Billed by Ractiv as a “modern day mouse”, the Touch+ device promises to make virtually any surface into a multi-touch gesture device controller for a little under $75.
The Touch+ initially started life as a Kickstarter campaign looking to raise $100,000 under the name of the ‘Haptix’ back in September last year. Now officially called the Touch+, Ractiv said it has been “reimagined and reinvented with a new name, new features, and a brand new design”.
Essentially, it’s a pairing of two normal cameras and the company’s software algorithm to create a 3D sensor capable of tracking your hand movements, thereby allowing you to control your computer. Handily, it doesn’t require any custom-coded apps, and supports OS X, Windows and iOS devices. Support for Linux devices and Android smart TVs is on the way, a spokesperson told TNW.
Lai Xue, Ractiv’s Co-Founder, explains: “The inspiration for Touch+ came from using a laptop on a bus and wondering what it would be like to have multitouch on the keyboard all the time so our hands wouldn’t have to keep moving all over the place – which, needless to say, is tricky in a confined space.”
All you need to do is clip the device onto the top of your laptop and your keyboard space becomes a multitouch surface, from which you can do things like swipe a finger to move down a webpage, navigate Google Earth with your hands or play first-person shooters without a mouse, Ractiv suggests. It also comes with a little stand, allowing you to turn any surface into your ‘mouse.’
Pre-ordered units for Kickstarter backers have already started shipping out but the Touch+ is available to all now via Ractiv’s site.
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