On September 8th 2009, Obscura Digital installed the first display of its kind, at the Hard Rock cafe in Las Vegas, US. This display is a dynamically resizing, dynamically multi-user, multitouch display wall. Measuring 18 feet in length and seven feet in height, the wall dominates one side of a room. Its designed for six users at max, allocating each their own work area, but if only two people use it, each get half. If a third then steps in, the display automatically dynamically resizes to allow a third each, without stopping what it is doing with the other users.

It scales across GPUs seamlessly, with information passing from one to another without a single delay or flicker on the user's side of things. A user can be using a space at the worst possible intersection between them, and never realize it. The wall is currently used for a display of Hard Rock photo and video memorabilia, with image resolution upwards of 12 megapixels per image, and as many as one hundred on screen at any one time. Users can pass images to one another, and the whole system will recognize and track up to 60 different finger movements at once.

The whole thing is powered by three back-projectors of the same sort as used in CAVE installations. There overlap to provide the seamless display, and even track the videos transparently between them. Each projector having a resolution of 1920x1920.

Complementing the display tech, an audio system creates a pinpointed local audio experience, so that each user can interact with content without interfering with others.

Whilst this is definitely a first, and conquers several user interface roadblocks with regards to touchscreen technology, the installation of one in such a high profile location, does strongly suggest that more such displays, from more companies, will be emerging soon.

References

Hard Rockin multi-touch wall - Las Vegas

Video: Amazing 18-Foot Wide Super-HD Multi-User Multitouch Display