Yes, touchscreens a devised to work only with direct contact. Still, we’ve seen Microsoft Surface recognizing physical objects before, but with the Luminos, developed by patrick baudisch, torsten becker and frederik rudeck of Hasso Plattner institute, Potsdam University, Germany, Microsoft Surface is for the very first time tamed to recognize an object’s third dimension.
The Luminos, building blocks, have certain patterns on their base which help the Surface identify their 3D shape. These Lego-type blocks can be stacked on each other but still with the fiber-optic threads within, the higher blocks can indicated their presence to the Surface’s screen which then recognizes the pattern and creates a 3D picture. Lumino blocks are only in the prototype stage now, but the building blocks show real potential utilities which the architects and engineers can exploit for their benefit. Video representation after the jump.
