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`THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF TOUCH —
`
`From touchdisplays to the Surface: A brief
`history of touchscreen technology
`The beginningsof capacitive, resisitive, and multitouch screens.
`
`FLORENCE ION - 4/4/2013, 9:00 AM
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`Lawson/Thinkstock
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`Aurich
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`It's hard to believe that just a few decades ago, touchscreen
`technology could only be found in sciencefiction books andfilm.
`These days,it's almost unfathomable how weoncegot through our
`daily tasks withouta trusty tablet or smartphonenearby, butit
`doesn't stop there. Touchscreensreally are everywhere. Homes,cars,
`restaurants, stores, planes, wherever—theyfill our lives in spaces
`public and private.
`
`The Past, Present,
`and Future of Touch
`
`Finger-free phones,full
`body gesturing, and our
`“touchscreen”future
`How today’s touchscreen
`tech put the world at our
`fingertips
`
`> View morestories
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`It took generations and several major technological advancements for
`touchscreens to achieve this kind of presence. Although the
`underlying technology behind touchscreens can be traced back to the 1940s, there's plenty of
`evidence that suggests touchscreens weren't feasible until at least 1965. Popular science fiction
`television shows like Star Trek didn't even refer to the technology until Star Trek: The Next Generation
`debuted in 1987, almost two decades after touchscreen technology was even deemed possible. But
`their inclusion in the series paralleled the advancements in the technology world, and by the late
`1980s, touchscreens finally appeared to be realistic enough that consumers could actually employ
`the technology into their own homes.
`
`This article is the first of a three-part series on touchscreen technology's journey to fact from fiction.
`The first three decades of touch are important to reflect upon in order to really appreciate the
`multitouch technology we're so used to having today. Today, we'll look at when these technologies
`first arose and who introduced them, plus we'll discuss several other pioneers who played a big role
`in advancing touch. Future entries in this series will study how the changes in touch displays led to
`essential devices for our lives today and where the technology might take us in the future. But first,
`let's put finger to screen and travel to the 1960s.
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`1960s: The first touchscreen
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`Johnson, 1967
`
`Historians generally consider the first finger-driven touchscreen to have been invented by E.A.
`Johnson in 1965 at the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern, United Kingdom. Johnson originally
`described his work in an article entitled "Touch display—a novel input/output device for computers"
`published in Electronics Letters. The piece featured a diagram describing a type of touchscreen
`mechanism that many smartphones use today—what we now know as capacitive touch. Two years
`later, Johnson further expounded on the technology with photographs and diagrams in "Touch
`Displays: A Programmed Man-Machine Interface," published in Ergonomics in 1967.
`
`How capacitive touchscreens work.
`
`A capacitive touchscreen panel uses an insulator, like glass,
`that is coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin
`oxide (ITO). The "conductive" part is usually a human finger,
`which makes for a fine electrical conductor. Johnson's initial
`technology could only process one touch at a time, and what
`we'd describe today as "multitouch" was still somewhat a ways
`away. The invention was also binary in its interpretation of
`touch—the interface registered contact or it didn't register
`contact. Pressure sensitivity would arrive much later.
`
`Tireseas
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`Even without the extra features, the early touch interface idea
`had some takers. Johnson's discovery was eventually adopted by air traffic controllers in the UK and
`remained in use until the late 1990s.
`
`1970s: Resistive touchscreens are invented
`
`Although capacitive touchscreens were designed first, they were eclipsed in the early years of touch
`by resistive touchscreens. American inventor Dr. G. Samuel Hurst developed resistive touchscreens
`almost accidentally. The Berea College Magazine for alumni described it like this:
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`To study atomic physics the research team used an overworked Van de Graff accelerator that
`was only available at night. Tedious analyses slowed their research. Sam thought of a way to
`solve that problem. He, Parks, and Thurman Stewart, another doctoral student, used
`electrically conductive paper to read a pair of x- and y- coordinates. That idea led to the first
`touch screen for a computer. With this prototype, his students could compute in a few hours
`what otherwise had taken days to accomplish.
`
`Hurst and the research team had been working at the University of Kentucky. The university tried to
`file a patent on his behalf to protect this accidental invention from duplication, but its scientific
`origins made it seem like it wasn't that applicable outside the laboratory.
