Multi-touch and NUI News: NUITEQ's Multi-touch Snowflake Suite for Windows 7

NUITEQ is a company that has been involved in multi-touch technologies for the past few years, and works diligently at ensuring that it keeps up with the evolution in interactive displays and software.  The company's Snowflake Suite is now available for Windows 7, and is compatible with 3M Touch Systems, N-trig, NextWindow, Lumino, and other third-party platforms.  

Here is the current compatibility list, and also a list of Snowflake Suite for Winodws 7 features:

Compatibility

* NextWindow platforms like HP TouchSmart IQ500, IQ770, IQ800 series and the Dell Studio One (all 2 touch)
* N-trig platforms like HP TouchSmart TX2, Dell Latitude XT/XT2 and others
* 3M Touch Systems multi-touch kit
* Lumio platforms
* dreaMTouch
* PQ Labs
* Wacom

Snowflake Suite for Windows 7 Features

* Detailed user manual included with FAQ

* Developed on fast and reliable C++ platform

* Intuitive

* Customizable backgrounds, logo's, images, 3d models, videos etc

* Gesture recognition library

* TUIO / OSC (Open Sound Control) support (sending and receiving events)

* Low level API

* Hardware accelerated rendering

* Support for wide variety of media types (jpg,jpeg,tga,png,dds,gif,tif, tiff, bmp,mov,avi,wav,ogg)

* Advanced window handler that supports scaling and rotation

* Audio support

* Multi-threaded resource handler (For fast data visualization)

Snowflake Suite is also compatible with the following systems:

* TouchCore 

* Visual Planet

* NextWindow

* NEXIO Plugin

RELATED 

NUITEQ now offers 3M 22" true multi-touch displays bundled with its Snowflake Suite software

"The 3M multi-touch displays support up to 20 finger touches simultaneously and come with a one year warranty. NUITEQ's Snowflake Suite, is included at no additional charge, offering the benefits of a complete bundled product of hardware and software, being the perfect solution to get started with multi-touch technology."

Brochure (pdf) 

NUITEQ Flat 46" Multi-touch LCD 

Photo Credit: NUITEQ

Case Study
"NUITEC freely assisted handicapped children with their education, by applying multi-touch technology for Action For Kids, a UK based national charity working with children and young people with physical and learning disabilities.The children used NUITEQ’s award winning multi-touch software product Snowflake Suite, to enhance their way of learning, by offering a more playful and intuitive solution, in comparison to conventional learning methods."

Samsung Transparent OLED + Wedge Camera, Glassless 3D, Telepresence, Mid-air Interaction: Applying Science at Microsoft

The Microsoft Applied Sciences Group has been working on several projects that have the potential of changing how we interact with various displays and surfaces in the very near future.   Here's some what I came across my RSS feeds and Google Alerts this morning:

Microsoft Exploits Transparent OLED

INAVATE  July 5, 2010

According to an article in InAVate, "Microsoft has combined Samsung’s transparent OLED with a sub-two-inch camera to revolutionize the Microsoft Surface platform. The touchless telepresence screen creates a 3D gesture-control interface that tracks movement by seeing through the display. The company’s Applied Sciences Group has also added its recently revealed wedge shaped lens, that InAVate reported on last month, to deliver glasses-free 3D content...the latest breakthrough could revolutionize the Surface concept, taking touch away from the display and projecting the images in 3D.-InAVate 7/5/2010


3D Gesture Interaction

"In this demonstration, we've placed the Microsoft Applied Science's wedge technology behind Samsung's transparent OLED display. This enables a camera to image through the display, see the user's hand above it, and alter the image based upon her gestures." -Microsoft Applied Sciences Group

3D Without the Glasses: A new type of display from Microsoft produces multiple images and tracks the viewers eyes - Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review (6/11/2010)

According to an article in MIT's Technology Review, "the new lens, which is thinner at the bottom than at the top, steers light to a viewer's eyes by switching light-emitting diodes along its bottom edge on and off. Combined with a backlight, this makes it possible to show different images to different viewers, or to create a stereoscopic (3-D) effect by presenting different images to a person's left and right eye. "What's so special about this lens is that it allows us to control where the light goes," says Steven Bathiche, director of Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group." -Kate Greene, Technology Review

