Team members:
- Sri Teja Basava
- Steve Karcher
- Nada Memic
- Francis Yi
Laser Lattice Associative Multi-touch Product (LLAMP)
LLAMP is a product for acquiring touch input simultaneously from multiple sources. A standard LLAMP package consists of a laser grid input system, supporting software, and an audio/visual output system. These components are managed and interfaced by a standard PC.
The laser grid input system acts as an oversized touch panel. A two-dimensional lattice of human-safe light supplies a photo diode array with stimulus. Interrupts to the light are registered by the diodes, and supporting logic translates the analog interrupt into time-space coordinates. The grid itself is a perfunctory device; the supporting processor and software determine all the available inputs and how they are mapped to the grid. Users spatially associate the display area with the available inputs, while the output system provides real-time feedback. Instead of conventional resistive- or capacitive-touch technology, the laser grid frees and enlarges the user interface from the physical display.
Multiple sources can interact with a single LLAMP grid simultaneously. Depending on the application, "sources" may be the fingers of a single user, multiple users working on the same task, or independent users accessing information from the same display.
As a proof of concept, we will architect a complete LLAMP package that implements an interactive "paint" program or interactive public kiosk. We anticipate that in addition to the novel nature of such a device, marketability will stem from cost savings wherever traditional touch-sensitive displays are implemented. The LLAMP system may also find utility in public galleries, where the status-quo method of information dissemination is inanimate printed media.