Convey2u

Last year’s CES found us at the booth of the iTable, which was an overlay for LCDs and TVs of any size that turned them into a multi-touch surface. We thought it was awesome, and the possibilities were many and various. Now we find that someone has one-upped the iTable, creating a multi-touch surface that’s thinner than a sheet of paper and can just be rolled onto any surface. How cool is that?!

It’s called DISPLAX, and I can’t describe it any better than Physorg did:

Based on patent-pending projected capacitive technology, DISPLAX Multitouch Technology uses a controller that works by processing multiple input signals it receives from a grid of nanowires embedded in the film attached to the enabled surface. Each time a finger is placed on the screen or a user blows on the surface, a small electrical disturbance is caused. The micro-processor controller analysis this data and decodes the location of each input on that grid to track the finger and air-flow movements.

I don’t know if you caught that, but it detects change in air flow. You can blow on it! Note that this is just a touch-sensitive surface; it still requires a display behind it and all that. As long as it just outputs some tagged XY coordinates, it should be a breeze, though. It detects up to 16 touches at once, which probably has something to do with the power-of-two number of nanowires embedded in the stuff, but it’s not clear how precise it is. The IR solution of the i Table was very precise and could have basically as many inputs as you could throw at it, like the Surface. The benefit of DISPLAX, of course, is that it’s microscopically thin and very flexible. I’m looking forward to hearing more about this technology.

I think that we all know that the future is full of Microsoft Surface technology, and I look forward to the day when every table or desk is a touchscreen.

DISPLAX, made by a Portuguese company, is prepared for an age where every tabletop, wall, or any large flat (or even curved) surface could be a touchscreen. DISPLAX is a thinner-than-paper polymer film that can be applied to glass, plastic, or wood and can detect up to 16 touches at once.

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to think of some good uses already. In fact, my dream house will have DISPLAX as wall-paper in every room. That way, any wall I want can be a television, and recipes can appear on the wall in my kitchen. I would imagine that I could check my email or social media sites from any room, including the bathroom.

Okay, I am going out of my head (in a good way) thinking about all the applications for DISPLAX. So much so, I can’t even think of a bad use for it. However, there is one thing I am a bit unclear on: how does one program this screen? I mean, is there a USB port to connect to a computer, or something?