I conducted some video research for examples of existing technologies for production of large touch screens as well as their various applications. I found out that this type of interactive screens are already quite affordable to purchase and are being used:

  • by museums for exhibitions (Science Museum, London),
  • by schools and universities for educational purposes,
  • by entertainment industry for various touch-based games,
  • by corporate organizations for information sharing.
Below, I posted some You-Tube examples and my comments regarding their possible application in supermarkets.


1. This video explains very well how the idea of wall-size screen might work. Classic touch-screens have theirs limitations: (A) they tend to be small as their price increases significantly with the size; and (B) they can be used by a single user only. However, the use of infra-red light technologies removed those limitation and allowed the development of simple, self-explanatory, interactive systems that could be controlled by natural gestures (no more clicking) without any extensive computer literacy.




2. My idea for the use of wall-size screen in supermarkets was to have a variety of things each user could use it for. I imagine it as a set of different applications that users could activate and interact with. For example, a small child uses drawing application, a teenager checks out a game, a mother downloads new recipes and a father reads local news and community adverts. And they can do all those things at the same time. Just like an iPhone does not come with a set functions but each user can download different applications to suit individual needs.
I saved the above video because it prompts how those applications (icons) could be browsed through.



3. This video presents an interactive touch-sensitive table that could be used for literacy exercises. There are no graphic (except letters), the numbers of users and possible applications are limited. But, what I like about it is that it uses natural gestures only. So, no clicking, no icons, no buttons, no commands! If you want to accept a word, you don't hit ENTER or NEXT button but you circle it with your finger.



4. This is another, far more advanced version of interactive table. I liked it because it allows several users to work together. For example, all users could draw over the same document. This is so community-friendly. I could picture one person starting to play with gigantic on-screen puzzles by dragging the pieces around and other people joining in to help. The possibilities of communal use are endless.