ACM TechNews

Virtual Factory on the Tabletop

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (12/07)

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt have teamed up with colleagues at the Steinbeis Institute Design and Systems to develop a tabletop touchscreen that enables users to see the hidden sequences of industrial processes. The Multi-Touch Table is an intuitive tool that users can control with their fingers and swiping movements. For example, the large, industrial-scale display table would illuminate on its surface the image of a journey through pipes and machines in a factory. Users can touch with a finger the image of individual components, and swipe a finger over the objects to rotate, observe, and watch the process in slow motion. And by drawing apart their two index fingers, users can zoom in on details or enlarge the image. The Coperion Group of companies is already using the technology. "It allows customers to observe the entire process chain of plastics manufacturing and processing," says IGD project manager Michael Zollner. "They can watch in real time as the granulate flows through the pipes and regulate the speed by swiping a finger over the image."

http://www.fraunhofer.de/EN/press/pi/2007/12/Mediendienst122007Thema6.jsp

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