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$5 Sensor Turns LCD Monitors Into Touchscreens

Posted by timothy on from the later-comes-the-voice-control dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this snippet from ExtremeTech: "Researchers at the University of Washington's aptly named Ubiquitous Computing Lab can turn any LCD monitor in your house into a touchscreen, with nothing more than a $5 sensor that plugs into the wall and some clever software." The system works by measuring changes that your hand creates in the electromagnetic signature of the monitor. Surprisingly, it offers some pretty fine-grained detection, too: "full-hand touch, five-finger touch, hovering above the screen, pushing, and pulling." The "$5 sensor" part is mostly theoretical for now to those of us who don't live in a lab, though; on the other hand, "co-author Sidhant Gupta tells Technology Review that the $5 sensor uses off-the-shelf parts, and the algorithms are included in the paper, so it would be fairly easy for you — or a commercial entity — to recreate the uTouch system."

4 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. The LCD monitor will make a lousy touchscreen by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's not really designed to have your finger smashing against it. It better have a hard surface.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:The LCD monitor will make a lousy touchscreen by OhSoLaMeow · · Score: 5, Funny

      Some of things can be responsive to having a finger mashed against them and not sustain damage, even if they are soft and unprotected with a hard shell.

      Just ask your girlfriend.

      Think again about where you're posting this.

      --
      They can take my LifeAlert pendant when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.
  2. Two words by hugortega · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Gorilla Arm ... Well, more ... Why people still believe that desktop computers are good as a touch device? That makes no sense for me, specially because the ugly fingerprints hehe. I love to *work* on my dual head desktop because the speed of keyboard and big resolution. If I have to use a touch device, it's not for work and not on a desktop, really. Anyway, nice research, I have to say.

  3. Re:i prefer by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just touched my 27 inch LCD monitor and it was a bad experience. The screen looked like it deformed and pushing liquid to the side. Plus it left a greasy fingerprint. I wouldn't buy this thing for $5 or 5 cents.