Single touch-screen displays are pretty common, but the technology hasn’t been there for the kind of multi-touch interfaces hinted at in movies like Minority Report.

Multi-touch sensing enables a user to interact with a system with more than one finger at a time, which also means that multiple users are able to use the touch screen simultaneously. For example, it is possible to mix photographies on the screen in real time or zoom in maps over simple finger movements. The technique is also force-sensitiv and provides very high resolution and scalability.

The multi-touch display used in a demo measures only 36"x27". It uses rear-projection and realizes the pressure perception over the measurement of internal light losses - a technology, which is called Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR). "It is a rich area for research, and we are extremely excited by its potential for advances in efficiency, usability, and intuitiveness. It's also just so much fun!" says Jeff Han, who presented at the ETech-Conference.

More information and a demo video can be found on the research page, and on the Heise press release (in German).