`
`Hurst, however, had other ideas. "I thought it might be useful for other things," he said in the article.
`In 1970, after he returned to work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Hurst began an
`after-hours experiment. In his basement, Hurst and nine friends from various other areas of
`expertise set out to refine what had been accidentally invented. The group called its fledgling venture
`"Elographics," and the team discovered that a touchscreen on a computer monitor made for an
`excellent method of interaction. All the screen needed was a conductive cover sheet to make contact
`with the sheet that contained the X- and Y-axis. Pressure on the cover sheet allowed voltage to flow
`between the X wires and the Y wires, which could be measured to indicate coordinates. This discovery
`helped found what we today refer to as resistive touch technology (because it responds purely to
`pressure rather than electrical conductivity, working with both a stylus and a finger).
`
`As a class of technology, resistive touchscreens tend to be very affordable to produce. Most devices
`and machines using this touch technology can be found in restaurants, factories, and hospitals
`because they are durable enough for these environments. Smartphone manufacturers have also
`used resistive touchscreens in the past, though their presence in the mobile space today tends to be
`confined to lower-end phones.
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`A second-gen AccuTouch curved touchscreen from EloTouch.
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`EloTouch
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`Elographics didn't confine itself just to resistive touch, though. The group eventually patented the first
`curved glass touch interface. The patent was titled "electrical sensor of plane coordinates" and it
`provided details on "an inexpensive electrical sensor of plane coordinates" that employed
`"juxtaposed sheets of conducting material having electrical equipotential lines." After this invention,
`Elographics was sold to "good folks in California" and became EloTouch Systems.
`
`By 1971, a number of different touch-capable machines had been introduced, though none were
`pressure sensitive. One of the most widely used touch-capable devices at the time was the University
`of Illinois's PLATO IV terminal—one of the first generalized computer assisted instruction systems.
`The PLATO IV eschewed capacitive or resistive touch in favor of an infrared system (we'll explain
`shortly). PLATO IV was the first touchscreen computer to be used in a classroom that allowed
`students to touch the screen to answer questions.
`
`The PLATO IV touchscreen terminal.
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`FLORENCE ION
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`1980s: The decade of touch
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`In 1982, the first human-controlled multitouch device was developed at the University of
`Toronto by Nimish Mehta. It wasn't so much a touchscreen asit was a touch-tablet. The Input
`Research Group atthe university figured out that a frosted-glass panel with a camera behind it
`could detect action as it recognized the different "black spots" showing up on-screen. Bill
`Buxtonhasplayed a hugerole in the developmentof multitouch technology (most notably with
`the PortfolioWall, to be discussed a bit later), and he deemed Mehta's invention important
`
`enough toinclude in his informal timeline of computer input devices: Bill
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`Buxton
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`Oneof the first diagrams depicting
`multitouch input.
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`The touch surface was a translucent plastic filter mounted over a sheet of glass, side-lit by a fluorescent lamp. A video
`camera was mounted below the touch surface, and optically captured the shadowsthat appearedon the translucent filter.
`(A mirror in the housing was used to extend the optical path.) The output of the camera was digitized and fed into a signal
`processor for analysis.
`
`Shortly thereafter, gestural interaction was introduced by Myron Krueger, an American computerartist who developedan optical
`system that could track hand movements. Krueger introduced Video Place (later called Video Desk) in 1983, though he'd been
`working on the system sincethe late 1970s. It used projectors and video camerasto track hands,fingers, and the people they
`belongedto. Unlike multitouch, it wasn't entirely aware of who or what wastouching, though the software could react to different
`poses. The display depicted what lookedlike shadowsin a simulated space.
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`Myron Kreuger- Video Place - 1989
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` Bill Buxton introduces the PortfolioWall and details someofits abilities.
`
`Thoughit wasn't technically touch-based—it relied on "dwell time” before it would execute an action—Buxton regards it as one of
`the technologies that "wrote the book’ in terms of unencumbered... rich gestural interaction. The work was more than a decade
`ahead ofits time and was hugely influential, yet not as acknowledged as it should be." Krueger also pioneered virtual reality and
`interactive art later on in his career.