Steerable Multi-view Display

"In this demonstration, we use head tracking to determine where multiple users are. Then, with the Microsoft Applied Sciences' wedge technology, we steer completely independent images to each user. In the video, one user is seeing a sun while at the same time another is seeing a rocket. This is maintained even as the users change positions relative to each other." -Microsoft Applied Sciences Group

Transparent Display for Telepresence

"In this demonstration, we've placed the Microsoft Applied Science's wedge technology behind Samsung's transparent OLED display. This enables a camera to image directly through the display. In the video, objects held up to the screen are captured and shown to the user on the other side of the telepresence communication (the other monitor in the video), while far away from the screen, the display shows the user a view dependent image."-Microsoft Applied Sciences Group

Steerable 3D Auto Stereo Display

"In this demonstration, we use head tracking to determine where a user's eyes are. Then, with the Microsoft Applied Sciences' wedge technology, we steer different views of the scene to each eye to produce a 3D image without the need for glasses or for fixing the location of the user." -Microsoft Applied Sciences Group
Mid-air Interactive Display

"In this demonstration, we illuminate objects above the display with infrared light. We capture the reflection using the Microsoft Applied Sciences' wedge technology. This enables us to see above the display while keeping the form factor small. Seeing above the display allows us to track the interaction between direct contacts on the display. In the video, the user associates a function (color choice) with one hand and a different function (zoom/rotation) with the other hand. This tool persistence is maintained regardless of the relative positions of the hands." -Microsoft Applied Sciences Group

RELATED

Microsoft Applied Sciences Group Website

The Wedge: Seeing Smart Displays Through a New Lens

About Microsoft Applied Sciences Group

"The Applied Sciences Group (ASG) is an applied research and development team dedicated to createing the next generation of computer interaction technologies.  The interdisciplinary group focuses on the synergy between optics, electronics and software to create novel human computer interfaces.  The ASG is part of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft Corp. and mainly supports projects for Microsoft Hardware, XBox, and Microsoft Surface.  It also works closely with Microsoft Research."

Gesture and object recognition on your kitchen counter: The Oasis Project demo from Intel Labs

Intel's Oasis system uses object recognition that triggers various applications that generate such things as shopping lists and recipes. The system can handle more than one item of food. It includes videos of how to prepare meals, a great feature for people just starting , or those who are learning to prepare healthier meals.

In my opinion, this sort of application would be useful to people with disabilities that affect memory.



(Previously posted on THE WORLD IS MY INTERACTIVE INTERFACE blog.)

Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360 Offers Full-Body and Gesture Interaction: No controllers or remotes!

Project Natal was the code name for the Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360. For $149.99 you can pre-order your very-own system from the Microsoft Store that will allow you to interact with video games with your body alone. No need for controllers or 'motes!

Presentation about the fitness benefits of the Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360:



This video is a preview of a dance game for the Xbox using the Kinect Sensor:


It would be great if I could do my Zumba moves with Kinect Sensor system and a great Xbox application!

Here's another video that explains the system in more detail, with brief interviews of innovators from Microsoft:


Here is a copy of my previous post about Project Natal:

How It Works: Microsoft's Project Natal for the Xbox 360 video from Scientific American


Microsoft gathered a wealth of biometric data to recognize the range of human movement in order to develop an algorithm for the next generation of controller-less gaming. "Natal will consist of a depth sensor that uses infrared signals to create a digital 3-D model of a player's body as it moves, a video camera that can pick up fine details such as facial expressions, and a microphone that can identify and locate individual voices."


The technology behind Natal has the potential for a range of uses beyond gaming.

Scientific American article:
Binary Body Double:  Microsoft Reveals the Science Behind Project Natal for Xbox 360

Preview: Update on Touch & Multitouch Technologies, Websites, and Touch-Interactive Multimedia Apps

It is about time for an update about touch/gesture- interactive technologies.

I've been researching the latest in "touch" screens and new developments in interactive multi-media content.  In just one year, a multitude of websites have been transformed from static to interactive. 

Although the initial objective for some of these websites was to optimize the interface and navigation for people accessing websites via touch-screen cell phones,  some are ideal for use on touch-enabled slates, the iPad, and even larger touch screen displays and surfaces.   

