Multi-touch interface

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A multi-touch interface (or multitouch) is a human-computer interaction technique and the hardware devices that implement it, which allow users to compute without conventional input devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard). Multi-touch consists of a touch screen (screen, table, wall, etc.) or touchpad, as well as software that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points, as opposed to the standard touchscreen (i.e. computer touchpad, ATM), which recognizes only one touch point. This effect is achieved through a variety of means, including but not limited to: heat, finger pressure, high capture rate cameras, infrared light, optic capture, and shadow capture.

A myriad of different applications for multi-touch interfaces both exist and are being proposed. Some applications are focussed on improving the interface for a single individual (e.g. iPhone, iPod touch, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air), however multi-touch technology is often used to incorporate collaboration into the computing experience (e.g. Microsoft Surface).

Legal Issues in Multi-Touch

For copyright purposes, it would be convenient to say that multi-touch technology was invented by so-and-so, and that the rights belong to that person. Unfortunately, as with many cutting edge technologies, there is no single “inventor.” Mimicking 1976, when two independent groups came up with very similar ideas to solve the key-exchange problem, there were several different researchers and research groups working on multi-touch technology. Each of these researchers, or groups of researchers, approached the problem in a different, yet very similar, way. In 1983, Myron Krueger was implementing and using the hand gestures we think of as commonplace today (pinching to zoom/scale and resize, etc.) . Did Myron Krueger invent them? Nobody is really sure who came up with the ideas for these gestures; however, many of these research groups began to implement and use them in their own multi-touch implementations. When Apple Inc. released the iPhone in 2007, they concurrently submitted patents for many of the gestures, as well as the multi-touch technology that those researchers had been using for years. Could Apple really be the first company to take these technologies/ideas to the U.S. Patent Office? Did Apple infringe on any of these researcher’s/developer’s patents? The world will soon find out. Today, there are a number of companies producing cellular phones with touch screens, and multi-touch screens. A number of these touch screen phones have begun to look more and more like the iPhone. In addition to looking like the iPhone, these phones also respond to many of the same gestures as the iPhone. The similarities in all of these different implementations was bound to result in some sort of litigation and, in the years since Apple’s release of the iPhone, there have been a number of legal issues regarding the multi-touch technology used by each of these phones. The following list of lawsuits is in no way a comprehensive list but is used to give the reader an idea of the type of legal issues that are currently being faced:

Apple’s Lawsuit: Apple vs. HTC

On March 2, 2010 Apple Inc. filed suit against HTC Corp. for violating more 20 of Apple’s Patents related to the iPhone and other Apple Products (U.S. Patent Numbers 7,362,331; 7,479,949; 7,657,849; 7,469,381; 5,920,726; 7,633,076; 5,848,105; 7,383,453; 5,455,599; 6,424,354; 5,481,721; 5,519,867; 5,556,337; 5,929,852; 5,946,647; 5,969,705; 6,275,983; 6,343,263; 5,915,131; and RE39,486) . The patents listed in the lawsuit cover a wide variety of technologies including, but not limited to, touch screen command determination using heuristics, unlocking a device with a gesture, display rotation, camera power management, and signal processing. Many news and technology sources have speculated that this is more of a shot at Google/Android than it is at HTC. Though none of these patents are for multi-touch directly, many of them are for gestures and gesture based capabilities provided by Apple Technology. This court case has yet to see a courtroom.

HTC Counters: HTC vs. Apple

On May 12, 2010, HTC filed a countersuit against Apple Inc. citing 5 of HTC’s patents (U.S. Patent Numbers 6,999,800; 7,716,505; 5,541,988; 6,058,183; and 6,320,957). Only one of these patents (6,058,183) relates to multi-touch technology; however, the lawsuit probably would not have come about if the original lawsuit by Apple was not filed. This case, like the other, has yet to see a courtroom.

Elan Microelectronics files a complaint with ITC

On March 29, 2010, Elan Microelectronics (EMG) filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission over Apple’s use of multi-touch technology in just about all of its products. The patent in question is U.S. Patent Number 5,825,352: “Multiple Fingers Contact Sensing Method for Emulating Mouse Buttons and Mouse Operations on a Touch Sensor Pad”. In EMG’s complaint, they have asked for a complete ban on the import of iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook, and Magic Mouse .

The Future of Multi-Touch

The possibilities for the uses of multi-touch are endless. Through the years we have seen futuristic versions of multi-touch in television and on the big screen; but when are those things going to be real for the rest of us? In this section I will mention a few sectors where I believe that multi-touch is going to have a big impact in the future.

Education

Most of us fondly recall the horrible sound of chalk squeaking on the chalk board, or the horrible smell of whiteboard markers from our days in school. What if we could eliminate white boards, black boards, etc. and replace all of them with multi-touch wall displays? While the initial outlay for such technology would likely be hefty, costs for consumable supplies such as chalk, markers, projection bulbs, erasers, etc. would be eliminated. In addition, the time to restock supplies or find shared projectors would be saved. In addition to being incredibly economical, these touch screen displays would provide teachers with improved functionality, responsiveness, and comfort. What teacher likes being covered in chalk day in and day out?

Military

In the world of the military, it is common for things like cellular phones, laptops, etc. to get roughed up. Military members may take their cellular phones or laptops out in the field because they are incredibly useful tools. Knowing full well that these “tools” may get damaged; however, military members are hesitant to buy technology such as the iPad/iPhone for use in the field. Anyone who has sat on their iPhone and listened to it crunch will agree that it is probably not a good idea to take such a device out into the field where anything can happen. Recently, companies have begun producing multi-touch technology that is more durable. For example, HP just has released a multi-touch enabled notebook that is “engineered to meet the tough MIL-STD 810G military-standard tests for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude, and high and low temperatures.” As this type of durable technology becomes more available, military members will be more willing to spend their hard-earned money without fear of destruction. In addition to members of the military buying these products, governments will be more willing to issue devices like this for use by troops.

Health Care

Anyone who has been to a doctor’s office or hospital has seen the massive amount of paper and x-ray sheets that are used on a daily basis. These resources are not free, there has to be a cheaper way to view/read diagnostic images and patient medical histories. Tablet PCs and devices such as the iPad would be perfect for a complete overhaul of the system. Doctors could each have an iPad like device which he could download his patient’s medical history/x-rays/diagnostic images to and have all the information he/she needs in one place. In fact, this plan is already in the “testing” phase with a number of hospitals trying it out. According to John Halamka of Harvard Medical School, “the combination of lower hardware acquisition costs and relative lack of learning curve (since many people already have smartphones) could foster widespread adoption of the iPad in health-care settings and pave the way for electronic heath records to become the norm.” If this idea catches on, it could save the healthcare industry millions of dollars and increase hospital efficiency significantly.

Pop Culture References to Multi-Touch

Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002) using Multi-Touch Technology

A lot of what we see in pop-culture actually shapes the way that technological trends go. When people see some type of new technology in a movie, it creates a demand for that technology. In the 2002 movie Minority Report, Tom Cruise used, what appeared to be, a curved glass computer that he controlled by wearing gloves and making gestures with his hand. This is where many of us first saw multi-touch technology. Today, on any given night, we can turn on the television to shows like CSI, NCIS, or Fringe and see them using multi-touch displays to scan through evidence or crime scene photographs. In addition to use in fictional television, these devices are used, today, by weathermen, ESPN (March Madness Selection Sunday), news reporters (2008 Presidential Election), etc. As the technology continues to progress, the world will see multi-touch being used in a plethora of different ways.