`
`eTCod)relic
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`~ Virtual
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`de Video
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`_ Ambiente
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`A diagram (in Spanish!) detailing how the Video Place worked.
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`Touchscreens began being heavily commercialized at the beginning of the 1980s. HP (then still formally known as Hewlett-Packard)
`tossedits hat in with the HP-150 in September of 1983. The computer used MS-DOSand featured a 9-inch Sony CRT surrounded by
`infrared (IR) emitters and detectors that could sense wherethe user's finger came downonthe screen. The system cost about
`$2,795, but it was not immediately embraced because it had some usability issues. For instance, poking at the screen would in turn
`block otherIR rays that could tell the computer wherethe finger was pointing. This resulted in what some called "Gorilla Arm,"
`referring to muscle fatigue that came from a user sticking his or her hand outfor so long.
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`Wikimedia Commons
`
`Enlarge / The HP-150 featured MS-DOS and a 9-inch touchscreen Sony CRT.
`
`A year later, multitouch technology took a step forward when Bob Boie of Bell Labs developed the first transparent multitouch
`screen overlay. As Ars wrote last year:
`
`...the first multitouch screen was developed at Bell Labs in 1984. [Bill Buxton] reports that the screen, created by Bob Boie,
`"used a transparent capacitive array of touch sensors overlaid on a CRT." It allowed the user to "manipulate graphical
`objects with fingers with excellent response time."
`
`The discovery helped create the multitouch technology that we use today in tablets and smartphones.
`
`1990s: Touchscreens for everyone!
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`IBM's Simon Personal Communicator: big handset, big screen, and a stylus for touch input.
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`In 1993, IBM and BellSouth teamed up to launch the Simon Personal Communicator, one of the first cellphones with touchscreen
`technology. It featured paging capabilities, an e-mail and calendar application, an appointment schedule, an address book, a
`calculator, and a pen-based sketchpad. It also had a resistive touchscreen that required the use of a stylus to navigate through
`menus and to input data.
`
`The original MessagePad 100.
`
`Apple also launched a touchscreen PDA device that year: the Newton PDA. Though the Newton platform had begun in 1987, the
`MessagePad was the first in the series of devices from Apple to use the platform. As Time notes, Apple's CEO at the time, John
`Sculley, actually coined the term "PDA" (or "personal digital assistant"). Like IBM's Simon Personal Communicator, the MessagePad
`100 featured handwriting recognition software and was controlled with a stylus.
`
`Early reviews of the MessagePad focused on its useful features. Once it got into the hands of consumers, however, its
`shortcomings became more apparent. The handwriting recognition software didn't work too well, and the Newton didn't sell that
`many units. That didn't stop Apple, though; the company made the Newton for six more years, ending with the MP2000.
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`The first Palm Pilot.
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`Wikimedia Commons
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`Three years later, Palm Computing followed suit with its own PDA, dubbed the Pilot. It was the first of the company's many
`generations of personal digital assistants. Like the other touchscreen gadgets that preceded it, the Palm 1000 and Pilot 5000
`required the use of a stylus.
`
`Palm's PDA gadget had a bit more success than IBM and Apple's offerings. Its name soon became synonymous with the word
`"business," helped in part by the fact that its handwriting recognition software worked very well. Users used what Palm called
`"Graffiti" to input text, numbers, and other characters. It was simple to learn and mimicked how a person writes on a piece of
`paper. It was eventually implemented over to the Apple Newton platform.
`
`PDA-type devices didn't necessarily feature the finger-to-screen type of touchscreens that we're used to today, but consumer
`adoption convinced the companies that there was enough interest in owning this type of device.
`
`Near the end of the decade, University of Delaware graduate student Wayne Westerman published a doctoral dissertation entitled
`"Hand Tracking, Finger Identification, and Chordic Manipulation on a Multi-Touch Surface." The paper detailed the mechanisms
`behind what we know today as multitouch capacitive technology, which has gone on to become a staple feature in modern
`touchscreen-equipped devices.
`
`The iGesture pad manufactured by FingerWorks.
