ZCam: Woh!

Okay, so you can forget all previous interaction posts. Maybe touchscreen is not the future after all...may be it's touch nothing.

ZCam (American pronunciation of zeecam)has been developed by 3DV Systems. Zcam is a prototype camera that can measure depth to allow controller-less interaction.

The camera translates light into ‘near’ and dark into ‘far’. This method provides a replica of the user and was demonstrated at CES 2008 using a boxing mini-game. It is compared to the similar mini-game on Nintendo’s Wii Sports where anyone who has experienced this will be aware of the movement limitations. The prototype can also be used for controlling non-gaming applications using gesture recognition.

Watch the video below:

MERL DiamondTouch Interface

This is the most relevant (to my dissertation) demonstration of a multi-touch interface that I have found. It shows how multi-touch technology can be used to play a version of Warcraft III. It uses both touch and audio commands and appears to be very intuitive.

Nice stuff...

Jeff Han's Multi-Touch

This is my absolute favourite and is a popular video on YouTube.

Jeff Han's multi-touch - marketed by his company, Perceptive Pixel is ...
now what is it actually?

It's not an interface as he states that there isn't one because you are interacting directly - so is it an input or output device? Both really, I suppose. This is as 'direct manipulation' as it gets. It is totally scalable so you can have an interactive wall if you like and as many users as required - multi-touch means multi-user.

If you've never seen this in action, watch the video as you're in for a treat...

Microsoft Surface

I wanted to post another video of an interactive device. Microsoft's table top computer is intended for use in shops, cafes and other public places, maybe exhibitions etc. I've seen the video clips with users interacting with photos and videos a few times but this CNET demo shows how it might be utilised in a restaurant situation.

You can order your food & drinks using the table itself and even pay without having to speak to anyone. There is a possibility that you are so interested in the table that converstaion with your company might be limited too! Maybe you can do this while you're listening to your iPod, shunning the outside world completely. I expect that the more drinks you have, the more inventive you could get. Maybe when your head hits the table-top it can call you a cab!

Despite forecasting the end of human-human interaction, I still think it's very cool ...

Optimus Maximus Keyboard

Another video of an input/interaction device. The Optimus Maximus Keyboard uses OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) technology to provide a totally customisable layout. It's the overlay of the future and Flight-Sim fans should get excited now!

Watch the video by engadget from CES 2008 in Las Vegas to see the possibilities: