Choosing the right multitouch equipment is a critical factor in planning a successful public exhibit. Size, build quality and performance are key factors when evaluating a device that will be used day after day in a busy public environment.

Our Multitouch Table and Display Comparison Chart (PDF 600kb) compiles key facts about our MT Series multitouch devices, along with available information on many of our competitor’s multi-touch tables and displays. We hope you will find this a valuable resource when selecting equipment for your next museum exhibit or public display.

We pride ourselves on building the best integrated multitouch tables and touch walls for public use. Whether you are comparing the the MT55 Platform table, MT55 Pro table, or our new MT65 Presenter multitouch wall, you will see that our product performance is second to none in build quality and value.

Download the Multitouch Table and Display Comparison chart*
(PDF 600kb)

*updated 2-8-12 with input from James Maki, Product Manager at Microsoft

We’re pleased to announce the release of the Ideum MT65 Presenter multitouch wall display. The MT65 Presenter is a huge 65” interactive display with a 3D LCD, robust multitouch sensor, ultra-clear tempered glass, a powerful integrated computer, built-in audio, and webcam housed inside a hardened aluminum case.

The Presenter is easy to install and maintain, virtually indestructible, and works in practically any ambient lighting environment. The integrated touch sensor supports up to 32 simultaneous touch points for multiple user exhibits. The 4” thin Presenter is protected by hardened 3mm tempered glass and a vandal-proof metal housing.

The Presenter features a 65” 3D LCD display with full HD resolution and flicker-free FPR 3D imaging that uses an LED backlight rated for 50,000 hours. The massive interactive display is over 2.5 times larger than the Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface 2.

The powerful built-in computer features an Intel® Core™ i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, Solid State Hard Drive, and a discrete GPU, making the Presenter more than three times faster than the Surface 2.0, and likely to outperform any other touchscreen on the market.

The MT65 Presenter includes built-in WIFI, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity. It also features stereo speakers, an external HD webcam with Carl Zeiss® optics and a stereo microphone. The Presenter has HDMI input/output that allows you to easily mirror the device’s display, or it can receive input from another device.

An optional locking plate secures the Presenter’s Ethernet, HDMI, 3.5mm Audio in/out, and USB 2.0 ports against unwanted access. Similar to Ideum’s MT55 Series of multitouch tables, the Presenter features single-button operation. Just plug it in and turn it on.

Every MT65 Presenter ships with a full, lifetime, licensed copy of GestureWorks 3 for ActionScript. GestureWorks® for ActionScript provides streamlined multitouch authoring for multitouch walls, tables, desktops, tablets, and embedded devices. You’ll save precious development time and have access to pre-built gestures and the world’s first markup language for multitouch: GestureML. In addition, GestureWorks®  SDK has a powerful touch point cluster analysis system, a built-in simulator, and includes access to pre-built modules.

For more information, please download and read the MT65 Presenter Press Release.

MT65 Presenter Press Release
(Updated: 01-17-12) (49kb)

You can also read about the MT65 Presenter on Engadget

Ideum is fortunate to work with a network of some of the best multitouch designers and developers in the world. This holiday season, we are particularly thankful for our Developer Partners.

We’d love to program every computer-based exhibit that comes our way, but we don’t always have the capacity. In those situations, our partners are an integral component to the success of the MT55 multitouch table, and the satisfaction of our clients.

If you are searching for a firm to design and develop your next multi-touch application or interactive exhibit, we highly recommend contacting one of our partners. To view a list of our partners, and recent installations please visit our Partner Page.

Interested in becoming a partner? The Ideum Developer Partner Program allows you to offer your clients the best multitouch tables available with exclusive hardware discounts, free software, marketing opportunities and other benefits. If you would like to apply, please contact us.

The MT55 Platform International Edition is now available worldwide.

The MT55 Platform is currently shipping to:
Austria, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Rated for 110V-240V use, the MT55 Platform International Edition is ready for nearly every modern voltage standard out-of-the-box. Thanks to the Platform‘s universal power system, we’ll be adding more countries soon.

The International Edition is available for sale directly and through a growing network of select global distributors. Contact us to order, or to connect with a local distributor.

To learn more, download pricing and specs, and to sign up for notification of future availability view our site.

Today Ideum is releasing the MT55 Platform multitouch table. The second multitouch table in the MT series, The Platform redefines our product line with an elegant new design. The Platform houses an efficient integrated computer, reliable solid state components, and a bright 55-inch interactive LED LCD display inside an impossibly thin 3″ surface.

The MT55 Platform offers many of the same features as the MT55 Pro. The 55″ full HD display uses an optical multitouch system that supports 32 simultaneous touch points for collaborative interaction. The interactive surface of the MT55 Platform is protected by a sheet of crystal clear, 5mm tempered glass. We’re also introducing a new surface option for all of our multitouch tables: Sevasa HapticGlas®, produced exclusively for Ideum. Micro-etched HapticGlas® provides tactile feedback, reduces fingerprints, increases scratch resistance, and directs user focus.

Like every MT table, the MT55 Platform is accessible by design. The hardened aluminum frame of the Platform stands 31″ tall, matching ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements. Connectivity comes standard with integrated Wireless N, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and hidden USB, and HDMI ports. It also includes blue LED under-lighting, integrated cooling, a modular base which can be bolted to the floor, and a full two-year warranty.

The MT55 Platform is currently available in the US and Canada. We expect to begin shipping the MT55 Platform internationally in the coming weeks. Please contact us with questions, or to learn when the Platform is coming to your region.

For more information about the MT55 Platform , please download the press release:

MT55-platform-pressrelease-7-18-11.pdf (108 KB)

Tune Grid is a 16-step multitouch audio sequencer built with GestureWorks. It allows multiple users to create harmonic rhythms, or play sequences of notes using multitouch input. We originally conceived of the idea with our friends at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, after seeing Andre Michelle’s ToneMatrix web application.

Tune Grid now comes standard on every Ideum multitouch table. It’s a fun multi-user sound application that does a great job showing off the integrated Bose audio system found in the MT55 Pro. Below is a video showing Tune Grid in action on the MT55 Pro multitouch table. We’d love to hear your feedback.

This will be the last installment of this series on our multitouch wall project here at the Ideum studio. Next month, we’ll be able to show you the exhibit installed.  For the last two weeks we’ve been working on blending the two high-resolution images and the infrared illumination and tracking. Also, yesterday we began to pack up the pieces for shipping.

Blending the two high-resolution projectors has taken a bit of time. The two projectors are dVision 35 WQXGA XB LED projectors by Digital Projection. The blending hardware is also from Digital Projection. The combined resolution of our round, 7 foot projected images is 2560 x 2560. Before settling on a hardware solution, we tried a few different blending methods using software. One of the software methods we first explored, used corners of the two projected images to calibrate. Sort of a non-starter when your image is round!  The blending hardware we are using is Digital Projection’s Fusion 3D hardware.

In the photograph above you can see one of the calibration tests. Paul Lacey  (Senior Multitouch Engineer at Ideum) and Chris Steinmetz (Support Specialist at Ideum) are examining a test blend.

Infrared Illumination and tracking was another major challenge. As we mentioned in our last blog post (See Part 3), we’re using low-powered lasers for illumination. For tracking we are using NUITEQ’s SnowFlake Software.  The software will use the four cameras (See Part 2) to track the IR touch points on the wall’s surface. The IR cameras we are using are from Point Grey.

The photograph above shows a calibration test using Snowflake software which works with Point Grey cameras and supports four camera input.

Finally, packing up all of these materials for shipment is a major task in itself. Many of the items are extremely fragile, such as the 7 foot acrylic projection screen. Others, like the large ring are just hard to handle and move.

The round acrylic projection surface needed to be wrapped very carefully for transport.

