Microsoft strikes Gold with the LucidTouch

If you think that Microsoft's journey into the development of natural user interfaces has stopped with the availability of Surface, then think again. The Redmond company is hard at work in a collaboration with Mitsubishi Research to produce LucidTouch. Speaking at the Financial Analyst Meeting 2007 in July, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, underscored the fact the upcoming 10 years in computing evolution will be focused – among other things – on developing natural user interfaces.
Touch is a compelling input modality for interactive devices; however, touch input on the small screen of a mobile device is problematic because a user’s fingers occlude the graphical elements he wishes to work with. LucidTouch is a mobile device that addresses this limitation by allowing the user to control the application by touching the back of the device. The key to making this usable is what is called pseudo-transparency: by overlaying an image of the user’s hands onto the screen.