Hasta La Gadget!

Most video walls would be just a tad too large for the average living room, but the Tokyo University of Technology might have a clever technique to make them travel-sized. Its new Pinch interface joins mobile devices (currently iOS hardware) into a single display simply by making the namesake gesture between at least two gadgets: WiFi keeps them in sync and recognizes the relative size and orientation. While we probably wouldn’t resort to a wall of iPads in place of a large TV, there’s clear practical uses like extra-large creative apps, communication and very local multiplayer games. The best news may be that the university isn’t keeping the technology to itself. It wants developers to borrow Pinch for their own apps, which could lead to a legion of smartphones and tablets getting extra-cozy.

Continue reading Tokyo University of Technology’s Pinch interface creates ad hoc video walls from mobile devices (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Tablets

Tokyo University of Technology’s Pinch interface creates ad hoc video walls from mobile devices (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The pinch-and-zoom interface is something that we are all extremely familiar with, especially when touchscreen devices are all the rage these days. Well, here we are with the Pinch interface that will hook up displays from multiple touch-based devices together, and it is currently being worked on by a research group at the Tokyo University of Technology. Watching the video above will show you how it works, but if your connection is too slow, then perhaps a verbal explanation will suffice.

Basically, whenever you place your thumb and index finger on two adjacent screens and pinch them, the screens will link up automatically without any fuss. You can line them up freely, regardless of whether it is vertical or horizontal, and should the pictures be misaligned, they will even match up, now how about that? All the connected devices will know of each other’s positions over WiFi, so you can imagine the kind of visual effect one gets when connecting iPhones and iPads together. What would you do if you had access to the Pinch interface?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Has Already Updated Post-Sandy NY Transit Maps, Amazon Launches Cloud Drive Photos for Android,