14 DAY TRIAL // The tablet market is definitely slowing down and becoming overly saturated, so some serious innovation is needed in order to resuscitate things.
What if in the near future you could have a tablet that blends the ability to play 3D games (like on the Nintendo 3DS) with the Kinect / Wii type of screen interaction.
The scenario, which seems to be taken straight out of Minority Report, could in fact become reality soon enough, thanks to a new screen technology called “3D Air-Touch” (via Ieeexplore).
Basically, what this system can do is create 3D objects in space and then let you interact with them. And users won’t even need a controller or a sensor (like the Leap Motion) to do so.
The issue with Leap Motion-like sensors is that they require ambient light to effectively work, but 3D Air-Touch is smarter, as it is capable of providing its own light, via an infrared backlight system which will be built into the tablet’s screen.
Additionally, angular scanning illuminators located around the screen’s edges will monitor and triangulate your hand positions, thus translating your interactions with the 3D objects. A tablet incorporating such technology would certainly steal everybody's attention.