US researchers are developing a touch-sensitive gadget with the sensing panel on its back, instead of the screen. The researchers believe that by using your fingers behind the device facilitates firmer grip and more accurate performance without obscuring the view of the screen. Multi-touch interface technology was a hit with the introduction of Apple’s iPhone in June. But the iPhone’s touchscreen is not perfect, says Daniel Wigdor of Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL) and the University of Toronto, Canada. “As soon as you put your hands on the display you [obstruct] the screen,” he says, something he calls the “occlusion problem”. Users of iPhones have other problems too, he adds. “Multi-touch devices detect the entirety of the touch area,” Wigdor continues. “That’s what we call the ‘fat finger’ problem.” The two problems combined make it difficult to select precise targets, such as the keys on a virtual keyboard.

Daniel Wigdor at MERL, and Patrick Baudisch at Microsoft Research and their co-authors have an innovative solution to these problems. Their prototype, LucidTouch, is a device that can be held comfortably in two hands, similar to the PlayStation Portable. It features a large touch-sensitive LCD screen that can also be controlled using a touch-sensitive interface on its rear surface, solving the occlusion problem. When using the rear touch interface, the user’s fingers appear as shadows on the screen, giving the illusion they are holding a transparent device. LucidTouch highlights the active point of each finger with a small green dot, removing the fat finger problem.
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