Jeff Han's Touch Interface Revolution
Working all but alone from his hardware-strewn office, Jeff Han is about to change the face of computing. Not even the big boys are likely to catch him.
Video: Remapping the Universe In this video, Jeff Han and Phil Davidson demonstrate how a multi-touch driven computer screen will change the way we work and play.
Until now, the touch screen has been limited to the uninspiring sort found at an ATM or an airport ticket kiosk--basically screens with electronic buttons that recognize one finger at a time. Han's touch display, by contrast, redefines the way commands are given to a computer: It uses both movement and pressure--from multiple inputs, whether 2 fingers or 20--to convey information to the silicon brain under the display. Already, industries and companies as diverse as defense contractor Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), CBS (NYSE:CBS) News, Pixar (NYSE:DIS), and unnameable government intelligence agencies have approached Han to get hold of his invention. And, no surprise, he has formed a startup company to market it, Perceptive Pixel.
"Touch is one of the most intuitive things in the world," Han says. "Instead of being one step removed, like you are with a mouse and keyboard, you have direct manipulation. It's a completely natural reaction--to see an object and want to touch it."
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Han gives me a private demonstration at NYU. The 36-inch-wide drafting table he used at TED has since evolved into a giant screen: two 8-foot-by-3-foot panels. I notice the screen is not only smudge resistant but durable--or as Han says, "peanut butter--proof," a phrase he didn't invent but liked enough to co-opt.
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