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Multi touch table

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by rclarke250, Aug 17, 2011.

  1. rclarke250

    rclarke250 New Member

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    I missed GenCon this year, (first time since 93) But I saw the video on you tube, and on facebook with the muti touch table, I am in the planing stages and getting materials together to do this, and would like any information on what materials and interface software was used. What were the stickers that were placed under the minis and how does that work for tracking, and finally Did the table being demoed make use of the right click for mouse gesture? And if so , what Library and software was used to accomplish this. I saw how you could do left click and moves and such, but there was no mention of doing attacks and things. Are the developers of D20pro, working on an interface change that would easier integration with a multi touch table?
     
    #1 rclarke250, Aug 17, 2011
  2. Daggeth

    Daggeth New Member

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    I'll start off with "Wow, that's a lot of GenCons". The innards and design of the table we are using were put together by our friends over at Mesa Mundi and the table itself was built by Geek Chic. Thraxxis will probably be better able to answer your questions if you want to PM or Email him, I'll give it a go though.


    • I can't comment on the materials used as I simply didn't ask. I do know that it was a custom setup and not using Surface from MS.

      We were using minis with just plain sold white stickers on the bottom to demo on the table, but this was only because the lighting in the convention center was playing havoc with the prototype table we have. Using 'glyphs' or 'barcodes' with the tables to tie specific minis to map tokes is something we are working on and integration like this is one of the main reasons we have the table.

      Right now the table only recognizes regular touch events (right-clicks included), gestures and multi-touch events are also something we are working on. I can't speak to the Library or software used for this though.

      Since it does recognize right-clicks you basically have the full function of a normal mouse so you can certainly do something like an attack through the right-click menu.

      Yes! We are definitely working on making d20Pro integrate more fully with multi-touch tables.

    As a final note, there is a thread in our forums where there has been discussion about creating your own touchscreen table that you might be interested in.
     
    #2 Daggeth, Aug 17, 2011
  3. Lifer4700

    Lifer4700 New Member

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    I saw Geek Chic's table at GenCon, but I didn't realize that was d20Pro running! (I only just DL'd d20Pro a day ago)

    Since there were fiducials sitting there, I would've assumed it was a DI box, but with the side of the box removed, I would think that it was FTIR. The problem is, FTIR can't handle the inert fiducials that were sitting there (they didn't look self illuminating).

    The only thing I could think of is that they were simply showing off the internals, but that would lead to reduced accuracy and response if it truely was DI...


    Could you shed some light on the subject? (pun intended)
     
    #3 Lifer4700, Aug 18, 2011
  4. cyderak

    cyderak Member

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    Here are exact plans for a multi-touch game table as built by maximum PC magazine:

    http://www.maximumpc.com/article/featur ... e_computer

    And heres a link to my computerized game table:

    http://cyderak.deviantart.com/art/Compl ... -217046815

    Good luck dude....You could probably build one for about $500 to $800 if you go the cheap way. Depends on if you have a projector.......what kind of projector you want.....HD or Not..........

    Over the course of 3 years I built one for about $2000........but thats because I used Oak, not presswood.......Quality cup holders...........HD projector.......thats not including the $800 laptop i bought.

    Works like a dream........I and the gaming group love it.
     
    #4 cyderak, Aug 18, 2011
  5. rclarke250

    rclarke250 New Member

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    I already have a DLP projector, And a spare c2d machine running windows 7 x64 ult. I thought about going the wiimote with a light pen, but since going to nuigroup.com I've been playing around with either going to FTIR, or DSI. the problem I see with DSI is lesser contrast on the touches, and the increased cost in the special endlighten plegi-glass. As for the wood of the table I was either going to go red oak, or if I want to save some money poplar, no freaking pressboard.

    As for all the GenCons, back in the 90's my brother was going to Marquette University, he asked if I wanted to go, and I said sure, never heard of it before, and saw this little known game being demoed called Magic the Gathering and we thought no way is this game going to catch on. Boy, were we wrong, lol. But since he lived in the Milwaukee area, it made going to the con very cheap and easy.
     
