The document discusses how touch technology developers failed to recognize the full potential of touch interfaces throughout history. It summarizes that (1) early touch innovations were accidental discoveries not realized by "touch guys", (2) the theremin invented in 1920 was the first electronic instrument based on proximity sensing but this was not applied to touch until recently, and (3) new technologies like projected capacitive touch and gesture sensing can combine the capabilities of early inventions like the theremin with today's touch interfaces to realize a future of richer interactive experiences.

1. TouchInternational
Back to the Future:
The Touch Guys Missed Something
Gary L. Barrett
Chief Technology Officer

2. What We Will Cover
The Touch Guys Are Clueless
Introducing the Theremin
Examining Where We Are Today
More Ways the Touch Guys Failed
The Future of Interactivity
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3. The Touch Guys Missed Something
The Touch Guys are Clueless
 Most Interactive Breakthroughs Came from Someone Other
than Touch Guys
Examples
 George Hurst, founder of Elographics, was trying to make a
digitizer.
 Bill Pepper, developer of original analog S-Cap touch
screen, was trying to make a fretless, stringless guitar.
 John Fenn and Daryl Stoddard, inventors of the first matrix
touch panel, were making an electronic chess board.
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4. The Touch Guys Missed Something
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5. The Touch Guys Missed Something
Examining the Theremin
1920
Léon Theremin invents the theremin
for Russian Government as a
proximity sensing security device.
Is recognized as the world’s first
electronic instrument.
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6. The Touch Guys Missed Something
The Theremin
1951
Featured in American Film
The Day the Earth Stood Still
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7. The Touch Guys Missed Something
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8. The Touch Guys Missed Something
How Does the Theremin Relate to Touch and Interactivity?
 Operates on an invisible electromagnetic field
 Relies on the body’s natural capacitance
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9. Where Are We Now?
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10. 12 Reasons for Projected Capacitive
1. Lasts Forever
2. Does Multi-touch
3. Great Optics
4. Unbreakable/All Plastic
5. Contoured and formed
6. Lots of electronics options
7. Low cost
8. Low power
9. Proximity Sensing (Z-axis)
10. No Coordinate Drift
11. High Resolution
12. Pen Input
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11. Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future
Questions to Ask
We had interactivity at our fingertips in 1920.
Why did it take so long to get to where we are today?
How do we apply what we know today, with what we missed in
the past, to get to where we want to be in the future?
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12. Why the Touch Guys Missed the Boat
First Miss: Durability
In the early 80's there were three touch technologies
 IR
 Resistive
 Zone capacitive
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13. Why the Touch Guys Missed the Boat
Second Miss: Multi-Touch
Multi-touch was rejected for about 25 years due to ghosting.
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14. Why the Touch Guys Missed the Boat
Third Miss:
Near-Field Imaging
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15. Why the Touch Guys Missed the Boat
2 million Projected Capacitive Verifone units were shipped
pre-iPhone, but no one realized the display’s potential until Apple.
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16. Fast Forward to the Future
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17. Putting the Past, Present & Future Together
How do you combine the
capabilities of the Theremin &
PCAP with our dreams of
interactivity?
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18. Putting the Past, Present & Future Together
Disney Research has Figured out the Solution
PCAP + Gestures + Motion = Touché
Touché = Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing
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19. Past, Present and Future Finally Meet
Touché: Enhancing Touch Interaction
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20. Putting it All Together
Bottom Line
Interactivity should not be confined to just touch.
Think Bigger.
Next Steps
Touch guys need to go back to the drawing board and look at the
technology at our fingertips since 1920 and look to combine with
the PCAP of today.
Non-touch guys should channel their inner Disney.
© Copyright 2012 Touch International, Inc