Surface technology does away with mouse, keyboard
A new technology perfected in Thailand is about to bring computer users into much closer contact with digital content. In fact, the mouse and keyboard can be set aside when using the so-called "Multi-Touch Screen", developed by local software company Fire One One.
The new Multi-Touch Screen is expected to change the way people interact with digital content. Powered by surface technology, the new screen allows users to "grab" digital content in the device with their hands and move through information with simple gestures and touches.
The lead developer of Multi-Touch, Chalae Narinsuksanti, said the screen allowed a user - or multiple users simultaneously - to interact with the device by placing their hands and fingers directly onto the surface of the screen to manipulate digital content. Movement of fingers across the screen creates gestures, which are recognised as commands by the device.
"It is a computer but comes in a different form. Inside, it has a processor, memory, Internet connection and both operating systems and application software. You command it easily with fingers and hands by touching icons or objects," Chalae said.
He said that when users touched an icon or object on the screen, the touch was detected by infrared and located by a camera embedded inside the product. It calculates the precise pin point of the touch and processes it into a command. The 32-inch screen has as many as 255 pin points.
The beauty of the product is its ability to create a new way for users to interact with a computer and its digital content. The Multi-Touch Screen can be designed in several forms, such as table surfaces and wall panels.
"It is a computer for which we can develop application software to make it serve various purposes," Chalae said. "For example, in the real-estate business this device can be used for showing a floor plan, instead of using a large floor plan on paper. In a restaurant, it can be used as an electronic menu, and in the financial sector it can serve as a port monitor. It can be applied and customised for many types of use."
He said the product was similar to the popular Microsoft Surface - which was promoted as a fundamental change in the way people interacted with digital content -but it was much cheaper.
"It costs about Bt300,000 per unit. Currently, it is a completed prototype that is ready for commercial production," he said.
Even though it is a prototype, the Multi-Touch Screen has been used as a presentation device in many events. Late last year it was used as the presentation device in the launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 in Thailand.
The company Fire One One was set up in the middle of last year by a couple of young graduate students with registered capital of Bt3 million, invested by venture-capital firm KidDee Panish. It is "in incubation", in Software Park Thailand's Incubation Centre.
The company aims to produce its Multi-Touch Screen on a mass scale, but according to a customisation model. It aims to develop and sell around 2,000 units in the next 12 months, but needs about Bt30 million to begin mass production.
The company recently joined the Thai Business Incubators and Science Parks Association Day in the hope of accessing funds.
"We plan to export this product to the Middle East, especially to the United Arab Emirates. We have our eyes on both the local and global markets and believe that there is demand out there already," Chalae said.
