Light Blue Optics Light Touch Revealed

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It’s only been 2010 for a few days and the future is already here. The UK’s own Light Blue Optics demoed a new device at CES, the Light Touch. The small pico-projector projects a 10-inch display that will respond to human interaction like a conventional touchscreen would.

That’s right, the Light Touch will turn any flat surface into a 10-inch touchscreen with a screen resolution of 800 x 480. Obviously, the applications of such a device are limitless.

Light Blue Optics’ show some press photos of a woman at a clothing store browsing a small display with information on productions, and another shows a group of friends viewing a menu on a table. If this technology becomes practical and cheap enough, it could put Microsoft Surface out of business.

The image is done with what Light Blue Optics calls HLP or, holographic laser projector. The HLP powers the pico-projector part of the device, and unlike most projectors you see on the market, the Light Touch is powered by lasers, not an LED bulb. The touch sensing is done via infrared sensors.

As for the Light Touch unit itself, its coming equipped with 2GB of flash memory along with a microSD slot. It’s capable of running Adobe Flash, and has WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. It’s running Windows CE and Light Blue Optics demoed off various apps at CES, including a twitter app.

Various sources at CES got a first-hand look at the device and reported that it only supports single-touch, and while there were some mistakes on the infrared sensing – it was decent for the most part and felt like a conventional touchscreen.

At press time, Light Blue Optics hasn’t given any details on pricing or availability.