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`Westerman and his faculty advisor, John Elias, eventually formed a company called FingerWorks. The group began producing a line
`of multitouch gesture-based products, including a gesture-based keyboard called the TouchStream. This helped those who were
`suffering from disabilities like repetitive strain injuries and other medical conditions. The iGesture Pad was also released that year,
`which allowed one-hand gesturing and maneuvering to control the screen. FingerWorks was eventually acquired by Apple in 2005,
`and many attribute technologies like the multitouch Trackpad or the iPhone's touchscreen to this acquisition.
`
`2000s and beyond
`
`With so many different technologies accumulating in the previous decades, the 2000s were the time for touchscreen technologies
`to really flourish. We won't cover too many specific devices here (more on those as this touchscreen series continues), but there
`were advancements during this decade that helped bring multitouch and gesture-based technology to the masses. The 2000s were
`also the era when touchscreens became the favorite tool for design collaboration.
`
`2001: Alias|Wavefront's gesture-based PortfolioWall
`
`Car Design News
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`As the new millennium approached, companies were pouring more resources into integrating touchscreen technology into their
`daily processes. 3D animators and designers were especially targeted with the advent of the PortfolioWall. This was a large-format
`touchscreen meant to be a dynamic version of the boards that design studios use to track projects. Though development started in
`1999, the PortfolioWall was unveiled at SIGGRAPH in 2001 and was produced in part by a joint collaboration between General
`Motors and the team at Alias|Wavefront. Buxton, who now serves as principal research at Microsoft Research, was the chief
`scientist on the project. "We're tearing down the wall and changing the way people effectively communicate in the workplace and
`do business," he said back then. "PortfolioWall's gestural interface allows users to completely interact with a digital asset. Looking
`at images now easily become part of an everyday workflow."
`
`Portfolio Wall
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`Bill Buxton introduces the PortfolioWall and details someofit abilities.
`
`The PortfolioWall used a simple, easy-to-use, gesture-basedinterface.It allowed users to inspect and maneuver images,
`animations,and 3D files with just their fingers. It was also easy to scale images, fetch 3D models, and play back video.A later
`version added sketch and text annotation,the ability to launch third-party applications, and a Maya-based 3D viewingtool to use
`panning,rotating, zooming, and viewing for 3D models. For the mostpart, the product was considered a digital corkboard for
`design-centric professions. It also cost a whopping $38,000 to get the wholeset up installed—$3,000 for the presenteritself and
`$35,000 for the server.
`
`The PortfolioWall also addressed thefact that while traditional mediumslike
`
`clay models and full-size drawings werestill important to the design process,
`they were slowly being augmentedbydigital tools. The device included add-
`ons thatvirtually emulated those tangible mediums and served as a
`presentation tool for designers to show off their work in progress.
`
`Another main draw of the PortfolioWall wasits "awarenessserver," which
`
`helpedfacilitate collaboration across a networkso that teamsdidn't have to
`be in the same room to review a project. Teams could have multiple walls in
`different spacesandstill collaborate remotely.
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`News
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`The PortfolioWall was eventually laid to rest in 2008, but it was a prime
`example of how gesturesinteracting with the touchscreen could help control
`an entire operating system.
`
`The PortfolioWall allowed designers to display full-scale
`3D models.
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`Florence is a formerreviews editorat Ars.
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`Using the Sony SmartSkin.
`
`In 2002, Sony introduced a flat input surface that could recognize multiple hand positions and touch
`points at the same time. The company called it SmartSkin. The technology worked by calculating the
`distance between the hand and the surface with capacitive sensing and a mesh-shaped antenna.
`Unlike the camera-based gesture recognition system in other technologies, the sensing elements
`were all integrated into the touch surface. This also meant that it wouldn't malfunction in poor
`lighting conditions. The ultimate goal of the project was to transform surfaces that are used every
`day, like your average table or a wall, into an interactive one with the use of a PC nearby. However,
`the technology did more for capacitive touch technology than may have been intended, including
`introducing multiple contact points.
`
`Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc.
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`How the SmartSkin sensed gestures.
`
`Jun Rekimoto at the Interaction Laboratory in Sony's Computer Science Laboratories noted the
`advantages of this technology in a whitepaper. He said technologies like SmartSkin offer "natural
`support for multiple-hand, multiple-user operations." More than two users can simultaneously touch
`the surface at a time without any interference. Two prototypes were developed to show the
`SmartSkin used as an interactive table and a gesture-recognition pad. The second prototype used
`finer mesh compared to the former so that it can map out more precise coordinates of the fingers.
