I’ve covered alot about the Microsoft Surface and other multi-touch technologies recently but here is another called ThinSight

It comes from Microsoft research at Cambridge and uses infrared transmitters and receivers mounted behind the screen which enables the screen to ‘see’ when and where you touch it.

This is an actual off the shelf laptop with has been modified with the new multi-touch technology.

“The technology – dubbed ThinSight – was developed by adding an extra layer of electronics behind a normal laptop screen. This adds a couple of centimetres to the overall thickness, but completely transforms its abilities (see a video, top right).

The screen “sees” by using a grid of paired infrared sensors and transmitters that sit just behind the backlight of the laptop’s LCD panel. The sensors can form crude images when infrared light bounces off an object (see images, right). This could allow the screen to identify hand gestures or to see objects, and let them interact with onscreen images.”

Here is a demonstration video by Steve Hodges who is the manager of the Sensors and Devices group at Microsoft UK:

The full article is at newscientist.com