The 10mm haptic glass is both fragile (when not mounted) and heavy.

The ring itself is several hundred pounds. Here we are preparing it to be moved.

In the next post, we’ll show you the installation! Also, we’ll finally be able to share the name of the aquarium that has partnered with us to develop the exhibit. (They gave permission to share the progress, but wanted their name kept private until the exhibition opens.) To see the previous steps in the process check out: Building a High-Resolution Multitouch Wall Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

cross posted from Open Exhibits Blog

Open Exhibits has just passed 4,000 software downloads! If you’re not a programmer, or you haven’t downloaded the code, yet – we thought we’d give you an idea of what you may be missing.

This video demonstrates several of the free multitouch software modules already posted on the Open Exhibits site. These modules are designed to simplify Flash and ActionScript exhibit development, and many are compatible with the Microsoft Kinect (using MT-Kinect). The source code for every module shown in the video can be downloaded today on the Open Exhibits Software page.

We demonstrated the software on the TRu Touch 21.5″ multitouch monitor from Touch Revolution and 3M M2256PW 22″ display.

Open Exhibits modules require Open Exhibits Core SDK (free for museums, non-profits, and educational use). The software modules can be used commercially with GestureWorks SDK.

We’ll continue to post videos as we release new software. If you have any comments or feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

The MT-50 multitouch table by Ideum

This post is cross-posted from Open Exhibits

Designed for museums, research labs, and other demanding public environments, the MT-50 Multitouch Table, now discontinued, stood in a class of its own as the most durable and reliable multitouch table available. With 60+ points of input, a powerful computer, and true multiuser support, the MT-50 Table found its place on the floors of busy museums in North America and beyond.

We’ve already leaked details and hinted at the secret recipe that made the MT-50 a success. Now, on the heels of the release of our new multitouch table, we have decided to “open source” the complete plans and parts list for the MT-50 table.

Countless hours of research and refinement have gone into producing the MT-50 table. This system is projection based, and uses optical multitouch technology to create interactivity. The components have been carefully sourced for optimum durability, performance, and longevity. However, the design is modular, so some of the parts and materials suggested can be substituted for less expensive, less rugged alternatives at your discretion.

We’ve taken great care to document every step and design detail in this PDF. It’s our hope that ambitous museum staffers and DIY multitouch enthusiasts will benefit from this document and the research and engineering that made the MT-50 a multitouch workhorse.

You can download the complete parts list and DIY assembly instructions here:

mt-50_multitouch_table_DIY_instructions_1.pdf (1.73MB) 

Please comment on this post with any questions, or refer to the comment thread on Instructables.

This video demonstrates the results of a recent collaboration between SENSUS and our own Open Exhibits software initiative.  The concept is simple: make networking and sharing transparent across multitouch devices and operating systems. The demo video shows an Android Tablet (Samsung Galaxy), a Multitouch Table (our own, new MT55), a Windows 7 multitouch kiosk, and an iPod–all sharing media items (images, video, and a Google Map) effortlessly.  This easy sharing is made possible with Konnectus software which is a new cloud-computing platform developed by SENSUS.

The  Konnectus software and the Open Exhibits modules will be available later this summer. And, Yes! These “network friendly” software modules will also work with our GestureWorks multitouch framework.

Here’s a bit more about Konnectus and our partners at SENSUS…

KonnectUs is a new cloud-computing software platform by SENSUS designed to make sophisticated networking functions easy and intuitive for users across a range of devices including multitouch tables, desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones. KonnectUs “Natural Networking Technology (NNT)” empowers users to connect seamlessly across all major platforms – from Windows to Android to iOS. The new software aims to deliver a desktop user experience for key cloud-based services such as file sharing, social networking and location-relevant distribution of content. Additionally, KonnectUs APIs allow developers the opportunity to leverage the power of SENSUS networking technology through integration into third party applications.

You can read the full-press release on the SENSUS Website.