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Multitouch Hackfest
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c-base Multitouch Hackfest
At the Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces Conference end of November (http://www.its2009.org/), some of us had the idea of a Multitouch Hackfest: A meeting where people would actually work with multitouch devices for several days. As I write this, that was two weeks ago, and after a bit of quick organization, we actually have rooms, devices and people, which is pretty cool. In addition, Archimedes Solutions GmbH (http://www.multitouch.de) is helping out with some hardware to hack, which is even cooler.
So, without further ado: The first Multitouch Hackfest will take place at the c-base (http://www.c-base.org, 5 minutes walk from where the ccc congress is taking place) in Berlin from the 27.-30. of december. We start at 11:00 each day and end when the day's party preparations in the base start, which will probably be around 19:00-21:00. Ulrich von Zadow (Mail & jabber: coder @ c-base.org, skype: uzadow) is responsible for the event. If you plan to come, it helps if you contact him beforehand.
There will be at least two devices available for use:
- The c-base MTC: https://www.libavg.de/wiki/index.php/Building_a_MultiTouch_Console
- Macro Kuhn's Play Box: http://www.hi-pi.de/play/?page_id=4
You can either program stuff for one of these devices or bring parts and build your own. We will have a sufficient number of experts in this field on site to answer questions and help when people get stuck.
Schedule
Besides the actual hacking, there is a scheduled program. Everything ist subject to change, but the current plan is this:
| Day | Time | Title | Speaker | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 27 | 16:00 | Tutorial: More than Code | Ulrich von Zadow | What types of applications make sense on an MT device? What does multitouch mean for user interface design? What project ideas are out there? |
| 16:30 | Tutorial: Developing Multitouch Applications using libavg | Martin Heistermann | Overview of the API and capabilities of the library installed on both the devices in the c-base | |
| 17:00 | Tutorial: Next Generation Multitouch Hardware | Marco Kuhn | Building MT devices yourself using LCD screens and the Diffused Surface Illumination (DSI) technique. | |
| Dec 28 | 16:00 | libTISCH and LED Pulsing | Florian Echtler | Two mini-tutorials about the mt-library libTISCH and synchronizing LEDs with the shutter times of cameras. |
| Dec 29 | 16:00 | Excursion | Excursion to the Human Computer Interaction Lab at the HPI in Potsdam (http://www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/baudisch/projekte.html). Meeting point 16:00, c-base Mainhall, arrival at the HPI 17:00. | |
| Dec 30 | 17:00 | Presentation | Presentation of the results of the Hackfest. Subsequently: Congress closing event, then after-congress-party featuring the devices running the new software. |
Project Ideas
- Make a multitouch Missile Command.
- Visualize Mesh Networks. Live data is available, you just have to add an interface.
- Hook a card reader up to the MTC and create a flickr upload application.
- A virtual version of the wooden tilting labyrinth, similar to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kororinpa.
- Wikipedia wordnet visualizations, similar to this: http://code.google.com/p/synonym/
BYO Device
Interested people will have the chance to build their own device following Marco's tutorial by taking apart an LCD monitor and fitting LED infrared lighting and a camera behind it. There are two caveats to this:
- You should try to bring your own hardware - see the list below. We will have some stuff there for experimentation, but the time is too short for us to order anything for you.
- There are parties at the c-base during the evenings, so you can't leave anything lying around. You break it - you own it: You are responsible for getting rid of any garbage you create.
So - here's a sort-of-parts list (plan to invest €200-€600, depending on what level you're aiming at):
LCD Screen
Something to take apart. Here's a database of possible monitors: http://www.baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/Lumenlab/main
These probably work if the manufacturer hasen't changed anything:
- 24 Inch Multitouch LCD - SAMSUNG 2493HM Glossy Black 24: http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/5788/
- 22 Inch Hyundai X224W: http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/3851/
Tip: Bring something old and just see what happens when you take it apart. But remember caveat #2 :-).
IR LEDs
SMD LED strips are best: http://www.environmentallights.com/categories/1303_2399/infrared-led-strips, but anything that brings IR light to the lightguide from the side is ok.
Lightguide
To distribute the IR light on the surface, you need a piece of Plexiglas Endlighten (Available e.g. at http://www.plexiglas-shop.com/DE/de/platte/plexiglas-endlighten-35vvzqzrfz2.seo) the size of the surface.
Camera, Lens, Filter
Firewire cameras are cool because they give you control over all parameters:
- Fire-i: http://www.unibrain.com/products/visionimg/Fire_i_DC.htm
- PointGrey Firefly: http://www.ptgrey.com/products/fireflymv/index.asp
Cheap webcams may or may not work.
The camera needs a lens, preferrably a wide-angled one:
Make sure camera and lens have the same mount.
The camera needs a filter so it sees only IR light:
- Film: We'll have some unexposed but developed film there. or
- Professional filters: Get some IR pass filters that correspond to your LEDs from a place like Edmund Optics: http://www.edmundoptics.com/DE/.
Resources
- The library most of us are using: http://www.libavg.de
- The researchers: http://www.its2009.org and next year's conference, http://www.its2010.org
- The Multitouch Guide: https://www.libavg.de/wiki/images/6/6e/Multitouchguide_draft.pdf
- Community info: http://www.nuigroup.com