Multitoe Touch Interface

Researchers from Germany's Hasso Plattner Institute previewed a new touch interface called Multitoe that uses feet, instead of fingers or hands, at the Computer Human Interaction conference in Atlanta Sunday. Researchers built a floor that is based on the same concept as multitouch tables. The system sits flush with the floor and when someone stands on it, the floor will light up. The system can store user profiles based each user's shoe sole. Each shoe sole is slightly different, even different sizes of the same model shoe appear differently, and the software can tell the difference. Once the profiles are stored, the interface can identify users. In order to enable direct manipulation on floors, the group uses a technique called frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) with high camera resolution. The concept is complex, but light is first injected to the pane of glass, on which a user stands, from below.

With pressure sensors and gait detection the software can understand when someone is walking and ignores the input, focusing only on users who want to interact with the system. The current prototype allows users to draw, control a game and use a keyboard. Even though each "key" of the keyboard is smaller than someone's foot, the group found that error rates per letter were relatively low when large (5.3cm by 5.8cm) or medium (3.1cm by 3.5cm) keys were used. The error rates were 3 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, compared to 28.6 percent for small (1.1cm by 1.7cm) keys. The prototype Multitoe system measures less than one square meter, but the team plans to install a much larger unit when a new research building opens at the Hasso Plattner Institute in July. It will measure three meters by 2.15 meters and weigh 1.2 metric tons.

More information:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194021/multitoe_project_offers_new_touch_interface.html