Convergence seems to be the buzz word of the day.   Interactive TV.  Game sets with Internet access.  Movies on your cell phone.  Touch screen Coke machines displaying movie trailers.  What's happening now, and what is next?

I welcome input from my readers in the form of links to websites, university labs with grad students and professors who are obsessed with emerging interactive technologies, proof-of-concept video clips, video clips of related technologies that are new-to-market, etc.   

I will add video clips to the following playlist:

My Post-Wimp Explorer's Club YouTube Playlist 

FYI: I'm also in the middle of writing a series of posts about 3D television technologies for the Innovative Interactivity blog, and welcome input from my readers about this topic.

RELATED (Previous posts)

More Multi-touch

Updated:  More News, Videos, and Links about Multi-touch and Screen Technologies  (Lots of stuff!)

Applications for touch, multi-touch, and gesture interaction:  What's Marching to Market?

(the above post includes links to various multi-touch developer kits and resources)

IntuiLab's Interfaces

SMART Technologies Acquires NextWindow

Ideum's GestureWorks vs. Adobe AIR2 and Flash Player comparison of multi-touch and gesture support

News from NUITEQ and 3M

A few things from LM3Labs

Updates about NextWindow and Stantum; Upcoming Emerging Displays Conference

Interactive Mobile Multimedia

Multi-touch Linux on a Stantum Slate PC & More (links to a nice overview about multi-touch interaction from ENAC)

Multimedia, Multi-touch, Gesture, and Interaction Resources (needs a little updating)

Gesture Vocabulary from N-Trig: "N-act Hands-on"

N-Trig is a company founded in 1999 that provides pen and multi-touch solutions that integrate into LCDs and other devices, and provides opportunities for independent software vendors (ISVs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to create new interactive and hands-on computing experiences, according to the company's profile. The latest news about N-Trig's interactive capabilities was outlined in a recent article by DanaWollman, in Laptop:

N-Trig's Four-Fingered, Two-Handed Multi-touch Promises a World of New Gestures

I found the following video from N-Trig on YouTube, released on 5/11/10, that shows the new gesture set that is supported by N-Trig:

The N-act Gesture Set (depicted in the video below)
N-act3SideSweep for browsing, use fingers together for browsing
N-act2+1 - select from a displayed menu
N-act3Tap- displays open windows in a 3D carousel
N-act3Hold-rotates the 3D carousel
N-act2Scroll- scroll through a document
N-act2Tap-minimizes the open window, displays the desktop
N-act1Touch- select an item on the screen
N-act4Tap-displays customized, relevant list of web page icons; selected text/item is pasted into the chosen app.
N-act4Zoom-magnifies a movable selected area of the screen
N-act4Select-selects an area and opens a context sensitive menu

avitalntrig
Here is the promotional information from the YouTube video:
"This video demonstrates the N-trig N-act Gesture Vocabulary, a set of true multi-touch gestures for two plus one, three- and four-fingers, enabling users to perform an action directly on the screen, and providing a rich set of hand movements that enhance the overall user experience, enabling a whole new approach to how we interact with our computing devices, for a true Hands-on computing experience."


RELATED

N-Trig's Four-Fingered, Two-Handed Multi-touch Promises a World of New Gestures

Dana Wollman, 5/1/10, Laptop

www.n-trig.com
N-trig DuoSense Technology
The Future is Now:  Creating and Developing a Touch-Enabled World (pdf)
N-trig N-act Hands-On Gesture Vocabulary (N-Trig website)
Better Multi-Touch Displays Coming 
Mike Miller, Forward Thinking Blog, PC Mag (3/3/10)
DuoSense: Creating a Multi-touch Enabled World (November 2009)

The attracTable is Coming Soon: Sony will launch a high-definition touch and gesture- interactive tabletop, using Actracsys's technology!

Sony will be introducing a full high-definition interactive table, a result of a collaboration with the Swiss company Atracsys.





