We've already explored through initiatives such as PingTime and the Lexus Interactive Table how interactive technology is fast becoming a mesmerising tour de force, and researchers at the University of Electro-Communications Koike Lab in Tokyo have developed the world's first touch sensitive water interface, AquaTop Display. The breakthrough system has the potential to turn a bathtub into a desktop and gaming device, using the water's surface, a sprinkle of bath salts, kinetic depth cameras, a projector and a pc.
By enabling the user to watch videos, read articles, or even play games via sensors that pick up movement on the waters surface, bathers are able to interact through hand gestures with the display as if it were any other portable device. Entirely intuitive, and therefore easy to use, in order to move the icons, one must merely drag them as if they were real world objects, much like the Obake project we recently covered.
While Desktop and Gaming interaction in the bath seems like an unlikely combination, the integration of technology into every facet of modern life once again know's no limit. If you've ever imagined what an underwater lightsaber fight might look like, keep your eyes peeled for this product.
AquaTop Display
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