STAR TREKNOLOGY

Turning the tables into touchscreens

Researchers at Nara Institute of Science and Technology develop a projected touchscreen system that requires only one camera and one projector, which may lead to inexpensive large interactive interfaces

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NARA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: PRINCIPLE OF OUR TOUCHSCREEN SYSTEM. (A) HUMAN EYE OR CONVENTIONAL CAMERA SEES WITHIN THE FIELD OF VIEW, NOT ONLY THE FINGER BUT ALSO PROJECTED SCREEN. (B) OUR CAMERA SYSTEM CAPTURES ONLY A PART OF THE FINGER. (C) WE CAN SELECT THE CAPTURING AREA ONLY JUST ABOVE THE PROJECTED SCREEN (RED AREA). view more 

CREDIT: YASUHIRO MUKAIGAWA

Ikoma, Japan – Scientists from Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) used a synchronized projector and camera to produce a touchscreen-like interface on a flat surface. Because the camera only registered the user’s fingers when actually in contact with the surface, the need for any additional cameras, depth sensors, or light sources was eliminated. This work may lead to portable projection systems that can be used to create large interactive displays nearly anywhere.

Everyday life is full of handheld devices that show videos and accept touch input. These include smartphones, tablets, or even the credit card reader at your local store. However, larger touchscreen interfaces remain expensive and slow to respond. Projection systems that are currently available need multiple detectors, because a single camera usually cannot distinguish depth. Now, a team of scientists at NAIST has created a system that uses just one camera. “Typical cameras observe a three-dimensional situation as a two-dimensional plane. Thus, even if the position of a fingertip can be detected, it is difficult to know whether it is touching the surface or hovering above it,” senior author Yasuhiro Mukaigawa says.

The researchers took advantage of “slope disparity gating,” in which the projector scanning the table is synchronized with the camera, so that it captures only the region slightly above the surface. Using a dedicated image-processing algorithm, the touch of a finger could be localized with high efficiency. Because the same light source is used to produce the projected video as well as detect touch, the algorithm was not misled by the projected image.

“The method developed in the study can be used to produce a touch display on any flat surface. In the future, we will hope to expand to include touchless operations or even add gesture recognition,” Mukaigawa says. Also, because the method captures only the region slightly above the surface, privacy concerns are reduced, as human faces and other identifying details are not recorded at all.

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Resource

Title: Touch sensing for a projected screen using slope disparity gating

Authors: Mayuka Tsuji, Hiroyuki Kubo, Suren Jayasuriya, Takuya Funatomi & Yasuhiro Mukaigawa

Journal: IEEE Access

Information about Mukaigawa's lab can be found at the following website: https://isw3.naist.jp/Contents/Research/mi-06-en.html

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JOURNAL

IEEE Access

DOI

10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3099901 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Imaging analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Touch sensing for a projected screen using slope disparity gating