We've seen lots of great ideas from Nokia – from the world's largest cinema screen (powered by the Nokia N8) to the world's smallest stop-motion animation character – but a multi-touch ice wall seems like the wackiest yet. Join us after the cut to find out more...
Nokia has often led the way when it comes to innovation – just look at the Nokia N8. It's the first Symbian ^3 smartphone, the first smartphone to feature a 12-Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, it features the biggest camera sensor on any smartphone, it's the first to offer USB on the go – the list goes on.
Even we weren't expecting the Finnish company to lead the way when it comes to making multi-touch ice walls, however.
Constructed out of a 25cm slab of ice weighing a ton, the slab was then cut to make a 2-metre by 1.5-metre wall of ice. The ice was then polished by a heat gun, smoothing the surface.
Nokia used rear-diffused illumination to project onto the ice wall, with an array of near-infrared cameras also focussed on the surface of the ice.
We don't really know what that means, but suffice to say the result is pretty impressive. Colour lights up the ice and follows the hand movements of the 'user', with multiple people being able to touch the wall at once.
The speaker in the video below points out:
“A hand placed on the ice reflects the light towards the camera array and the signal each camera receives helps a nearby PC establish the hand’s position, size and motion. The PC is also connected to a projector, which uses the data to project imagery – such as flames – beneath the user’s hand.”
It's thought the technology could be useful in colder countries, and we could easily imagine it making an appearance in London's Ice Bar. As The Next Web points out, however, just don't try to operate the wall with your tongue!
Check out the multi-touch ice wall in action: