Touching the future: turn any surface into a touch screen

The Ubi uses a projector, a Kinect system and a Windows 8 PC to turn any surface into a touch screen.

The Ubi uses a projector, a Kinect system and a Windows 8 PC to turn any surface into a touch screen.

The company's blurb claims that its system needs no complex set-up or specially designed apps. Simply connect a Kinect system and a projector to a computer that is running Windows 8 and once the Ubi software is running, the projected screen becomes a full touch interface that supports swipes and pinch-to-zoom gestures.

The system is so sensitive that the surface on which the screen is projected doesn't have to be flat. All that matters is that the Kinect system is positioned so that it can monitor the whole of the projected display.

Created by Ubi Interactive, the system has just left beta testing and is now ready for pre-order. The company, selected to be fast-tracked incubated by Microsoft, has high hopes for the technology and is pricing it in a way that should make it accessible to most consumers. As such, a 'basic' version of the system that supports one touch point (ie, one-finger gestures and movements) on a projected display of up to 45 inches will cost $149. A professional version that can support projected screen sizes of up to 100 inches will cost $379. Those who want two-touch-point interaction and multimedia technical support will have to pay $799, while the top-of-the-range system, which supports 20 touch points -- every finger on each hand -- will cost $1499.

What sets Ubi Interactive's system apart from a number of other currently entering the market is that it has native compatibility with Windows 8. If it is a piece of software or an existing app optimized for Windows 8's touch interface, then it will also automatically work with Ubi.