
How many fingers do you see, Winston?
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wavebands for news of himself. The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive — you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme.
Another voice broke in, presumably Halfrunt. He said: "Vell, Zaphod's jist zis guy you know?" but got no further because an electric pencil flew across the cabin and through the radio's on/off sensitive airspace. Zaphod turned and glared at Trillian — she had thrown the pencil.
Technoli
Hypothetically, if I knew someone who may have at one point or another visited a site with risque adult material....
...
well, I see potential interface issues
right, I am off to register touchlessporntube.com
Get the public used to the idea of computer vision input for everyday tasks, and suddenly adware starts including drivers for the cameras (just in case you forgot to install the drivers yourself).
"People seem to keep looking at the upper right hand corner of the ad window. Move most of the content there, and the subliminal content to the bottom. Horizontal mirror image for Mac OS X and Ubuntu 10.4"
have you ever worked in a cubicle next to a sales person? When they "rightsized" our department they relocated us to in-between a call-center and a sales floor. It was pure hell people yammering on at the telephone alllll day. Now add to that everyone also yelling shit at their computers, and see how much productivity you gain.
If it won't work for business, it will never catch on.
Now how about voice control for home? Will it work while I watch a movie? because I never game without a movie or at least loud music playing in the same room...
If it won't work for games, it will never catch on.
The holy grail for user interface MUST be silent or close to it, in order to catch on fully. This is why people keep trying stupid alternatives, because the reality is that the "obvious" ones are actually just as bad as the "silly" ones.
I wouldn't mind it being a camera, just for the simple fact that then I could video conference and have it look like I'm actually looking at the person, instead of the screen BELOW (or above) the camera.
I've seen a concept of this once where the screen was what they called a 'surface camera' I think. The idea was that you can use it as webcam, input device but also as a scanner... you just put a piece of paper against your screen and you have an instant copy you can edit. And i can imagine they could also extend this with an infrared pen or something like that to create a touchscreen that can also be used as a high-resolution drawing tablet. Just wait until Wacom builds a screen with tech like this and people will go crazy for it.
Claiming buttons are good does not publish any papers; everyone knows this. If you claim some kind of button substitute is good, you can publish two papers. One making the claim and then another comparing it with buttons in a user study and showing that, actually, buttons are better. If you're really clever, you can then publish a third paper on the methodology for evaluating button substitutes, and a fourth paper on potential problems with future button replacements. Guess which route academics prefer.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
A webcam (or maybe 2 for 3d gesture recognition) is the only hardware device needed, no special hardware that senses with not very fine resolution where are your fingers and usually not with how much intensity are pressing. Think in Microsoft Surface, or better yet, in Sixth Sense technology. Moving the game to mostly software land gives a good potential for features, at least if cpu is enough.
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220060007222%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20060007222&RS=DN/20060007222 They have a patent for cameras hidden in between pixels.
It would be better to invent people who are not total idiots and assholes regarding proper hygiene. Day to day, there are no diseases you can pick up through touch that your immune system cannot handle with ease. Unless, of course, you are a total idiot that never exercises his immune system.
Aahhh aaahh AHHH ACHOOO!
"What?! No I didn't!!"
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