HDTVs

Device Turns Any Display Into a Touchscreen

Imagine if you could turn your HDTV into a giant touchscreen display. As it turns out, that reality maybe closer than you think: The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) R&D center in Taiwan is showcasing a peripheral device that adds multitouch support to just about any display.

ITRI demonstrated its device at Display Taiwan 2011, and it looks like it consists of two cameras set at the bottom and top of the right side of the screen. The system works, and it can even do multi-touch like reading pinch gestures for Google Earth.

See NetBook News's video to watch it in action.

Normally developing a capacitive touchscreen surface for a 52-inch television would cost more than double the price of the original unit, but ITRI said that the device could be built into TVs and it would only be “slightly more expensive”.

[NetBook News]