So its slipped out….ooops! Well since it has I may as well take this opportunity to properly introduce DEVKIT R0.1 aka “The Prawn”.
The so called Prawn was named after I painted the first dev-kit pink around the same time as the film “District 9” came out. ….nuf said. However, even though it does have a silly name the spec is somewhat serious:

19” 1366 x 768 LCD display
16x9 Aspect Ratio
300 x 300 x 300 mm Triangular Base
FTIR based multitouch
Mounts for any camera with USB/IEEE1394 connection (eg PS3eye, FireFly or Fire-I)

The Prawn will be officially released very soon and will be available in a variety of colours (not just pink!). The construction is from a high gloss Acrylic and all parts are manufactured using our Laser Cutter or 4-axis CNC Milling Machine.  The prawn is primarily designed to be used on a desk environment as a debug tool for users not wanting to get straight into software development without going through the common rights of passage with soldering or taping up cardboard mock-ups. That said I am personally looking forward to pimped up prawns with hacked up guts….

The official release will be completely compatible with CCV software and in fact any other multi-touch tracking software reliant on a camera! We will be releasing the design as open too which means published drawings, schematics and data gathered during testing. The hope is that folk will find many uses for the hardware including installations – one reason why we specifically designed them to be cluster stackable!

Last but not least, some people may be wondering how much all this costs; well I cant give exact figure right now but it should somewhere in the region of £400-£500. I promise to keep this as low as is feasibly possible!

I attached a few photos showing bending the mid light bracket and the side connections

Nice compact design.

Good looking web site, nice to see all these fledgling MT companies springing up all over.

So does the finished ‘Prawn’ use a compliant layer or do the LED modules kick out enough light for the acrylic (endlighten perhaps?) to stand alone.

Also a good use of compact fluorescent tubes for back lighting.

Seeing these smaller setups makes me want to go LCD.

Keep us updated!

The LEDS are plenty enough to forego the compliant surface We are using the the board I blogged about here:
http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/8705/

Attached is a photo of the screen module - btw as a company we were thinking of making these available but am a little uncertain how well they would be received as a product as every person seems to use different screen sizes! Is any one actually interested in this kind of stuff? Perhaps It would be better just to post a “how to” document including a material list....?

Will be sure to post back soon with some videos and test data Can well and truly say it was well received though at Teesside’s TEDx event last week. Hopefully the same can be achieved at Newcastle’s Maker Faire in March!

Wow huge IR output! Works exceptionally well, as for people being interested in this stuff, well you only have to look at this website for proof.

I think the trouble will selling multitouch hardware stems from who are you selling to, Your average tinkerer such as my self might look for a DIY approach so selling MT components is a good idea, where as expensive complete solutions that lack an actually operating system and have to be strapped to a PC to run might not really appeal.

Peau Productions seems to have done well by riding that PS3 eye wave and moding them to order.

I take it that you’ve checked out nor_/d stuff? http://studio.nortd.com/cubit/ these guys seem to be the trail blazers but their finished product was very expensive.

I also fear/hope that once the IPad is available to buy many people will hack it to pieces and utilise the cheap fantastic form factor to do all things MT albeit no pressure sensitivity.

The only way i can see small MT co’s doing business is in the DIY market and the LARGE installation buzz that seems to have hooked tycoons and business execs!

As a development tool a device has to be cheap, durable and simple.

Just my 2 pence worth.

Just checked out the Cubit and TouchKit nice setup but quite pricey :( Guess they are aiming at the Mac of Multi-Touch?

I totally agree with what you are saying about the balance of selling bits Vs Solutions. Hopefully we will get it right but I guess only time will tell!

Also diggin the hacks Peau are producing

Just to let folk know were now taking pre orders for these
Get in contact if you want more info…

Well after a long bank holiday re-vamping the website - the flood gates are now officially open!
We are taking orders for Prawns and have around 40 in-stock ready for shipping
As the week progresses we will try and iron out all the little web site bugs that have arisen from a few late night sessions as well as adding all the manuals, drawings, cad files etc.

Be the first to touch up a Prawn!

hey guys
Out of curiosity how are the prawns selling?, how many have u fellas sold so far?.
Keep up the good work
Cheers
Tim