7 possible applications of multi-touch installations

Multi-touch technologies provide an interactive interface to the future. Through their touch-sensitive surface, devices equipped with this technology can recognise and process multiple touch inputs in parallel. The advantage of this technology is that it facilitates intuitive accessibility, interactivity and simultaneous use by multiple people.

If now you’re thinking, ”Been there, seen it, done that – any old smartphone or tablet PC can do that!”, you might want to think again. Granted, to a certain extent this is basically correct, but this technology can as well be put to use on a scale and in areas of application that you may find surprising.

How would you like to control a conference table, for example, or an entire monitor wall – for your next corporate event, in the lobby of your headquarters, or as part of an exhibition?

Advantages: Intuitively Accessible, Interactive, and Usable by Several People at Once

The advantages of multi-touch installations lie in their sheer accessibility – facilitated by their intuitive operation – coupled with their powerful visualisation capabilities and wide range of interactive applications. The ability to process multiple simultaneous user inputs in parallel makes this technology particularly suitable for use in environments where many people typically use and interact with the installation at the same time, such as a high-traffic exhibition or a team project that relies on people working closely together and sharing and pooling results in real time. But fun is also part of this mix, as the technology appeals to the human instinct to play and invites people to engage with the content in a casual and playful way.

Possible Applications of Multi-Touch Installations

Whether in a museum or exhibition context, in the business sector, in corporate or media communications, in a company’s lobby or showroom, the sky’s the limit (and maybe not even that) when it comes to the applications of multi-touch technology.
A museum, for example, can use multi-touch technology to make an exhibition of otherwise “boring” (i.e. immobile and untouchable) objects or abstract concepts more interesting for visitors young and old. Or a company can use an interactive installation about the company’s history to shorten the waiting time for visitors in the lobby, or a news agency can use the installation to efficiently bundle and evaluate news coming in from various channels, or a company can upgrade its showroom with multi-touch components.

Perhaps the following seven real-life examples of this technology in action will inspire you to find your own way of using it.

1. Corporate Showroom

An interactive showroom fascinates visitors, clients, and investors alike. Here’s an example of one showcasing not a physical object, but an Artificial Intelligence.

2. Corporate Communication/ Public Relations

This interactive newsroom collects information from over a million sources and facilitates their internal evaluation and further processing.

3. Retail Industry

This integration of multi-touch technology with innovative retail concepts at the Visa Futures Conference, consisting in an interactive shop window in combination with virtual retail space in the form of a Shopping Wall, turns any shopping trip into a futuristic experience.

4. Collaboration

These examples show how an interactive creative space supports the generation of new ideas and simplifies team collaboration, and how a collaborative multi-touch software facilitates joint planning of a factory.

5. Museum

A multi-touch table brings self-made drawings of dinosaurs to life, and rotating touchscreens illustrate the exhibition “Spaceship Earth”.

6. Trade Show

Interactive trade fair booths, equipped with multi-touch scanner table and interactive display case, become visitor magnets and support product presentation and sales pitch.

7. Events

In this example, a multi-touch table assumes the part of receptionist and info desk for attendants and at the same time acts as an interactive interface with Social Media platforms.

Should you currently consider starting a project that is supposed to involve multi-touch technology and interactivity features in one way or another – give us a call or reach out to us by chat or e-mail! We will join you in brainstorming for ideas and then provide you with suggestions for their realization and a cost estimate.