Touching sensors

Recently got a session with David about sensors. Not that big deal all my electronics knowledge got freshened up. Some new concepts of sensors, but in a way they are all related to each other. I loved the fact that he isn’t afraid of new technologies and just gave us examples of the latest technologies like touch screens and even multi-touch screens. According to David you even can control them with you Arduino board. And if somebody knows if something is possible on an Arduino board, it must be the mad guy himself ;)

He gave us a movie about what is possible with multi-touch screen with the promising words: "be ready to start crying!"

Now, just for the readers of my blog here, here are some other movies so I would say: keep on crying: (links ordered from boring to cool ;))

• Interactive Touchless Table in Tokyo (So indeed this one works only with a camera or something, no)
• Multi-touch Screen (almost like in Minority Report)
  
• Multi User Warcraft III and Google Earth on a Table (like in title: even works with more users, certainly watch the Warcraft part)
• MinorityXP - the Minority Report interface (offcourse a real Minority Report look-a-like)
• Innotive Demo (A company apparently already creating projects like above)
  
• iBar - largest multitouch touchscreen (who doesn't want a cocktail in this bar?)
• Microft preview: Play Anywhere (First real cool thing I've seen from Microsoft, and it blew me away! A must see)
  

As you see, most of them are realy cool, but the coolness mostly depends on what you do with it. The hardware is new, which makes it for us designers an oppertunity to create new and dazling things with it. This is what I like about interaction design (compared to c-md than), jumping on new technologies and just see what we can do with them, and even challenging the industry for new and better hardware/systems so we can make what the people want!

We also did a lab session with the theory, more specific on capacitive sensors. They are able to detect pressure because of change in the capacitive field. If mounted good and with sensitive capacitators they even are able to detect pressure/motion through wood. What makes it cool offcourse resulting in that you can use paper, carton, plastic, wood,... as any kind of surface to work with to make your project (as long as it isn't metallic or it should work if you isolate it from the rest). The same technology is used for the iPods for example. Steven from Australia even made one with carton.