April 17, 2013

Fujitsu Labs pioneer touch interface that makes data transfer a breeze

by Gareth Mankoo

The marvelous minds at Fujitsu laboratories have come up with something that could well revolutionalise the current usage and perception of touchscreens. Their new endeavor has led to the development of touch-based interfaces that can accurately detect the user’s finger and what it is touching, thus creating an interactive input system, using objects in the real word. The company stated, “We think paper and many other objects could be manipulated by touching them, as with a touchscreen. This system doesn’t use any special hardware; it consists of just a device like an ordinary webcam, plus a commercial projector. Its capabilities are achieved by image processing technology.” It can simulate the existence of real objects that not only constitute flat and smooth surfaces but curves as well. To detect touch with precision, the system detects the fingertip height accurately. With the help of a low-resolution camera (320 x 180), even if the fingertip detection is off by a single pixel, the height changes by 1 cm. Hence, the system requires technology for recognizing fingertips with high precision. Do check the video at the jump for more.


“Until now, gesturing has often been used to operate PCs and other devices. But with this interface, we’re not operating a PC, but touching actual objects directly, and combining them with ICT equipment. The system is designed not to react when you make ordinary motions on a table. It can be operated when you point with one finger. What this means is, the system serves as an interface combining analog operations and digital devices,” stated the developers.