[From Bit Rebels, which features more images and a 1:22 minute video also available here]

The World’s Largest Touchscreen

02/12/2011 By Diana Adams

Holy batman, now that’s a touchscreen! I’m going to tell you the size of this thing immediately because I know that’s what you really want to know, right? It is 10 meters (32.8 feet) by 2.8 meters (9.2 feet). The screen uses 1,000 LEDs and 6 Optitrack cameras. The resolution is 4900 by 1700 pixels. Its shape is curved, and it can track 100 people touching it at once.

The University of Groningen in the Netherlands created this badboy in their school’s 3D theater. Their objective is to teach their students more about interaction methods with touchscreens. According to the school’s website, this was surprisingly simple to make and doesn’t rely on any fancy technology.

They used some off-the-shelf hardware and public domain software. Three old PCs, a few projectors, some video cameras and a few cheap illuminators later… it was done. In addition to helping the students, this screen will also assist scientists who study Geographic Information Systems. According to the University, “Having such a huge screen changes the way people interact with data and with each other.” Wow!

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