MaximumPC just published a pretty good article detailing how to build your own multitouch table for $350.00. With a price point of 12k, the Surface computer is a bit out of reach for most people but this is much more affordable. Of course you have to be good with tools and at least not dangerous with electronics but more power to those who are and those who try.Along with this article you should also check out the NUI Group which is a gathering place for people building their own multitouch tables. You'll find a lot more multitouch table designs and how-to articles on that site.
4 comments:
Of course, the $350 quote doesn't include the PC or projector. And they didn't get the cool Surface SDK, they'll use the open source software that NUI group uses.
I haven't used that software but I know it isn't as integrated with WPF and the Microsoft toolchain as the Surface SDK is. Most of the videos I've seen are hobbyist-quality -- cool but won't make money.
I agree with everything you said, Josh. This effort by MaximumPC has received a lot of press, but people don't think about the fact that its not intended for commercial applications. You would never attempt to deploy this hobbyist solution in a hotel or retail outlet. Nor would you take on industrial strength applications - you need something like .NET to support that.
That said, I think its pretty cool that hobbyists can create their own crude multitouch surfaces. I've often wished I had time to do that myself. I'm a big fan of the TouchLib and of NUI Group.
Just as hobbyists were critical to to the success of the minicomputer so to are they critical tot he success of multitouch. The more people who are interested in this technology the better in my opinion.
I think you both have some great points.
One thing I think you'd be surprised by is the amount of commercial applications and hardware being developed from the 'hobbyist' in NUI Group. There are actually several companies that have gone from DIY at home to full production in either software or hardware and are fairly successful. While not at the level of Microsoft, some are doing quite well in comparison. A most recent example examples would be TouchTech (who just partnered with Illusion Labs) which is a group of individuals originally from NUI Group.
There's also a large degree of commercial companies using touchlib and tbeta and some of the NUI Group APIs in their projects. One of the bigger companies would be Gesturetek.
Keep in mind, opensource software takes a while to become comparable to well funded opperation like Microsoft's SDK. Look at the power and prevelance of ubuntu in comparison to other linux distors in the past. If NUI Group keeps up it's opensrouce practices, I wouldn't be surprised to begin to see the name more and more in regards to multitouch and natural user interfaces.
BTW, I love your blob and maybe i'll get to meet you at ID this next week.
-Seth
Hi Seth Sanders,
You are right of course. Although Ubuntu is very successful it took a while to get there. And even now Ubuntu's success is small compared to Windows and Mac OS X on the desktop (but its growing!).
Sadly for me, I won't be at ID as I had planned.
Perhaps we can meet at some other venue.
All the best,
Richard
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