Researchers at Microsoft Research Cambridge developed ThinSight, an LCD display that combined touchscreen input with recognition of hand gestures performed in front of the panel. An added infrared-sensor layer detected movement from hands, fingers and nearby objects and converted it into control data.
Project lead Shahram Izadi described the monitor as both a low-resolution camera and a scanner rather than a surface that registered touch alone.
Infrared sensing layer
The sensors operated independently of the LCD image layer. They detected reflected infrared light from fingers or objects a few centimetres in front of the screen. Software processed the sensor data and mapped it to interface commands.
ThinSight recognized two-handed input. Users could resize a photograph by moving two fingers apart or together and could rotate displayed objects with two-finger gestures.
Integrated gesture capture
Unlike gesture systems that required separate cameras, the sensor layer was built into the display, increasing its thickness only slightly. Contemporary prototypes remained small and slow, so the research was still at an early stage.
The same infrared components could transmit as well as receive signals. This allowed a conventional remote control to operate the computer and suggested data exchange with devices such as mobile phones.
