Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 15, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
A group of scientists is currently working on a “transparent” touchscreen intended to make navigation with the aid of the fingers easier. With the launch of Apple’s iPhone, multitouch technology has reached the market, but “this display is still far from perfect,” says Daniel Wigdor, a researcher at the Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab (MERL). In cooperation with other researchers, including some from Microsoft’s development department, Wigdor wants to improve the display technology and make it even easier to use, NewScientist reports.
“LucidTouch” is the name of the prototype of the developed display, which, in contrast to previous touchscreens, is operated not from the front but from the back. “Touch-sensitive screens have until now had the problem that the fingers obscure the display during operation,” says Wigdor. As a second handicap, he cites the “fat-finger problem”. “The displays recognize only the entire area touched by the finger,” the researcher explains. With these two hurdles in combination, it is impossible to select areas just a few pixels in size precisely.
The user holds LucidTouch comfortably in both hands like a mobile games console. Their fingers are on the back of the device. However, the display is not really transparent; rather, a camera records the finger movements. These are finally shown as shadows on the screen to create the illusion of a transparent display. LucidTouch also displays a small, active zone for each fingertip, with which precise navigation on the screen can take place. Thus, for example, details in images can be marked or cut out exactly. In addition, it is possible to pass objects from one finger to one on the other hand. A demo video of the prototype can be found on YouTube http://youtube.com/watch?v=qbMQ7urAvuc.
At present, LucidTouch still presents itself as somewhat unwieldy, since the fingers are recorded with the aid of a relatively large camera located at some distance from the device itself. The use of LEDs could provide a remedy, since these can be used both as light emitters and as sensors, the researchers suggest. The back of the device would thereby be equipped with the diodes, half of which serve as transmitters and half as receivers. LucidTouch therefore still faces some technical hurdles, although the scientists hope that electronics manufacturers will take up their idea and develop it further.