(At about 2:14 in the video below, there is a demonstration of an application that recognizes facial features and expressions, which are used to control and manipulate images on the screen.)
Images from the Sony Stand at Vision 2009


Here is an "overview" video that shows a number of uses for the Attractable:

Here is a version of the atracTable, using a tangible user interface to create music:

Here is the "Nespresso" table, which provides people with information about the type of coffee that you are drinking. It makes more sense as demonstrated in the video.
Atracsys @ Baselworld 2010


beMerlin:  Interactive gesture-based application for retail:

LM3Labs' Catchyoo Interactive Koi Pond; release of ubiq'window 2.6 Development Kit and Reader

Catchyoo Koi FX, from LM3Labs

Catchyoo Koi FX from Nicolas Loeillot on Vimeo.

The music on the video clip is by the band Remioromen, from Japan.

LM3Labs recently released ubiq'window 2.6 Pack, a development kit and reader that handles gesture interaction for proximity touch-less technology based on computer vision.  It includes a calibration mode, usage statistics, and is compliant with Windows 7.  In the near future, LM3Labs will release new software for their partners and ubiq'window developers.

About LM3Labs:
"Focused on fast transformation of innovation into unique products, LM3Labs is a recognized pioneer in computer vision-based interactivity solutions. LM3Labs is a fast growing company based in Tokyo, Japan and Sophia-Antipolis, France."  -LM3Labs Blog 

Flexible Interfaces & Useful Wearables for All - Combining Good Concepts: Slap Bracelet, flexible ePaper, Morph, Asus Waveface, the Porcupine, Sixth Sense, and the iPhone/iPad. (How about an iCuff?!)

One of the projects I toyed with for a Ubiquitous Computing class three years ago was an application that would work nicely on a PDA that I could somehow strap to my wrist. I wanted to something that would allow me to keep my hands free and support some of my work functions as a school psychologist, such as observing and assessing students, counseling young people, and consulting with teachers and parents. The application would also be useful to my colleagues.


The second part of this application would support teens and young adults with more severe disabilities who participate in a community-based vocational training program. The application would provide a means of giving the students feedback during on-site work activities as well as in work adjustment simulation activities at school.


I abandoned the idea early on, due to frustrating BlueTooth issues and the lack of a suitable way to secure the PDA to various types of wrists.


It is 2010 and now we have the iPhone, iPad, touch-screen netbook/slates, e-readers, 3GS, consumer-ready RFID, low-cost portable GPS devices, and in some places, ubiquitous free Wi-Fi, low-cost digital cameras, and a range of devices that have the potential to play together in some way. Below are a few examples of how far things have come.   

EXAMPLES

True Wearable, by Propeller (This was a prototype introduced in 2007, I think.)

(Belkin Sports Armband for iPhone;  Trueband, by Grantwood Technology; MarewareSportShell)

RIDGELINE W200
The water-resistant Ridgeline has many of the features I'd like, such as the touch screen interface, a blacklit keypad, an adjustable strap, and range of I/Os. I kind of liked the wearable scanner and imager feature. The scanner/imager can be rotated.  If the imager also included a video camera, it would be a plus, since I use video quite a bit to develop video social stories for some of the students I work with who have autism spectrum disorders.  

The Ridgeline W200 is too ugly and clunky for me to consider wearing!   I'm sure price of the Ridgeline would be out of the question for public school employees and community mental health workers who work with young people with special needs.  


(Ridgeline W200 Wearable Touch-Screen Computer)

E-Paper Slap Bracelets: Like the 80's... Except Different -Gizmodo

"Everybody had them or at least seen ‘em. Slap bracelets were usually made of thin piece of aluminum wrapped in fabric. Using the same form, Chocolate Agency came up with a mini multimedia device that snaps on with a slap. The entire surface is E-Paper and possesses all its thin, high contrast, power efficient qualities. The length can be adjusted by adding magnetic snaps to the ends. Best part is there’s no recharging needed. It gets all the power it needs via kinetic energy so go ahead, go slap happy."  -Yanko Design

Video: e-Paper Slap Bracelet, Designed by Chocolate Agency

Nokia Morph (Concept)
The Nokia Morph is a concept project that integrates nanotechnology into mobile devices. I posted about the Morph last year:  Last Night I Dreamt About Haptic Touch-Screen Overlays




Asus Waveface Smartphone (Video from CES 2010)


The Porcupine
This morning I devoted about 45 minutes skimming over the Proceedings for the Fourth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, TEI '10, held January 25-27 in Cambridge, MA.  A paper related to the Porcupine, a wearable sensing device, caught my eye:  


Coming to Grips with the Objects We Grasp: Detecting Interactions with Efficient Wrist-Worn Sensors (Eugin Berlin, Jun Liu, Kristof van Laerhoven, Bernt Schield, TEI 2010) 


From what I can tell, the features of the Porcupine, if embedded in a wearable iPhone-type device, would be extremely useful in a variety of fields, including special education, rehabilitation/habilitation, health care, mental health, vocational training for people with more complex disabilities, and so on.

