ThinSight: A multi-touch display that can "see" objects too 23 Oct 2007

New Scientist Tech reports on ThinSight - Microsoft Research's new touch-screen display with a twist. In addition to being able to recognise iPhone-style multi-touch interactions, it can also "see" objects placed within a centimetre of its surface:

"The technology...was developed by adding an extra layer of electronics behind a normal laptop screen. This adds a couple of centimetres to the overall thickness, but completely transforms its abilities...The screen 'sees' by using a grid of paired infrared sensors and transmitters that sit just behind the backlight of the laptop's LCD panel. The sensors can form crude images when infrared light bounces off an object. This could allow the screen to identify hand gestures or to see objects, and let them interact with onscreen images."

The article also mentions that Apple has already filed a patent on a display that works as a webcam, using cameras in between its pixels; while Sharp has unveiled a small LCD display that can scan business cards, or detect the touch of a single finger.