MultiTouch Ltd. showcased what the company is calling “the world’s largest fully interactive, unlimited multi-touch” installation with the biggest continuous array of touch displays at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia.
The installation includes 48 individual 55-inch ultra-thin bezel MultiTaction displays to create a continuous wrap-around arrangement in The Cube, the centerpiece of QUT’s new $230 million Science and Engineering Centre.
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The Cube comprises several educational zones, including a two-story Virtual Reef that delivers a fully immersive marine life experience. Company officials said that by touching each animal as it appears on the display, users can learn and expand their knowledge about animals in the reef over the entire 46-foot wall.
Built by solution provider Pro AV Solutions Queensland, The Cube’s educational zones feature MultiTaction displays running unique interactive applications. The zones include:
- Virtual Reef: Marine life interactive experience
- CubIT: QUT research access and collaboration
- Community Science wall: Queensland experiences, including the 2011 Brisbane floods
- ECOS: Energy consumption and its impact on climate
- Physics Playroom: Learning in a game-like environment
Look at this video of the Virtual Reef.
Dr. Gordon Howell, Associate Director, Learning Environments Support at QUT, said for anyone interacting with The Cube, it’s the MultiTaction Cells that lend the installation its magic. Through this innovative technology, we are able to break down the imagined barriers between academia and the public, making The Cube a center of scientific exploration for all who care to participate.
Philip Holtum, managing director of Pro AV Solutions, said the interactive aspect of The Cube was always crucial to the end product. MultiTouch offers superior interactivity backed by a raft of technologies that make them the number one choice for a project of this magnitude.
MultiTaction cells provide touch and gesture capabilities and have the ability to accommodate an unlimited number of touch points and concurrent users with full hand recognition.
In addition to educational installations, MultiTaction Cells are also used in corporate, retail, museum and hospitality spaces. A major advantage of the ultra-thin bezel is in stacked configurations just like this where a mullion of only six millimeters can be achieved resulting in a near seamless finish.
The Cube is open to the public at QUT’s Gardens Point campus in Brisbane, Australia.