Porcupine 

Porcupine Project Documents
(The code for Porcupine is available on Sourceforge.net.)

Sixth Sense

I posted about Sixth Sense earlier in 2009:

Pattie Maes TED Talk: Sixth Sense - Mobile Wearable Interface and Gesture Interaction (for the price of a cell phone?!)  Sixth sense allows you to use ANY surface for interaction, and can provide you relevant information about whatever is in front of you.   This would be a great feature for people with disabilities and in the future might also function as a cognitive prosthesis. 


Below is a TED Talk video of Pranav Mistry, the Ph.D student who invented Sixth Sense, discussing open-source Sixth Sense and related applications:

So now what?
After the iPad was unveiled, several people who blog about assistive technology and augmentative communication were curious to see if the new device had the potential for use with people who have disabilities.  

It does.

Here are a few links:

iPad for Our Rooms (Kate Ahern, Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs)

Accessibility and the iPad: First Impressions (Ricky Buchanan, ATMac)

From what I understand, the iPad will work with Proloquo2Go, an alternative/ augmentative communication program for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. Proloquo2Go is priced at a level much lower than other PDA-based systems, and can be purchased at the iTunes App Store. It can be downloaded for use on the iPad once the iPad is available to consumers. 


This is great news.


Now someone just needs to get on the convergence train and develop a flexible, mobile device that incorporates the best features of the devices and applications that currently exist!

TEI '10 Info and Links: Fourth Annual International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction

In my dreams, I am a full-time tech student. Fortunately, I can follow my inner geek and share what I find on this blog. The information below was inspired by links from a Facebook status update by Laurence Muller, author of the Multi-Gesture blog. 

The video below is a montage of TEI'10 hands-on studio:

TEI Studios from jay silver on Vimeo.

"From TEI 2010. These are the hands-on studios (like workshops) where 200 people participated in building and making all day long elbow to elbow, getting into the details and taking perspectives."

About TEI:

TEI '10:  Fourth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, January 25-27, Cambridge, MA.
"TEI, the conference on tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, is about HCI, design, interactive art, user experience, tools and technologies, with a strong focus on how computing can bridge atoms and bits into cohesive interactive systems."



Here is a link to the keynote:
http://www.vikmuniz.net/

Here is a link to one of the papers presented at TEI:
Electronic Popables:  Exploring Paper-Based Computing through an Interactive Pop-Up Book (pdf)- Jie Qi and Leah Buechley, MIT Media Lab, High-Low Tech Group

More about Laurence Muller:
Laurence Muller (M.Sc.) , is a Fellow at the Harvard University (USA) at the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) / The Initiative in Innovative Computing (IIC) in the Scientists' Discovery Room Lab (SDR Lab). Currently he is working on innovative scientific software for multi-touch devices and display wall systems. (I took Laurence's information from his blog.)

More to come!

There is a need for multi-touch/gesture designers/developers!

If you are a talented interactive web designer/developer, game designer/developer, traditional programmer with a creative bent, or someone who who is thinking about working with technology in the future as a programmer or designer,  I urge you to consider thinking about designing/developing multi-touch applications in the near future.

In my opinion, there will be a need for multi-touch web applications as well as for multi-touch education and collaboration applications for the SMART Table, Microsoft's Surface,  multi-touch tablets like the rumored iTablet from Apple, and the multi-touch laptops and all-in-ones (Dell, HP, etc.).

Below are direct links to some of my blog posts related to multi-touch applications and screens. If you are fairly new to multi-touch, I'm sure that looking through some of my blog posts will be helpful.  All of the posts have links to resources, and most have photos and video clips of multi-touch in action.

