PQ Labs showed off its G3 touchscreen technology at this year's CeBIT by installing it into a coffee table called the iTable. Sensors around the edge of the display can register up to 32 touch points and determine the different shapes created by placing fingers, hands or a multitude of other objects directly on the glass screen.
The USB-powered Multi-Touch G3 touchscreen interface comes in sizes ranging from 32in right up to 65in and beyond. For the iTable, Silicon Valley's PQ Labs installed a 42in version of the technology into a coffee table structure and connected it to an undisclosed computer system running the company's PQ Window software, which is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X.
Sensors around the edge of the screen in the iTable can register up to 32 simultaneous touch points on the 3mm tempered glass surface allowing for pinch and zoom photo viewing, offering a whole new multi-touch gaming experience, bringing presentations to life or getting 3D modelers up close and personal with designs.
Sharing content from a mobile device is as simple as placing an iPhone, Windows Mobile or Android phone on the table and it instantly synchronizes with the iTable. The technology can register shapes (such as a closed fist or open palm) and it's not just hands and fingers that are recognized by the interface, objects placed on the iTable at CeBIT also registered.
The Multi-Touch G3 system is claimed to have unlimited touch durability and PQLabs' LED Cell Imaging technology has a tracking accuracy of 1.5mm and a touch response time of between 7 and 12ms. The electronics and scratch-resistant glass surface are held in place by a strong, light aluminum frame and offered in customized versions up to 200 inches, geared towards interactive presentation walls or broadcast situations.
There's no word on the cost of the 1.5in thick iTable but as it is initially being made available to corporate clients only it's not likely to be within the price range of most consumer budgets. However, PQ Labs has stated that a cheaper consumer version is in the works for the near future.
The following video shows a user enjoying a multi-touch gaming experience on the iTable: