MultiTouch Ltd. Develops First MultiTouch Twitter Wall

HELSINKI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MultiTouch, Ltd., developer of the world’s first modular multi-touch LCD screen for large-scale displays, today announced the release of the industry’s first large-scale multitouch, multi-user Twitter wall application. The MultiTouch Twitter Wall consists of at least six MultiTouch Cell 46 Advanced displays, 46 inches wide, in a 3 x 2 (three long, two high) configuration that visually displays tweets from selected hashtags and keywords. Users of the MultiTouch Twitter Wall can open tweets, represented on a rotating sphere, by touching a profile image and moving, or resizing, the tweet on the display. The MultiTouch Twitter Wall offers alternate views on the spheres that enable images from Flickr to be displayed, searchable with a keyword, as well. Using Panphonics Sound Shower® directional loudspeakers, the MultiTouch Twitter Wall can further engage users with positional audio from tweets and other content displayed.

MultiTouch will produce the Official 2011 International CES Twitter Wall in Las Vegas, January 6-9, in the North Hall lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center, with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which will incorporate Twitter feeds from CES – including the official #CES tag – as well as 2011 CES news from show attendees, bloggers, and exhibitors, and will curate stills and video content from the show as well. Photos and videos of the MultiTouch Twitter Wall are available, respectively, at http://multitouch.fi/about-2/photos/ and http://multitouch.fi/about-2/videos/.

Ideally suited for large public events, the MultiTouch Twitter Wall automatically pools together and visualizes the “buzz” of an event, offering a real-time collaboration platform which engages users tweeting from mobile devices. The MultiTouch Twitter Wall was originally developed as a complementary application for the MultiTouch Cell 46 Advanced product, which is the first multitouch display designed for retail and digital signage applications.

As many users as can physically fit simultaneously in front of the MultiTouch Twitter Wall can use the wall. The MultiTouch Twitter Wall complements the existing MultiTouch Cell system, which can display text, video, and interactive drawing applications.

“We have created the first large-scale display application for Twitter, which is ideal for a public multitouch, multi-user display system,” said Petri Martikainen, CEO of MultiTouch Ltd. “Social media and user-generated content are as much a part of the multitouch display experience as archival content, and the MultiTouch Twitter Wall enables greater access to the curated real-time media stream, in a tactile and enlightening way.”

The MultiTouch Cell 46 Advanced is a 46-inch display that, at only 30 cm (12 inches) deep, and 37 kg (82 pounds), is designed for standard VESA mounting for more flexible public installation. The product’s improved brightness and smooth borders offer aesthetically appealing and flexible configurations, including MultiTouch’s unique asymmetric table or wall display patterns.

“Digital signage networks need to live in the same space as the consumers to which they convey information; iPhone, iPad, and other multitouch devices are in the hands of millions of consumers, and public displays need to complement these activities with more sophisticated multitouch applications,” said Hannu Anttila, vice president of sales for MultiTouch. “Our system enables customers to complement their own application suites, and we expect to see further developments along the social media multitouch front going forward.”

The MultiTouch Cell 46 Advanced is designed for high-resolution HD applications, and can be programmed for sophisticated augmented reality applications, including 2D barcode, tag, and marker readers.

MultiTouch’s patented computer vision system, which reads up to 100 frames per second in bright daylight or dark environments, is complemented by software that elegantly translates touch into the programming experience, creating multitouch displays that can read unlimited touch points, including hands, fingers, fingertips and 2D Markers. MultiTouch Cornerstone software allows for flexible multi-platform application development.

Introduced to the global market in 2009, the MultiTouch Cell product family has been sold in more than 30 countries, and installed in some of the most prominent international venues, including the recent Wall of Chile installation at the Chilean Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China. The Cell products are used for broadcast, retail, advertising, exhibitions, museums, education and design.

For more information, please visit www.multitouch.fi, as well as the MultiTouch YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/multitouchfi, and www.twitter.com/multitouchfi for further MultiTouch updates.

About MultiTouch Ltd.

MultiTouch is a leading developer of interactive display systems, based on proprietary software and hardware designs. The company is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, with U.S. offices in Santa Clara, California and New York City. Its systems are currently in use in more than 30 countries around the globe. For more information, please visit www.multitouch.fi.