If you are new to this blog, I have a great deal of information, links, photos, and video clips of various multi-touch screens and applications. The best way to find the stuff is to enter in a keyword in the search box for this blog:  multitouch, touch screen, gesture, multi-touch, etc. on  this blog.

Also do a search on my other blog: The World Is My Interface http://tshwi.blogspot.com

Here are some links:
Do you have an HP TouchSmart, Dell Studio One or NextWindow touch-screen? NUITech's Snowflake Suite upgrade provides a multi-touch plug-in
http://bit.ly/5tdlhc

The following blog post has a video clip that shows someone from Adobe painting with a multi-touch application in development:
More Multi-Touch!: Rumor of the mobile apple iTablet; AdobeXD & Multitouch; 10-finger Mobile Multitouch: http://bit.ly/4S9Upm

Ideum's GestureWorks: http://bit.ly/4C1p7M

Interactive Walls, Interactive Projection Systems, GestureTek's Motion-Based Games: http://bit.ly/6GRGtW

Intuilab's Interfaces: Multi-touch applications/solutions for presentations, collaboration, GIS, and commerce: http://bit.ly/7RK7qN

For software developers:
How to do Multitouch with WPF 4 in Visual Studio 2010: http://bit.ly/7c4YqC

More interactivity: Interactive Walls, Interactive Projection Systems, GestureTek's Motion-based Game

I recently discovered that Accenture's website has a few interactive web pages that provide information about the company's interactive wall technology.  What I liked about the site is that I could interact with it by touching the screen of my HP TouchSmart PC, and it worked!  (I'm always on the look-out for interactive websites that are good for touch-screen interaction.)


Below are screen shots of the on-line semi-functional demo of Accenture's Strategic Decision Interface:

(The website worked through touch-interaction via my HP TouchSmart PC!)

For more information:  Interactive Wall Technology:  Seeing the Big Picture


Newfangled Projector Systems:
New Projectors Make Any Wall an Interactive Whiteboard: Epson, Boxlight unveil potentially game-changing technology -Meris Stansbury, eSchool News 1/13/10

"In a move that could shake up the interactive whiteboard (IWB) market, two projector manufacturers have just released new products that can turn virtually any surface into an IWB...The development means schools no longer have to buy separate hardware to enjoy the benefits of IWBs, whose interactive surface and ability to engage students have made them quite popular in classrooms."

The article highlights Epson's BrightLink 450i ultra short-throw projector which eliminates most shadows, and images can be anywhere from 59 to 96 inches diagonally with WXGA resolution.  The system requires an infrared pen. 


Another system is the ProjectoWrite2/W from Boxlight, which is a short-throw LCD projector with XGA resolution that can project up to 80 inches diagonally.


GestureTek


I've written a few blogs in the past about GestureTek.  I wonder if their technology would work with the projection systems mentioned in the eSchool News article. Below are a few examples of what GestureTek's been doing lately:


GestureTek's Video Game Wall at the Child's Play Activity Center (Las Vegas)







The above pictures of the Child's Play Activity Center show how GestureTek's WallFX interactive display system can be used to create a fun environment for children. The system includes a ceiling projector and a camera that can capture full-body motion.  The system provides 25 games and special effects.  Wouldn't this concept be great for interactive and fun educational games?


For details about this system:
GestureTek's video game wall shows where gesture-based games can go
-Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat, 8/25/09


GestureTek's Immersive Multi-platform Game:  Head-butting Interactive Soccer

"Video gesture control pioneer GestureTek., unveiled its new Momo™ Software Development Kit for game developers and original equipment manufacturers at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. Gesture recognition software tracks motion and objects such as faces and hands and brings immersive, gesture-based interactivity to multiple platforms, such as PCs, laptops, mobile phones, toys and other devices. The video is a demonstration of a head-butting soccer game."
GestureTek Interactive City Flight Simulator Game

Ideum's GestureWorks vs Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 1.0 comparison of multitouch and gesture support

Jim Spadaccini, of Ideum, shared information about his company's product, Gestureworks, highlighting how it provides better multi-touch and gesture support than Adobe AIR2 and Flash Player 10.1. Gestureworks supports multiple-point drag, rotate, and scale at the same time. In the video, the application is demonstrated on an HP Touchsmart 600 and a 3M multitouch screen.

Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 10.1  vs Gestureworks 1.0: A direct comparison of multitouch and gesture support


"A direct comparison between the built-in support for multitouch found in Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta / Adobe AIR 2 and that of the Gestureworks multitouch framework for Flash. More about this comparison can be found on the Gestureworks website (http://www.gestureworks.com) and the Ideum website (http://www.ideum.com)  There is a blog post with more about this comparison and links to all of the example files at: www.ideum.com/2010/01/true-multitouch-wi th-adobe-flash/ "

True Multitouch with Adobe Flash - Jim Spadaccini


GestureWorks Supported Gestures

Example of Ideum's GestureWorks multi-touch, multi-user design for an exhibit a the Vancouver Aquarium:

Big Data: What are the possibilities for collaborative interactive information visualization? (Video interviews of Roger Magoulas, director of research at O'Reilly)

When I return to graduate school (hopefully I'll have the means to attend full-time), I want to flesh out my ideas for a "interactive multi-dimensional multi-media multi-user timeline" for use on interactive multi-touch/gesture tables and displays.   Although I've limited my work to a prototype of a template, I know that this concept won't work unless the application can incorporate an efficient means of handling large volumes of data, as well as data in various formats.

I want this template to be useful to people in a variety of contexts, such as students studying world history and humanities, education administrators looking at educational data over time, producers and viewers of interactive documentary programs (think interactive TV), the health industry, urban planners, the military, serious games, etc.

One of my stumbling blocks is how all of the data would be stored and analysed.  What I learned a few years ago in my computer classes simply won't work.

So now what?!  I think that Roger Magoulas, the director of research at O'Reilly, has some good things to say about the critical problem of handling what he calls "Big Data".   Here are a few videos that I think are worth watching.

The Future of Work
Part One



Next Device (SmartPhones, netbooks, creation & consumption factors - supporting usability in multiple contexts)



You Tube Series: O'Reilly Media
Big Data: Technologies & Techniques for Large-Scale Data (Emphasis on experimental approach) Part I


Part II (Discusses new forms of databases and the user of parallel processors to handle Big Data)


Part III Key Technology Dimensions


Part IV, Focus on hardware- Solid state disks, new data structure called "triadic continuum" which handles real-time data and ongoing probability estimates of data.


I would be happy to hear from anyone who is working on a project similar to the one I'm working on as a "hobby".

RELATED

Triadic Continuum
"Phaneron, KStore, Knowledge store, or simply K, is a dynamic data model that is based on the cognitive theory of C. S. Peirce. Phaneron efficiently organizes data into a unique, compact, interconnected, and fully-related data model. Phaneron is constructed using the Triadic Continuum."  


For those of you who like visual representations of geeky-techy concepts, here a few visuals and related descriptions of  KStore fundamentals from the Triadic Continuum website:


"The KStore data model is constructed using the basic triad. For example, the event sequence 'cat' would be recorded as shown in 'a sequence' below. A new level of nodes is created above a lower level of nodes as a result of the triadic process. In this case the lower level of nodes contains a node for each character of the alpha-numeric character set and the new nodes reference the lower level nodes to record the sequence 'cat'. Each sequence is initialize with a reference to a BOT (beginning of thought) and terminated with an EOT (end of thought) reference."





"The data set above was used to create the K structure below with the lowest level that contains the alpha-numeric character set, the second level is created to record sequences that represent the field variables. Then a third level is created using the field variables of the second level to record the record sequences. Records recorded in this K structure reuse the field variable nodes so that these field variable sequences never have to be recorded more than once. This is just one of the attributes of a K structure that makes it very efficient." -Triadic-conintuum.com



Mazzagatti, J.C. (2006) The Potential for Recognizing Errors in a Dataset Using Computer Memory Resident data Structure Based on the Phaneron of C.S. Peirce (doc)


Personal Note:
Due to the economic downturn and its impact on my family (two kids in college), I returned to work full time in mid 2008. I have a very busy day job as a school psychologist, working at two high schools as well as a program for students with multiple, severe disabilities, including autism. This has limited my ability to work on my project.

Apple iSlate, iTablet , MacBook Touch: Will it support gesture interaction & haptic feedback?

