OmniTouch, a wearable projection system developed by researchers at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University, lets you turn pads of paper, walls, or even your own hands, arms, and legs into graphical, interactive surfaces.

OmniTouch uses a depth-sensing camera, similar to the Microsoft Kinect, to track your fingers on everyday surfaces. You control interactive applications by tapping or dragging your fingers. The projector can superimpose keyboards, keypads, and other controls onto any surface, automatically adjusting for the surface’s shape and orientation to minimize distortion of the projected images.

You can use the palm of your hand as a phone keypad, or as a tablet for jotting down brief notes. Maps projected onto a wall can be panned and zoomed with the same finger motions that work with a conventional multitouch screen.

In related news, Disney Research labs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has developed a multiplayer gaming system called SideBySide, also using handheld pico-projectors, to let you play on any nearby surface, reports New Scientist One Per Cent.

Source: Microsoft Research, Carnegie Mellon University

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Wearable projection system turns any surface into a multitouch interface
Microsoft Research
Carnegie Mellon University