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Those who find the touchscreens on their ever shrinking gadgets too fiddly to handle, will be glad to hear scientists are developing a new touch surface… your own arm.
Developers at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University are working together to create an armband that projects an interface directly onto your skin.
They have combined a mini projector which creates a changing display with a sophisticated sensor that can tell which part of your arm is being tapped. 
The researchers showed Skinput can be used to control audio devices, play simple games like Tetris, make phone calls and navigate simple browsing systems.
The gadget effectively turns your arm into a touchscreen surface by picking up various ultra-low sounds produced when you tap different areas.
Different skin locations are acoustically distinct because of bone density and the filtering effect from soft tissues and joints. The team then used software that matched sound frequencies to specific skin locations. The prototype then uses wireless technology like Bluetooth to transmit the commands to the device being controlled, such as a phone, iPod, or computer.
In April, the researchers plan to present their work at the Computer-Human Interaction meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Microsoft has been working on touch technology for a while. The big drawback was the hardware interface. But that is no longer the case. Here are some of the enhancements that Microsoft has done to improve the user interaction with their touch screens…
Easier grasp on PC’s.
Microsoft has enlarged icons in Windows 7 for the Start Menu, Taskbar and Windows Explorer. This makes it easier to grasp the PC. So in place of the mouse, you can open and shut programs by directly tapping or double-tapping with your fingers. You can also summon a virtual onscreen keyboard, too, though it’s nowhere near as natural as typing on a physical keyboard. 
Multi-touch operations
You can also zoom in on a picture by spreading two fingers apart, or zoom out by pinching them back together. You can “right-click” by holding down one finger while you tap the screen with a second finger.
100 Point Support
Windows 7 can support up to 100 touch points, Microsoft says, though there are hardware constraints (screen size) and the genetic reality of having just so many fingers with which to perform gestures. The behavior on the screen changes depending on how many fingers you use.
We know all about how touch screen kiosks, once a novelty reserved for high-end museum exhibits, are rapidly becoming an ultra-popular addition to public settings, educational areas, and businesses. Offering easily accessible information in a compact form, touch screen PCs are being embraced by business owners looking to provide easy access, restaurants looking for a foolproof ordering system, and museums requiring a simple solution for exhibit information.
These seven settings demand quick informational access, which is reason no.1 for their success with touch screen monitors. From heavy industry to education providers, with more and more people seeing the value of touch screen technology, expect to see more touch screens kiosks in the following locations: 
Educational and Training Organizations
When it comes to education, the name of the game is quick and easy access to information. In the early 1990s, computing – and later the internet – revolutionized education. Access to data became quick, simple, and inexpensive. Now there’s a new revolution going on. Offering simple access for disabled students, attention-grabbing displays for young children, and accessible information for elderly users, touch screen displays are quickly becoming the most popular means of communicating digital information for educators.
Museums
Touch screens have historically been popular in museum displays. Their ability to convey large amounts of information quickly and easily has made them a fantastic alternative to the traditional mouse-and-keyboard style PC display. Offering durability, simple access, and slick aesthetics, touch screen displays are highly popular with museums and public exhibitions.
Industry
Touch screens offer more than just simple access to information. The very design of a mouse and keyboard makes them highly exposed to potential damage or wear. A touch screen, however, is significantly more durable, able to function even when exposed to dirt and grime. This durability makes touch screens a worthwhile investment for industrial settings and potentially unclean areas.
Restaurants and Retail
Using a keyboard and mouse for thousands of transactions a day is hardly efficient. In a busy restaurant, the last thing any employee 
needs is a cumbersome billing and payment interface. Touch screen digital signage allows employees to input and process payments significantly more quickly than a standard PC interface.
Travel Information and Public Transport
From airports to bus stations, touch screens are quickly becoming the norm for transport related transactions and processes. Printing and processing tickets is made simple with an automated machine display, lowering operating costs for public transportation services. Airports are also benefiting from the use of touch screen machines, which are lowering staffing needs in customs and immigration, and allowing airlines to simplify the check-in process.
Business
With a simple addition from a touch screen kiosk manufacturer, a business presentation can be supercharged and made significantly
more effective. The most effective presentations demand two things – simplicity and control – and a touch screen display gives business presenters both.
Medical Settings
With the medical world demanding clean and quick access to information on demand, touch screens are quickly finding a large new audience. From operating theatres to patient booking rooms, the medical industry is embracing touch screens as a sanitary, ultra-efficient alternative to traditional PC displays.
Cineworld touch screen by Protouch
FILM producers spend millions each year to draw audiences to their movies. And ADVERTISERS take advantage of the pre-cinema screening of ads and promos to promote their products. But now advertisers are moving their commercials to the entrances of cinemas as well, introducing kiosks and advertising boards to appeal to customer’s cinema experience.
Over the past two years, cinemas have been installing touch screen kiosks so cinema-goers can book and buy their tickets with ease and efficiency without having to wait in the queue.
However, kiosks are not just about ticket collection anymore. Cinema-goers want a more enhanced and rewarding experience when they visit the cinema and kiosk systems are the new and exciting way to do this.
Cineword, the UK’s second largest multiplex cinema chain, rolled out Protouch’s Xen X5 and Xen X4 kiosks into a number of its UK cinemas. The kiosk systems were installed to allow users to pick up tickets as well as support Cineworld’s Unlimited Film programme.
Cineworld plan to install the X5 kiosk into all of its cinemas selling the Unlimited programme. John Anderson Cineworld’s Marketing Co-ordinator said, “The Unlimited programme is a large and important part of our business and distinguishes us from every other cinema company in the UK and Protouch’s X5 kiosk is helping us to advance this programme.”
