TouchLight: No-Contact Technology
Published: Jun 28, 2007
Microsoft researcher Andy Wilson has developed a technology called TouchLight. The technology uses three cameras placed behind a large semitransparent screen to enable users to manipulate computer images with their hands.
The left and right infrared cameras capture the depth and height of the user’s hand movements, and the middle camera remains focused on anything facing the screen. The system compares the left and right cameras with human eyes. The images projected on the system appear to be floating in space, and a person facing the screen can manipulate the images. By superimposing an image on both sides of the screen, the system allows multiple people to work on the same design.
A maker of three-dimensional computer models, Eon Reality recently licensed the TouchLight system from Microsoft. Eon’s Dan Lejerskar said, “It’s a way to interact with 2D and 3D data with your bare hands.” So far only United Kingdom’s Technium CAST, a university affiliate that helps develop young technology ventures, has shown interest in the system to use it as a training tool and a method for developing visualization and communication programs.
