The possibilities of touchscreen technology

 

Do you remember watching such films as Minority Report, Iron Man,  and even Total Recall and thinking how far-fetched some of the technology was?

Well as interactive devices become more and more instilled in our daily lives, be it, iPhones, Galaxy tabs or other devices we can soon expect that technology to be common place.

With the expertise progressing at a rapid rate, the possibilities really are about as far as your imagination can go.

For instance, touchscreen technology pioneers Samsung have gone one further than a single sided touchscreen, they have recently filed a patent for a double sided touchscreen. One on the front and then a second makes up the rear of the product. This follows another world first from Samsung with the reveal of Samsung’s 19” transparent AMOLED touchscreen, with a 30% transparency enabling you see to see straight through it. Samsung even combined several touchscreen devices to create a much larger version showing the usability of the product. With this kind of progress I’m sure it won’t be long till we are all typing on bits of glass. 

That may be some time in the future but right now one of the best touchscreen is the Microsoft Surface product. The interaction for users is incredible; a lot of large companies have already started using the product in commercial places to engage with their customers and adds another dimension to the customers brand experience. The example for Red Bull is one of the best and really shows you the possibilities. 

Microsoft surface has been designed without the use of cameras and instead has replaced them with PixelSense technology, which allows infrared sensors to make every pixel work as a camera instead. This is very clever indeed. I guess the only thing missing from the touchscreen is the ability to touch and experience textures.

Well that might not be a long wait either; a company in Finland have developed a new technology called E-Sense which is designed to recreate the feeling of texture. The technology uses ‘tixels’ (tactile pixels) to create an electric field to replicate all kinds of textures on your skin. 

With this rapid progression touchscreen technology really can be everywhere pretty soon. The possibilities are as far as you can push them and the practical uses are equally as impressive as the quirky ones.

Some events are implementing touchscreen technology already, using kiosks for registration the same as when you check in at the airport, upright displays that can be used for information purposes and a few quirky uses to add a wow factor to the event.

We’ve produced several touchscreen features, including a large kiosk used as an information source that was situated in the front lobby of the COI offices and also Vodafone artwork for the iBar which was used at a private screening of the Champions League Final.

If you want to see how touchscreen technology can help at your next event, please feel free to give us a call.