Cool Designs for Multitouch Tables

A first post to talk about the design of the multitouch table I'm working on (I mean working on building it).

I wanted to have a multitouch screen that could be used to work. Not that I have work to do on a multitouch screen, but multitouch screens are for now just a gadget (large multitouch screens are, the iPhone or the iPad are arguably more than gadgets) and used because "they are fun". But someday the novelty will wear of and I hope that a real use for them will have been found then.

Anyway, work usage means no multitouch wall (like for example this famous one) because of the gorilla arm effect, nor multitouch coffee tables, because you don't want to bend over your table all day long.

So I was thinking of a drawing table, cause it is designed just for that: working on a surface for hours.

Multitouch drawing tables? It has been done before. Here are a few project that inspired me:

• Demand Evolution Dev Kit: A commercial solution, which is now sold out, but still looks great.

• The WURSTable (doesn't Wurst mean sausage in German?), which is what I want to do, but not as big (I'm going for a 140cm x 90cm screen). I may steal the mirror placement.

• there also was a LLP drafting table on the NUIGroup forums, but I can't find it anymore, so let's end with the demo that started all of this, Jeff Han's speech at TED (2005)

So, Hello, Blog

First Blog, first post, first day. I would like to take a moment to address the subject and the objectives of this blog.

In this blog, I will document the fabrication of my future multitouch table, code-named ECHE. I will also relay cool and/or interesting stuff I read about NUI, and more particularly about Touch Interfaces and Multitouch, because that is what I like best.

So, why a blog, you could ask. Well, for two main reasons:

• To create a sort of How-To for readers who would like to make their own multitouch table. All I know about multitouch comes from the NUI Group, an online, open source community dedicated to NUIs and multitouch. Check out their wiki, their forum and even their book if you have any question about creating your MT table or want to write MT applications.
• And I would like to become an influencial tech blogger famous enough to get free stuff (Hey Apple, I want an iPad!)

Now, without further ado, and because as I understand blogs are all about funny videos and kittens, my favourite video ever about multitouch. It's an ad for a casino (or for Microsoft Surface I don't know) showing how multitouch tables can be used in a casino. I like to call it Multitouch gets you hot chicks.

I so love this video, because it's just worst than this parody of Microsoft Surface:

See you guys!

Hello.blog

Hello World!