Firm develops two-sided touchscreen

Developers from Japanese firm Teraokaseiko today demonstrated one of the few examples of a touchscreen where both sides of the surface are controllable. The screen mounts two resistive (pressure-driven) touchscreens on either side of a transparent display, allowing users on either end to control events onscreen while seeing actions on the other side. Basic multi-touch would also be supported with pinching gestures supported alongside usual tapping and dragging.

The technique would allow collaborative games or work or devices where a touchscreen may be needed on both sides; the example shows a tic-tac-toe game where two users can play the same title from opposite ends.

Development is still early for the display, which has just monochrome 256x120 output. However, Teraokaseiko does ultimately anticipate production hardware using the double-sided technique in the future. Apple has recently had a patent filing published which illustrates a two-sided iPhone clamshell the company may eventually develop. These changes are likely to require a version of the display with a capacitive touchscreen that recognizes fingers and more precise input as a whole.

Filed under: iPhone, industry, digital imaging, Apple
Other story tags: Teraokaseiko