Soldier Knows Best produces great tech-oriented videos. Here's his spin on all of the rumors about the possibility of the Apple iSlate.


I just inherited a 10 month-old Mac Book, installed Snow Leopard and upgraded to iLife 2009. I'm so used to touching the screen on my HP TouchSmart PC that I found myself touching my Mac Book screen from time to time, especially when I was editing video clips in iMovie. I think the latest version of iMovie was designed with touch/gesture interaction in mind!

From what I can tell, Snow Leopard and iLife 2009 will be able to support a range of touch interactions, if not gesture input as well.

Here are some rumors that have been conjured up and distributed on the web:

The Exhaustive Guide to Applet Tablet Rumors (Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo, 12/26/09)
Apple Expects to Sell 10 Million Tablets in First Year (Pete Cashmore, Mashable, 1/1/10)
iGuide Emerges as Another Potential Apple Tablet Name (Adam Ostrow, Mashable, 12/29/09)
The Tablet (John Gruber, Daring Fireball, 12/31/09)
"And so in answer to my central question, regarding why buy The Tablet if you already have an iPhone and a MacBook, my best guess is that ultimately, The Tablet is something you’ll buy instead of a MacBook."
Apple Owns iSlate.com Domain: The Mystery Deepens (Dan Nosowitz, Gismodo, 12/25/09)
What is the Ultimate Role of the Apple Tablet? (Arnold Kim, MacRumors, 12/31/09)

• 153+ comments to the above MacRumor post

iPad, iTablet, iSlate, or MacTab  (Cruz Miranda, 8/31/09)

Why am I excited about this?

I want to see if the iSlate would be good for collaborative educational games, assisted technology, augmentative communication, and alternative assessment for students who have multiple/severe disabilities.

That is a huge goal, so I'm going to start simple.  I am not giving up on Windows 7 multi-touch programming. I just have an urge to find out for myself what works, what doesn't, and what platform works best for specific "personas" and "scenarios".

I plan to make a little app for the iPhone/iPod Touch, based on a game I made several years ago, "Shoes Your Battles" for a game class. I think I'd like to make this game for the Apple iTablet!

The first version of Shoes Your Battles created with Game Maker, and the second version was in Flash, back in the days of ActionScript 2.0.  I started on third version, one that could be used as an advergame for people to play while shopping for shoes during shoe sales, but it never got past the planning stage.  

The idea for the third version came to me when I my elderly aunt came to visit from out-of-town and just had to go shoe shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.  It was extremely difficult to figure out what was on sale, how much it cost, after taking off the previous mark-downs and what was on sale that had a price that was not yet marked down.  

Adding to the confusion was the fact that there were few salespeople and herds of women.   It was madness.  There were pairs of shoes in the wrong boxes, boxes of shoes and no way to quickly find out the true prices!   We were in the shoe department for hours, and it wasn't as fun as you'd think. If you've been in a crowded women's shoe department to buy that special pair of shoes during a fantastic shoe sale, you'll know what I mean.

At any rate, I wanted my little "Shoes Your Battles" game to help with this dreadful scenario, by somehow incorporating a shoe shopping advisor and a means to figure out the REAL sales prices of those awesome, to-die-for shoes. Unfortunately, the technology wasn't where it needed to be at the time- I am always dreaming up things that are too d--- futuristic!

4 years later, we have iPhones and SmartPhones and 3G internet and RFID and ubiquitous WiFi and the Wii and more women who like to play games and...and... The time is ripe.

Apple better come up with the iSlate!

SOMEWHAT RELATED


Thinking about post-WIMP HCI
It is always important to re-visit wisdom from the past when thinking about new interfaces and means of technology-supported human interaction.  Here are a few resources from the field of Human-Computer Interaction found on the HCI Vistas website:
The Prism of User Experience  -A nice graphic metaphor to help the conceptualization process. (Denish Katre, 2007)
Journal of HCI Vistas: Multi-disciplinary Perspective of Usability and HCI
Personas as part of a user-centered innovation process Lene Nielsen, 1/08 HCI Vistas Vol-IV
10 Steps to Personas (Lene Nielsen, 7/07, HCI Vistas Vol-III)