Microsoft tech turns any object into a touchscreen

Projector-cum-detector

Microsoft's research team has revealed a shoulder-mounted projector-cum-detector that can turn any surface in front of you into a gesture-sensitive display.

The Wearable Multitouch Projector uses Kinect-like motion and depth cameras, as well as a pico projector, to let users turn any flat (ish) surface into a touchscreen.

Check it out in the video clip below:

While it's clearly an encumbering piece of kit, the researchers reckon it can be shrunk down to be more user-friendly in the future. Smarter, smaller version of the tech might even be mounted on walls and ceilings to pop up display and touchscreen panels as and when people pass by.

But perhaps even that won't be necessary, if Microsoft's electromagnetic field research is anything to go by. Last year, the Redmond firm revealed tech which can turn the walls of your flat into a control pad for videogames and appliances.

Who needs camera tracking these days, eh? ®