My multitouch screen has reached a state in which it is completely stable.
I can walk away and come back an hour later and still have a working multitouch.
I like it, i made some videos.
The famous Smoke Demo
PhotoApp
My Typo Flash App with menu functions
I found an awesome overview of multitouch techniques from 1982 up to the iPhone. I already knew that the multiouch principle was not a new thing, but this overview helps me understand how it evolved in the years. A nice fact is that the quite famous “pinch” gesture, for transforming pictures on a multitouch setup was already created in 1992. I thought it was Jeff Han who invented that gesture, but no. Eveything has be done before.
In 1992 Bruce Tognazzini launched a project while working at Sun Microsystems. The project was aimed at predicting and guiding the future of computing, the form was a movie. A team of designers, futurists and engineers made this movie : Starfire
Although the movie name sounds like a bad sciencefiction movie the ideas proposed in the movie are very serious. Take notice of the fact that the lady in the movie has a Multitouch interface with a horizontal and a vertical area. In terms of usability you don’t want to lift your arms for longer than an hour, so a Minority report kind of vertical setup is funky but not very usable for hours in a row.
A few days ago i ordered a book about interaction design from bol.com.
It got delivered today.
I think it’s a good starting point in my research for my Multitouch project.
Designing interactions, by Bill Moggridge.
Let the research begin.
I’m am starting this blog as a side work on my graduation project in which i will try to discover the possibilities of using a multitouch interface in the field of multi media design.
I honestly believe it’s just a matter of time until the first affordable screens will reach the market and starts invading our lives. Already Microsoft created the surface which is sold for 10.000 Euro. A price way too high for our homes but affordable for companies and public space, and that’s where most of us will meet for the first time with the multi touch screen.