Membrane That Turns Any Surface Into a Touchscreen

alx5000 writes "Engadget has a story about Displax Interactive Systems, a Portuguese company that has created a new polymer film that, when stuck onto a surface, converts it into a multitouch touchscreen with up to 16 contact points. The article states that 'if all goes well, the first Displax-enabled wares will start shipping this July.'"

The 'multitouch' is the new bit

[TheRaven64]

You've been able to get membranes that could be put on normal screens and make them touchscreens for a long time. I remember a school where my mother worked got some in the mid '90s and put them on monitors. A bit later there were companies advertising them for putting on laptops, with a serial adaptor so you got something that looked like a serial mouse to Windows 3.11 but was a touch screen. The news here is that they now support multitouch.

Applications

[LaminatorX]

Is it good or bad that my first thought was to make a multi-touch battle mat for wargaming?

ATM's

[hAckz0r]

With the rash of card skimmers being placed on ATM's I have to wonder just how long it will be before someone "overlays" an ATM's console to grab pin numbers too. These days it pays to be observant of minor differences in hardware because these creeps are getting more and more sophisticated with microelectronics and wireless transceivers. I think it won't be long before someone puts this technology to use in some diabolical and illegal manor.