    #5 rclarke250, Aug 19, 2011
  6. kelendros

    kelendros New Member

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    there is a company selling IR led light strings to use with your multi touch table its really expensive...the company is mentioned in the maximumPC article above. the company is called Environmental Lights.

    If anyone knows of a similar product that is cheaper please let me know as I am planning to make a 4'by 3' multi touch table this summer
     
    #6 kelendros, Aug 22, 2011
  7. edwardcd

    edwardcd Administrator
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    ebay search for either 850nm IR LED or 940nm IR LED. However, this is just bulk IR LEDs which would need to be assembled.

    Something like this might work for you.
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-QTY-LED...ultDomain_0&hash=item1c1a5cc594#ht_1168wt_905
    OR
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-QTY-LED...ultDomain_0&hash=item20b85f054f#ht_1168wt_905
     
    #7 edwardcd, Aug 23, 2011
  8. owlbear

    owlbear Administrator
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    Hi All,

    I'm the owner of the company building the multitouch hardware for geek chic. We've got a couple of different builds out there.

    1. straight DI build. This is a diffused illumination build which is, unfortunately, quite light sensitive. This is a good design for a table which will stay in one place with one lighting situation most of the time. It has some variance in capability to handle different lighting situations BUT is very sensitive to any bright external IR sources -- Over head lamps, Sconce style halogens, etc.

    Capabilities/limitations of this system are:

    * 100+ Simultaneous events
    * Tracking of unique objects via object tags
    * Rear projection compatible
    * Requires multiple cameras for object tracking on a miniature scale (1"x1")
    * Computer needs to be integrated as the configuration is rather tricky
    * Mac and Windows compatible

    2. a combined DSI and DI build. This one combines the concepts of Diffused Surface Illumination which utilizes specialized acrylics in a design similar to FTIR, but we then augment this with an array of rear IR illuminators. This creates a very robust build which is able to handle a much wider range of ambient lighting conditions. When done right, this build can handle indirect sunlight.

    Capabilities/limitations of this system are:

    *100+ Simultaneous events
    * Tracking of unique objects via object tags
    * Rear projection or LCD compatible
    * Requires multiple cameras for object tracking on a miniature scale (1"x1")
    * Computer needs to be integrated as the configuration is rather tricky
    * Mac and Windows compatible

    3. a straight LCD/Touch Frame build. This configuration is the most affordable. In this build we bond an IR touch frame to a tempered or gorilla glass surfaced HD LED-LCD screen. This frame allows for a more straight forward user experience then the above two builds which require complex configuration and installation.

    Capabilities/limitations of this system are:

    * up to 32 Simultaneous touch events
    * Cannot track unique object tags
    * Connects to any Mac or Windows PC via a single USB cable and video out.
    * LCD compatible (up to maximum resolution of the LCD, typically 1920x1080)

    MindGene has an early prototype table which uses a combined DSI/DI effect to generate touch events. This table has made several appearances around various cons but is in serious need of a retro fit for our newer designs. If you decide to create your own table, you should sign up with the NUIgroup (nuigroup.com/forums). We are always happy to help builders with new designs and builds.

    A quick piece of advice when building a DI or DI/DSI rear-camera based system, do not place the "shiny side" facing your cameras. We'll be opening up an online store to sell parts and plans to build tables later this month (Sept 2011). We're always happy to help builders choose the right parts, so feel free to email us at info@mesamundi.com or post to the NUIGroup forums.

    Happy Building and Happy Gaming!
     
    #8 owlbear, Sep 5, 2011
  9. kelendros

    kelendros New Member

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    Does this mean more multi-touch friendly controls in the future? would be great to be able to turn the map, and the frames of the program?
     
    #9 kelendros, Sep 13, 2011
  10. Champion1

    Champion1 New Member

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    This table has made several appearances around various cons but is in serious need of a retro fit for our newer designs. If you decide to create your own table, you should sign up with the NUIgroup (nuigroup.com/forums).?????
     
    #10 Champion1, Apr 5, 2016
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