HP's Wall of Touch

Another example of 'walls' of information, which we experimented with extensively. Think of it as also useful for creating certain '2D environments' like the store shelf, for understanding consumer behavior there. Worked with a furniture manufacturer five years ago which was proposing that all rooms ultimately be outfitted with these capabilities. They are still far too expensive for that, but you can see it coming, unless completely mobile projection solutions take over first. See a demo.

In the WSJ Blog: ' ... The new design, called the “wall of touch”, is an interactive touch screen wall comprised of up to nine 43 inch to 46 inch, 1.5 inch thick panels with a resolution of 1080p. Driven by an H-P Z800 workstation, the wall acts as a large immersive H-P TouchSmart computer both in terms of content and resolution. Users can access cable feeds, satellite feeds, downloaded and streaming content from the web such as YouTube, Hulu.com, and social networking sites, as well view DVR and DVD content.

... Unlike most touch screen interfaces, users don’t have to make actual contact with the wall for it to interpret their gestures.

The wall employs a touch mechanism that uses optical cameras and a magnetic strip to detect when users are nearing the wall. For users who can’t reach the far corners of the screens, the wall of touch also works with a standard keyboard and mouse... '. Not expected to be available until 2011, and other vendors are also at work on these ideas.