`Overall, the technology was meant to offer a real-world feel of virtual objects, essentially recreating
`how humans use their fingers to pick up objects and manipulate them.
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`2002-2004:Failed tablets and Microsoft Research's TouchLight
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`Buxton
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`Bill
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`Multitouch technology struggled in the mainstream, appearing in
`specialty devices but never quite catching a big break. One almost
`camein 2002, when Canada-based DSI Datotech developed the
`HandGear + GRT device (the acronym "GRT"referred to the device's
`Gesture Recognition Technology). The device's multipoint touchpad
`workeda bit like the aforementioned iGesture padin thatit could
`recognize various gestures and allow usersto useit as an input
`device to control their computers. "We wanted to make quite sure
`that HandGearwould be easyto use," VP of Marketing Tim
`Heaneysaid in a pressrelease. "So the technology wasdesigned to
`recognize hand and finger movements which are completely
`natural, or intuitive, to the user, whetherthey're left- or right-
`handed. After a short learning-period, they're literally able to concentrate on the workat hand, rather
`than on whatthefingers are doing."
`
`A multitouch tablet input device
`named HandGear.
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`TouchLight - Microsoft Research
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`HandGear also enabled users to "grab" three-dimensional objects in real-time, further extending that
`idea of freedom and productivity in the design process. The company even madetheAPIavailable for
`developers via AutoDesk. Unfortunately, as Buxton mentionsin his overview of multitouch, the
`companyran out of moneybefore their product shipped andDSI closedits doors.
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`Andy Wilson explains the technology behind the TouchLight.
`
`Two years later, Andrew D. Wilson, an employee at Microsoft Research, developed a gesture-based
`imaging touchscreen and 3D display. The TouchLight used a rear projection display to transform a
`sheet of acrylic plastic into a surface that was interactive. The display could sense multiple fingers
`and hands of more than one user, and because of its 3D capabilities, it could also be used as a
`makeshift mirror.
`
`The TouchLight was a neat technology demonstration, and it was eventually licensed out for
`production to Eon Reality before the technology proved too expensive to be packaged into a
`consumer device. However, this wouldn't be Microsoft's only foray into fancy multitouch display
`technology.
`
`2006: Multitouch sensing through “frustrated total internal reflection”
`
`Jeff Han
`
`In 2006, Jeff Han gave the first public demonstration of his intuitive, interface-free, touch-driven
`computer screen at a TED Conference in Monterey, CA. In his presentation, Han moved and
`manipulated photos on a giant light box using only his fingertips. He flicked photos, stretched them
`out, and pinched them away, all with a captivating natural ease. "This is something Google should
`have in their lobby," he joked. The demo showed that a high-resolution, scalable touchscreen was
`possible to build without spending too much money.
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`Reflection Acrylic Pane
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`Total internal
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`JeffHan ; 28
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`A diagram ofJeff Han's multitouch sensing used FTIR.
`
`Han had discovered that the "robust" multitouch sensing waspossible using "frustrated total internal
`reflection"(FTIR), a technique from the biometrics community used for fingerprint imaging. FTIR
`works byshininglight through a pieceofacrylic or plexiglass. The light (infrared is commonly used)
`bounces backand forth between the top and bottom of the acrylic asit travels. When a finger
`touches down on the surface, the beamsscatter around the edge wherethe fingeris placed, hence
`the term "frustrated." The images that are generated look like white blobs and are picked up by an
`infrared camera. The computer analyzes wherethe finger is touching to mark its placement and
`assign a coordinate. The software can then analyze the coordinates to perform a certain task,like
`resize or rotate objects.
`
`
`
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`Jeff Han on TED Talks
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`Jeff Han demonstrates his new "interface-free" touch-driven screen.
`
`After the TED talk became a YouTube hit, Han went on to launch a startup called Perceptive Pixel. A
`year following the talk, he told Wired that his multitouch product did not have a name yet. And
`although he had some interested clients, Han said they were all "really high-end clients. Mostly
`defense."
