Get a look at your next drafting board

[Matt]

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/231-touchtable.html

[Derek]

I wonder if it has a "tilt" sensor like pinball machines?

[Rob C]

Just a little out of my price range.

[Matt]

So was a Mac SE.

[phansford]

[Derek]

I recall seeing a demo by someone with a Nintendo hand controller using the IR sensor to detect infrared dots on someones hands.. basically they had a low cost, interactive whiteboard.

If someone implemented that device/system, looking down on a large (50") LCD or plasma screen on its back, I reckon you could get the hardware happening for under $2000 (US).

The software for touch screen technology isn't that expensive so this system could be up and running for a whole lot less than $59,000.

So if you really wanted this thing now, you could probably get it happening for a fraction of the cost.

[Matt]

yeah, it's the software that we need.

[pbacot]

I have most often heard a desire for a hands-on drafting board by people who do not use CAD. I doubt this will change CAD.

Pen based sketching screens are available now and might contribute to graphic art work. In CAD the pen on screen interaction can be useful for minor operations and freehand work. However running your pen over a full size screen is bound to be slower than other input devices. Creating better navigation control is the main point. I think these devices will shine most in interaction with documents and data, not creating them.

[Matt]

I think if you had a chance to work on a computer screen with real-size, scaled drawings, your attitude might change. Who knows though.

[pbacot]

Matt,

I'm using a 30" display now, but I often have it zoomed in further than real scale. One may get more arm exercise reaching out and drawing a straight line, but I believe a mouse can do it more rapidly. I also think one has more control--although if is a matter of freehand and small touch up work, the hand-eye interaction would be helpful.

Peter

[Matt]

Peter, I'm using a thirty inch display now too. I got an iPhone a short while ago. The other day, for the first time in my life, I caught myself reaching with my finger toward my monitor to push a button and dismiss a dialogue box.

One of the consequences of abstracting our drawings into the ones and zeros in the computer is we no longer have any idea at all how large the drawing is. I think this is a loss of considerable magnitude.

I suspect there will be unanticipated advantages to reconnecting our hands with what they are making, I am certain I would benefit from this ability.

Why should tools this good only be accessible to people making war? Why not give them to those of us working on other things as well?

That's my only point.

[How Goes It]

Large touch screens are not limited to people making war. Rather to those with the bucks. CNN has been using this large touch screen stuff for awhile. Other T.V. news or weather programs also.

But figure this --- with many or most current CAD setups, the right hand is on a multi button/scroll wheel mouse. The left hand on the keyboard. This offers fast access to many commands ALONG WITH ways to zoom & pan.

So far, the large touch screens have shown how fast & easy they can zoom, pan and rotate a doc. But I've yet to see them do a bunch of commands, with as few keystrokes as can be had with mouse buttons & left hand on a keyboard.

I guess a touch screen can have a way of bringing up a contextual menu from which you can select any one of a number of on-screen shortcuts. But this would add at least one if not two extra steps over that when using a left hand on a keyboard & right hand on a mouse (with numerous buttons).

Along the lines of what Peter said --- the touch screen may be good for viewing stuff, but not so hot for creating, at least at this point.

But It will be interesting to see what are the touch screen equivalents for mouse buttons and left hand key shortcuts, with particular regard to speed & number of keystrokes, when executing a command on one of these large touch screens.

[patrickm]

[John Cruet]

Still waiting for a touch-screen Mac

[How Goes It]