Multi-touch displays are nothing new, having been incorporated into such common products as the iPhone, Zune HD, and Palm Pre.  But unlike traditional touchscreens, which are usually of the resistive or IR variety and can only detect one touch at a time, multi-touch technology allows the user to register several simultaneous touches and gestures, thus creating an environment in which novel user interfaces for many of our electronic interactions can occur.

The first real demonstrations of multi-touch technology’s potential came when Microsoft introduced its aptly named Surface several years ago, as shown in this brief video.

Obviously, there is learning curve associated with this implementation and its practicality in everyday computing is questionable…especially considering its hefty price tag.  But while Microsoft’s Surface may be a cool topic of conversation at trade shows and company demonstrations, a company named Bump Technologies is developing PC desktop software called BumpTop that runs on top of Microsoft Windows, uses an advanced physics engine to create realistic interactions, and now, in addition to mouse gestures, supports multi-touch input, as demoed below.

Seeing how BumpTop changes the human-machine interaction to which most of us are accustomed, coupled with the increasing acceptance and use of “on-screen” style keyboards such as that on the iPhone, raises questions as to the future of traditional input devices like the mouse and keyboard.  While typing on a touchscreen is undeniably awkward due to the lack of feedback when keys are pressed, simply incorporating haptic technology into the all encompassing multi-touch panels of the future could overcome these concerns.  And ultimately, the immersive experience multi-touch user interfaces will offer people should hasten their overall acceptance as the successor to the trusty mouse.

[Via:  Engadget]