Everybody knows that you can build a multitouch device for less than 1.000€. If you have a projector at home, a piece of glass, some baking paper and a webcam you are ready to multitouch. After talking shortly about the hype we discuss basic multitouch paradigms (gestures, multi-user, multi-modal interactions) and the consequences for interaction design that come with the direct manipulation capabilities of table-top surfaces.

What follows is an in-depth discussion of tracking techniques (direct illumination, FTIR, LLP etc.) and the algorithms employed to get the best possible blobs from a camera picture. Calibration, error detection and other aspects of the tracking process will also be covered. A quick introduction is given to the optimal combination of hardware and software. One doesn’t perform without the other.
The final part of the workshop talks about the generalization of gestures and a new middleware to describe and implement gestures into multi-touch applications. The MINT (Multimodal Interaction on Tabletops) will offer a device- and application independent framework that allows the developer to combine atomic interaction building blocks to form complex interaction patterns.

© 2010. An event by NODE Verein zur Förderung Digitaler Kultur (i.G) in cooperation with the Frankfurter Kunstverein and the vvvv group.