Fujitsu Develops Technology That Turns Paper Into a Touchscreen

We're quickly getting used to the fact that computer, smartphone and tablet screens are meant to be touched — but what about paper?


Fujitsu has developed a technology that detects objects your finger is touching in the real world, effectively turning any surface — a piece of paper, for example — into a touchscreen, DigInfo reports.

"This system doesn't use any special hardware; it consists of just a device like an ordinary webcam, plus a commercial projector. Its capabilities are achieved by image processing technology," explains Taichi Murase, a researcher at Fujitsu's Media Service System Lab.

In a video presentation (above), we see how one can manipulate data on a piece of paper: by using finger gestures, you can copy an image or a text excerpt and store it into memory.

Besides flat surfaces, the technology also works on curved or uneven ones, so one can easily manipulate data from a book.

Though the technology is still at the "demonstration level," researchers at Fujitsu plan to develop a commercial version of the system by fiscal 2014.