Thanks to Richard Watts and Rob Hague for pointing me at Fujitsu’s system for interacting with paper using finger gestures.
It’s remarkably like the original DigitalDesk system created by my pal Pierre Wellner in 1991.
It’s funny to think, now, that when Pierre made this video, there was no web to post it on.
I miss being in UI research.
About 10 years ago I put together a plan for a cubic computer, where every side of the cube would be a touchscreen, and it would also contain accelerometers so you could scroll around maps and things by rotating the cube. The only imperfection would be a small power socket in one corner so you could recharge it. That, at least, was the idea. I had to abandon the project when I couldn’t find a manufacturer that would make square touchscreens at any sensible price, even for research purposes.
Microsoft, however, have gone one better, with a spherical multi-touch interface. I hadn’t seen this until now, but I think it’s beautiful.
More info on the Sphere project home page.
© Copyright Quentin Stafford-Fraser
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