New touchless software and hardware releases extend functionality and provide a robust solution for large display, video wall, LED tile, and projection-based installations.
Corrales, NM—Ideum, an interactive design technology firm, announced a new solution for touchless interaction in museums, experience centers, and other public spaces. Simultaneous releases of Ideum’s Touchless.Design open-source software version 2.0 and a new version of its Touchless Pedestal device are now available. Together, the Touchless Pedestal and Touchless Design software provides a unique solution for zero-touch gestural interaction with large media installations.
Touchless Design version 2.0 is a major software update providing new networking support, a new user interface for easy configuration, and an animated interactive onboarding function allowing users to more easily understand how to interact with the touchless interface. This new update is the culmination of months of development. The Touchless Design open-source initiative was started soon after the Coronavirus pandemic began, and the project was funded in part by Intel as part of its Pandemic Response Technology Initiative. Ideum’s approach has been to develop an integrated system comprising both software and hardware, including an additional small display, LEDs, and a motion-sensing device to provide real-time feedback to visitors as they interact.
The new user interface for Touchless Design is available via the Windows 10 system tray. Settings can be easily modified to determine autostart, display configuration, cursor settings, LED lighting controls, and many other software and associated hardware settings. Mouse emulation and touchless device settings are also included in the updated user interface, along with new network settings which allow touchless devices to be remotely connected.
A key part of this integrated touchless system is the Leap Motion device by Ultraleap. The new Touchless Design software allows Leap Motion data to be networked via the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), providing for the first time the ability to place these devices remotely on the network. This important development allows Leap Motion devices to be used in settings where computers might be on extended networks. This new feature makes touchless interaction possible for large museums and other public spaces that tend to place their computers in distant wiring closets.
Another major feature of Touchless Design 2.0 is the built-in onboarding system. Since touchless interaction is not as intuitive as touch-based interaction, the onboarding process allows visitors to become familiar with touchless mouse emulation. A series of simple interactive animated screens allow visitors to master mouse emulation before interacting with exhibit content. This feature, like most features in Touchless Design, can be set up in the configuration settings.
“We’ve been listening to our partners and others in the community, and we’ve looked to develop features that can help make safe touchless interaction intuitive, not just a replacement for touch, but a worthy alternative,” said Ideum Founder Jim Spadaccini. “We are thrilled to have great partners in the private sector and in the museum field, and we will have some exciting new installations to announce in the coming weeks.”
Ideum’s new Touchless Pedestal makes use of many of the new features in Touchless Design. This new system has integrated an Intel® NUC Compute Elements PC into its chassis which efficiently runs the new networking functions and also powers the LED lights and secondary display. The new Touchless Pedestal adds a locking power button, and Ethernet, Wifi, and secure USB access to its list of features. Quality-built of aluminum, walnut, and staron solid surface material, the Touchless Pedestal has a three-year-warranty and is ready for a range of public spaces.
To learn more about these coinciding releases, please visit https://touchless.design or https://www.ideum.com.
About Ideum
Ideum is a 20-year-old digital design firm based in Corrales, New Mexico. Deeply rooted in the museum field, the firm has worked with museums across the globe developing cutting-edge digital exhibits. Ideum develops touch and touchless hardware, designs and fabricates custom exhibits, and develops interactive software. In the past, Ideum developed Open Exhibits, an open-source initiative with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
For more information, please visit www.ideum.com.
For more information:
Dov Philips
Ideum Inc.
Phone: 505-792-1110 x1
