Han first showed off his wall at an entertainment and design conference known as TED, where he charmed the CNN crew enough to take his product mainstream. The crew bought an eight-foot long version of his wall, which became an instant hit—garnering about as much screen time as Wolf Blitzer and inspiring parodies all over the place. But what I want to know, and what the article unfortunately doesn't touch on, is... where do I get my own? [CNN]

Jesús Díaz: Florian, this is an interesting evolution on the current multitouch solutions. What are the advantages of your method versus things like Han's displays or Microsoft Surface?
Florian Echtler: Well, the main difference is that you can control the cursor without touching the surface, so you can have the hover state which the usual mouse cursor has. For a "click" event, you have to tap the surface with any finger.

As a result of this, it's easier to use conventional software, like a web browser because a) you can use mouseover, which you can't with other touchscreens, and b) you can hit small targets (like a web link) more accurate, as you have the visual feedback from the cursor, showing you where you're going to click.

Second advantage: you can tell which hand a finger belongs to, and you can distinguish between fingers. You could, e.g., use the index finger for left click and the middle finger for right click—again, useful for conventional software emulation. But of course, you could just assign different actions to the fingers—think of a RTS game. We're not quite there yet, but on the other hand, it's still a prototype.

JD: I guess it requires less cleaning too, since you don't have to touch continuously or at all... How portable is this new method? How does it work?
FE: Unfortunately, it's not very portable right now, as it requires an additional overhead light source (also infrared). I assume you are familiar with FTIR (from Jeff Han)—this system is basically an extension, also taking the shadows from the overhead light into account.

JD: So it's not totally touchless, it requires touch to select and move things? Or can you move things without touching at all?
FE: While the video doesn't show this, it's possible nevertheless. Holding your hand still for a moment could be used for triggering an event.

JD: Why is there an offset in the video?
FE: In the first part, the offset is because we're displaying the raw, uncalibrated video data from the camera. In the second part, the data is calibrated and the cursors are deliberately shifted away from the hand to avoid occlusion.

Han has already sold a screen to one of the branches of the military. Companies are already developing rival technologies to prevent Han from cornering the market. And to top it all off, a video of Han feeling up his screen for the cheering mob. – Nicholas Deleon

Can't Touch This [Fast Company]