Thermal Touch: The displays touch was once considered something "exotic", however in recent years the spread of smartphones and tablets has made them an element of everyday life.
The next "big thing" in the world of technology, as things show, will be the w devices such as Google Glass-type head computers, but until now the issue of their handling remains an open question, as a perfectly "suitable" handling method/interface has not been found.
This may change due to the augmented reality Metaio, which is experimenting with an entirely new method, called Thermal Touch.
According to an article in MIT Technology Review, this method detects the traces of heat left behind when someone touches something, which in turn could allow a user to use any kind of surface (from walls to books to tables) as Interactive «touch screens».
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1HmYNqp8NM
Technology combines two types of cameras. A thermal camera detects the heat that remains on one surface by one touch while at the same time a camera recording the visible light determines the position of the object touched so that Metaio's software can map this touch in three dimensions.
Both cameras are combined into one device called Optris I 200 which is connected to a computer or tablet for the purpose of testing the technology.
Metaio's Daniel Kurtz is optimistic that a sensor of this kind could find his way into smartphones and wearable computers in the near future, just like with the altimeters and magnetometers.
The Thermal Touch, in itself, can work within a wide range of temperatures, as long as the touched surface is warmer or cooler than the user's body: the greater the difference, the easier it is to operate the system, which can "work" with different types of surfaces. These do not include metal surfaces, as they quickly reject heat.
More information about Thermal Touch is expected to be released in September, with the publication of a paper in the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