And the latest new promo is telecommuncations firm Sprint, is sponsoring the new marketing effort of placing 500 self service kiosks in movie theatres so that customers can scan in a code from their phones and get coupons for snacks.
The coupons will vary in discount and price with some allowing a free upgrade to a bigger popcorn or large drink.
Companies have been expanding their products and services into cinema advertising, as they noticed that cinemas are a good place to reach audiences that don’t have too many distractions.
“People with high mobile phone usage do tend to go to the cinema more than people with lower mobile phone usage,” he said. “Years back, when cinema advertising was just launching, people were a little skeptical on how it would be received.
“It has only been around for a relatively short amount of time, but all the research that came back said, despite initial skepticism, people feel that the advertisements are not intruding-in fact, many ways are complementing-the overall event.”
The coupons being introduced via the self service kiosks will definitely encourage more people to visit the cinema and make use of the deals on offer.
“The first was a reward for their own customers, building that loyalty, and the other was the envy factor,” said Christine Martino, national account director for Screen Vision who suggested the idea to Sprint.
The kiosk works by instructing Sprint customers to text a certain world (like Sprint) to a certain phone number. The cinema-goer then receives a text message that includes a string of letters and numbers. The kiosk features a computer screen next to the scanning device, and people hold up their cellphones, scan that code and can browse through a few offers on the screen.
The customer then selects their chosen offer, to which a receipt will be printed that people can take to the concession stand for a free upgrade, such as a larger drink.
Margaret Clerkin, the head of the invention group at Mindshare, Sprint’s media agency and a unit of WPP, said that offering something to Sprint customers was a necessary element. “There is entertainment value provided by cinema advertising, but there is also an exchange of value-can you enhance their experience?” she said.
In time, ScreenVision would like to see other companies like Burger King offer discounts on a post-show hamburger for instance.
“It is a direct reward for the consumer,” said Andrew L.Blacker, senior vice president for marketing at ScreenVision.
There are so many different uses for a self service kiosk, and the potential of them can really broaden your businesses horizons and potentially bring more people through your door.
In fact a kiosk can provide so much information and be of a great help to customers, that you can potentially reduce the amount of staff on duty and look to use them for other work and save money in the long run.
While staff supervising kiosks is always a good thing-especially when people may have difficulty in using it the system-you need to make sure that your staff are highly trained in how the kiosk works and to help customer navigate round the kiosk.
There aren’t really any limitations to the software that can be uploaded onto a kiosk, as it is simply a computer that is readily created and developed to provide instant access to information suited for the purpose of your business.
Here are a list of ways a kiosk can benefit you.
- Price Checking
- Product Information/Location
- Guided Selling
- Electronic Gift Card Purchasing/Activation
- Store Mapping
- Coupon Dispensing
- Self Check-In
- Web Access
- Point of Information (For use in Tourist Information Offices, Galleries, Museums)
Kiosks can even been installed with a range of multi-functional programmes so you can give your customers the best of both worlds.
For more information about self service kiosks and how to deploy them into your business, visit Protouch today.
Protouchare the leading distributor and manufacturer of touchscreen equipment and have built a range of different interactive kiosk solutions for a variety of businesses including Specsavers, Man United and Kiddicare.
A world where everything is run by self service, and interactive technology is not that far around the corner when you think about it.
The idea of interactive adverts directly targeting you as you walk into a store and everything being processed by a simple but hi-tech gadget all sounds very Matrix-style but the reality may be within reaching distance according to an article we stumbled across on The Times website.
The article focuses on high street banking in 2020 and how different it will be in comparison to what it is at present. Already the banking systems in place feature an array of self service systems such as ATM’s, paying-in machines, etc which has made managing our accounts and finances easier.
The plan for the future, however is very different and far more advanced than you will of ever thought of before.
The technology article looks at different opinions from industry experts around the globe and what they think about the world of self service and how it will implode into the high street banking world in no time at all.
Banks are continuously making their services more accessible and flexible in order to accommodate for their customers by reducing queue times and developing 24-hour online banking systems.
The new ideas surrounding a new and interactive bank look at targeting customers through specific advertisements.
For example if your mortgage was up for renewal or you had requested information on a specific loan in the past, advertisements will let you know the best deal the bank can do for you that day.
From here, customers may be directed to a self service kiosk where they can talk directly to a call-centre worker or the expert who is deemed best placed to deal with your problem.
Jason Bacon, head of digital marketing at Lloyds TSB, says, “The bank branch is not going to go away but it will adapt. Customers will be able to talk to specialists using video either in branch or from home.”
Mr Bacon also expects that many high street banks will start to use social networking sites to contact their customers about specific offers, deals, as well as local information about ATM machines that are not in use as well as opening and closing times of banks.
There has even been talks of identifying people through fingerprints, iris or even full face scans through kiosks installed through the bank.
Andrew Clare, Professor of Asset Management at Cass Business School, London, says, “The technology has already been developed and may well be adopted as a way of making banking safer.”
However, the thought of paying for our clothes, food and holidays with our fingertips seems a little too far fetched at this stage with many experts thinking it will take a while before this takes place.
Protouch are a leading distributor and manufacturer of touch screen technology in Europe. They have designed some innovative self service products which has increased business sales as well as enhancing customer experience.
They are fully aware of how the self service market is growing and think the ideas behind an interactive bank would work well if the self service was developed with the customer continually in mind.
Many banks who develop these gadgets and implement them into their stores need to recognise that customers don’t wish to be bombarded with adverts and simply to to the bank to get the job done in the shortest possible time.
If there is a problem they want to be able to resolve it properly either via a helpful assistant or a kiosk that can resolve the problem and give other options.
If self service is going to be the future it needs to be developed to fit into the future demands of customers who don’t like to be messed around, prefer less hassle and want it done as quick and as efficient as possible.
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