New invention uses vibration to turn solid surfaces into cheap touchscreens
It’s safe to say that touchscreens have become a normal part of everyday modern life. The input method is so ubiquitous that it’s even appearing on standard computer displays — ones that have a keyboard and mouse within literal arm’s reach. Perhaps the last frontier of the touchscreen, then, is being able to turn any surface into one, rather than having to buy a dedicated device that performs the function. A new invention by the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore aims to do just that.
The system, called STATINA (Speech Touch and Acoustic Tangible Interfaces for Next-Generation Applications), uses a few cheap vibration sensors in order to make one “screen,” and in conjunction with a specifically designed algorithm, can detect a tap on a surface. When the vibration sensors are teamed up with some cheap webcams, STATINA can also recognize multiple input sources, turning the touchscreen surface into a multi-touch surface. The location of the initial tap can be more accurately sussed out thanks to the way sound travels through a solid surface, and the algorithm used to listen to it.
Unlike a standard smartphone or ultrabook touchscreen, the NTU system works on just about any solid surface, and has been successfully tested on glass and plastic as you’d expect, but also proved successful on aluminum and wood. The system also doesn’t seem to mind what object is used for input — be it a finger, stylus, pencil, or whatever happens to be lying in your junk drawer in the kitchen.
STATINA isn’t the first time we’ve seen a system that turns everyday devices, objects, and surfaces into touchscreens. A couple of years ago, Microsoft showed off OmniTouch, a device that could project a touchscreen onto almost any surface. While it was impressive that the system could turn your desk into a touchscreen keyboard, the truly impressive bit was when it turned a demonstrator’s hand and forearm into the same touchscreen. More recently, we saw Disney Research demonstrate Touché, yet another system that turns everyday objects into multi-touch, gesture-recognizing devices.
All of these devices — STATINA, OmniTouch, and Touché — have created a world of input-based potential. Though they’re all only in young developmental stages, imagine a world where a smartwatch can incorporate OmniTouch and beam larger controls onto your hand or forearm. Rather than buy an entirely new touchscreen monitor, STATINA could upgrade your new, expensive IPS monitor into an IPS touchscreen display.
Currently, the NTU team feels it has performed enough successful tests of the touchscreen capabilities, and is now focused on sprucing up the webcam-aided input tracking capability. Along with that, the team is also looking to downsize the overall system into a more compact rig that could be more convenient to potential users.
The majority of this tech that turns anything into an input device is still in the aforementioned nascent stages of development, but the fact that there are multiple systems that have been successfully tested is certainly promising for the future of human input. Maybe one day, some of us won’t need to rely on 20-button mice and custom keyboard macros, but can instead simply invoke a few touchscreens around our workspace.
