Display System That Knows Who You Are

lee1 writes "New Scientist reports on an 'interactive computer display that keeps track of multiple users by differentiating between their touch'. The system consists of a touch-sensitive screen that can be operated by several users simultaneously. When a user touches the screen an electrical signal is sent through their body and picked up by a receiver located in their chair, telling a computer precisely where the screen was touched and by whom. Applications could include system access control, safer vehicle controls, and smarter videogames. The bottom line, in the words of one of the inventors: 'If the controls know who is operating them, they can behave appropriately.' The movie even has funkier than average background music."

Re:Sigh

[NevarMore]

Its. PEBKAC.

Turn your badge in at the door, sir/ma'am.

This has been on Slashdot before.

[dlleigh]

Warcraft III on a Table-Top [slashdot.org]

It's from the same group [merl.com] that brought you this [slashdot.org] project [slashdot.org].

Re:Not a great example movie

[electron_plumber]

The boxes are in different colors - it's just hard to see. (We're researchers - not videographers!) Oh, and the spill was to show robustness. In the classic UIST video, an especially robust DiamondTouch is lit on fire (don't try this at home), and people continue to use it as the flames sizzle...

In any case, DiamondTouch is not really new. It is already a product which you can buy today! The article in New Scientist was originally going to focus on DT Controls, which is very new. It uses the same idenity trick as DiamondTouch, but applies it to non-virtual controls, such as in an airplane cockpit or on an automobile dashboard. One of the killer apps is allowing a passenger to operate a vehicle navigation system while the car is moving. (Typically, the system is locked out to prevent use by the driver.) The system really only knows which seat the touch is coming from, so it's not particularly Orwellian...