`
`Last year, Hann sold his company to Microsoft in an effort to make the technology more mainstream
`and affordable for consumers. "Our company has always been about productivity use cases," Han
`told AllThingsD. "That's why we have always focused on these larger displays. Office is what people
`think of when they think of productivity.
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`2008: Microsoft Surface
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`Before there was a 10-inch tablet, the name "Surface" referred to Microsoft's high-end tabletop
`graphical touchscreen, originally built inside of an actual IKEA table with a hole cut into the top.
`Although it was demoed to the public in 2007, the idea originated back in 2001. Researchers at
`Redmond envisioned an interactive work surface that colleagues could use to manipulate objects
`back and forth. For many years, the work was hidden behind a non-disclosure agreement. It took 85
`prototypes before Surface 1.0 was ready to go.
`
`As Ars wrote in 2007, the Microsoft Surface was essentially a computer embedded into a medium-
`sized table, with a large, flat display on top. The screen's image was rear-projected onto the display
`surface from within the table, and the system sensed where the user touched the screen through
`cameras mounted inside the table looking upward toward the user. As fingers and hands interacted
`with what's on screen, the Surface's software tracked the touch points and triggered the correct
`actions. The Surface could recognize several touch points at a time, as well as objects with small
`"domino" stickers tacked on to them. Later in its development cycle, Surface also gained the ability to
`identify devices via RFID.
`
`Microsoft unveils the SURFACE
`
`0018
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`5/10/2018
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`From touch displays to the Surface: A brief history of touchscreen technology| Ars Technica
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`Bill Gates demonstrates the Microsoft Surface.
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`The original Surface was unveiled at the All Things D conference in 2007. Although manyofits design
`concepts weren't new,it very effectively illustrated the real-world use case for touchscreens
`integrated into somethingthesize of a coffee table. Microsoft then brought the 30-inch Surface to
`demoit at CES 2008, but the companyexplicitly said that it was targeting the "entertainmentretail
`space." Surface wasdesigned primarily for use by Microsoft's commercial customersto give
`consumersa taste of the hardware. The companypartnered up with several big namehotel resorts,
`like Starwood and Harrah's Casino, to showcase the technology in their lobbies. Companies like AT&T
`used the Surface to showcasethe latest handsets to consumersentering their brick and mortar retail
`locations.
`
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`Microsoft Surface Demo @ CES 2008
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`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/from-touch-displays-to-the-surface-a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology/3/
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`
`
`0019
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`5/10/2018
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`From touch displays to the Surface: A brief history of touchscreen technology| Ars Technica
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`
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`Surface at CES 2008.
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`Rather than referto it as a graphic user interface (GUI), Microsoft denoted the Surface's interface as a
`natural user interface, or "NUI." The phrase suggested that the technology would feel almost
`instinctive to the human enduser, as naturalas interacting with any sort of tangible object in the real
`world. The phrasealso referred to the fact that the interface was driven primarily by the touch of the
`user rather than input devices. (Plus, NUI—"new-ey"—made for a snappy, marketing-friendly
`acronym.)
`
`
`Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™
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`
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`Microsoft introduces the Samsung SUR40.
`
`In 2011, Microsoft partnered up with manufacturers like Samsung to producesleeker, newer tabletop
`Surface hardware. For example, the Samsung SUR4O has a 40-inch 1080pLED,and it drastically
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`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/from-touch-displays-to-the-surface-a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology/3/
`
`0020
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`5/10/2018
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`From touch displays to the Surface: A brief history of touchscreen technology | Ars Technica
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`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/from-touch-displays-to-the-surface-a-brief-history-of-touchscreen-technology/3/
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`reduced the amount of internal space required for the touch sensing mechanisms. At 22-inches thick,
`it was thinner than its predecessors, and the size reduction made it possible to mount the display on
`a wall rather than requiring a table to house the camera and sensors. It cost around $8,400 at the
`time of its launch and ran Windows 7 and Surface 2.0 software.
`
`Microsoft
`
`Last year, the company rebranded the technology as PixelSense once Microsoft introduced its
`unrelated Surface tablet to consumers. The name "PixelSense" refers to the way the technology
`actually works: a touch-sensitive protection glass is placed on top of an infrared backlight. As it hits
`the glass, the light is reflected back to integrated sensors, which convert th