Haptix does away with your mouse, gives you a 3D multitouch surface anywhere

How does the idea of being able to pinch to zoom on a screen, without it being a touchscreen, sound to you? Now a new device, Haptix (video above), says it has the capability to turn any surface into a multitouch screen, and the experience is supposedly close to what one would expect from smartphone and tablets.

Created by Singaporean Darren Lim and Chinese Lai Xue, Haptix has 3D sensing to make users be aware of where their fingers are on the screen without actually touching the surface itself. So now users can interact with their personal computers via the 3D multitouch by – as Darren puts it – “using multitouch and a mouse at the same time”.

How it works

Haptix detects any flat surface and turns it into a multitouch surface by using 3D sensing to track the user’s hands (illustration pictured right), satisfying your sense of touch while allowing you to control what you see on the screen. Lai Xue elaborates:

Haptix is based on completely radical algorithms in computer vision and image processing. We’ve taken virtually every conventional method in this field and formulated better techniques to take their place. The usage scenarios and conditions for Haptix, especially as a very affordable consumer device, called for different technology from what’s out there today.

Trying to imagine how it works, I thought it might require a wee bit of education and getting used to. But Darren assures that one will get familiar with it pretty quickly. He explains:

There definitely was a short learning curve for early testers, but they grew familiar with it pretty quickly simply because it feels like a multitouch screen or a trackpad (different modes are available). The only difference is that the surface is different (a keyboard as opposed to another surface), but the functions are exactly the same (clicking and pinching actions). You can still type on the keyboard, but now you can also touch it like a multitouch pad.

And according to Darren, the lag time is almost negligible, but the duo are working on streamlining it, especially for slower operating systems.

How it will look

The Ractiv team, who are also makers of the new device, have designed it as a bar that users will clip onto laptops. Users can control their cursor without needing the trackpad or mouse, but when the keyboard is in use, Haptix will be deactivated.

How the idea came about

The idea was developed in response to the issues Darren and Lai Xue met with multitouch and 3D sensing and wanted to materialize the idea of multitouch on any surface. They initially thought of using lasers, but eventually came to a common consensus that 3D sensing was the best solution.

They then created the product with different audiences, such as designers, gamers, and people who work with data, in mind. Darren tells me:

Who are Darren Lim and Lai Xue?