Hi All

I’ve been inspired by the super cheap multitouch demo that was recently posted on engadget, and found this site what a great place!

One thing, I’ve noticed is that no one is doing any kind of tilted surfaces, everyone looks like the are making table or wall displays.
I’m wondering why this is?  I’d have thought that a tilted surface would be more ergonomic and allow the device to be used for a longer period.

I’m planning on building a tilted display probably somewhere between 45-60 degrees from horizontal, using DI design (the silicon pouring looks far too scary!).  Would be interesting to know if anyone else out there has built a tilted surface and has any feedback as to wether this is a good bad idea..

I’m going to make some sketches of my design and put them up here later today for feedback…

Hi NEBULUS,

Ive built a couple different FTIR boxes. In the attached pics you can see the angled surface of one
of my testbed boxes.  ERGONOMIC yes .  But not practical if you wanted to use fudical tracking for
devices placed on the surface.  I believe there are several people in the forums that have used the
angled design.  I love it but it makes it harder to be used as a multi-user multi-touch .
But for single user, It Is much nicer to play with.

A tilted display is probably better in an ergonomic sense for a single user, as daddyoli says. Artists and architects have been using drafting tables for ages, so that applies to multitouch as well. However, when working in a group, it’s usually better to sit down around a horizontal table. A tilted table gives a somewhat arcade feel to it, imo.
The main reason for a horizontal display is the 360 accessibility and thereby a display that invites multiple users, which is one of the main advantages of multitouch.

Thanks for the speedy replies!

@Daddyoli, nice setup, I particularly like the glow of the light coming in under the garage door very atmospheric!

Looks like the design I’m going for is going to be better for the application I’m aiming for, multiuser is less important though space for up to 3 people to interact is important.
The software I plan to use on it has orientation built into the GUI so the having someone work on it from other sides as a flat table allows isn’t useful to me…

I’m also trying to go for something that (other than the screen) should be easy to break down and move and reassemble, have other people gone for that approach I wonder?