TouchController™ System FAQ
Can you make different shaped floors USING THE TOUCHCONTROLLER?
Yes, the TouchController can map any shaped Interactive Floor or Wall. The TouchData will represent the outermost bounds of the shape that is defined.
Are the panels affected by lighting conditions in the room?
The panels can be used in a fully-lit room. The LEDs are quite bright and are easily visible under normal ambient lighting conditions. The IR sensors are unaffected by ambient light or any other IR source, such as IR cameras, LiDAR or Kinect sensors.
What is the maximum weight a single panel will support?
Each panel is .25 square meters (500mm x 500mm or 1.64' x 1.64'), and is tested to hold 660 lbs or 300 kilograms, which means 2640 lbs or 1200kg per square meter (2 x 2 Panels). The Roe Visual Panels are slightly larger at 600mm x 600mm (2ft x 2ft).
Is the ActiveFloor System multi-touch?
Yes, each individual panel can trigger up to 100 sensors (touches) at a time, therefore if you have a 5 panel x 5 panel floor setup (that's a total of 2,500 potential touches), the ActiveFloor can respond to all of those touches at the same time! We like to call it a Massively Multi-Touch system.
As you can see from the image on the right, the sensors are detecting people and every sensor that is covered by a person is triggering the particles. In the photo to the right, there are approximately 300+ sensors triggering at the same time. This type of interaction can create some truly magical moments!
How does the sensing work on the ActiveFloor?
Each ActiveFloor panel contains a grid of 64 to 100 embedded optical sensors. The sensors are unaffected by ambient light. The sensors respond to touch in a fraction of a second (33 milliseconds or 1/30th of a second). From touch to visual response is usually within 2 frames of video. In the new Sport Mode, the sensors trigger within 4 milliseconds, which is perfect if you’re looking to track objects such as basketballs or soccer balls on the Interactive LED Floor.
Can I record the sensing information that's occurring on the ActiveFloor?
Yes, the ActiveFloor Server has the ability to play back all interactions. This information can also be used to present a heatmap of the floor. This statistical information is ideal for retail spaces where stores can identify where customers are dwelling for periods of time or as customers move around the store. The TouchController has the ability to record all the sensor data with it’s built-in DVR functionality. This data can then be further analyzed to userstand walk patterns, or entrances/exits etc.
Showing interactivity level during a show recording.
BLAST Kiosk Mode - Web Based Kiosk runs on an iPad or other connected device
How do I change the content that's running on the INTERACTIVE LED FLOOR?
ActiveFloor System content can easily be changed by utilizing the features of the BLAST software that comes with every CSX1 Content Server. The content can also be changed by utilizing the BLAST API. The API supports messages such as “StartSchedule”, “StopSchedule”, “ChangeApp” etc.
Can I create my own content to run on the ActiveFloor?
Using the TouchController’s NDI output in TouchDesigner.
Yes, the ActiveFloor System was designed to enable anyone to be able to develop custom content to run on the Floor. We have written sample applications in Unity3D, OpenFrameworks, Javascript, Objective-C, Swift, Java and TouchDesigner. The ActiveFloor sensing information is easily accessible via an XML API or if you’re using TouchDesigner or Notch, we recommend using the NDI touch data feed.
Can the ActiveFloor™ be wall mounted?
Yes, the ActiveFloor can be wall mounted to create an interactive wall (with available mounting brackets), and all of the functionality of the ActiveFloor stays the same. This makes for a very fun painting or gaming surface.
When a person touches the floor, can you trigger external digital signage to respond to the touch?
Yes, the ActiveFloor has a feature called BLIS (BrightLogic Interconnect Server). BLIS has the ability for other applications (Digital Signage, Games, Mobile Devices) to connect and respond based on the person touching for the floor.
Can the interactive floor trigger external lighting, such as DMX compatible lights?
Yes, ActiveFloor content can be programmed to trigger specific DMX lighting fixtures, and can control all aspects of DMX lighting controls, such as 4, 6, 8 up to 24 channel lights. All this functionality is included in the Enhanced Lighting Controller (ELC) module. DMX messages or MIDI messages can also be sent to lighting consoles based on triggers from the ActiveFloor games.
For custom applications where Kinetic lights or Grand MA controllers are used, sACN can be used to stream the touch data to the console.
Do high-heels work on the ActiveFloor?
The panels are designed for full adult weight (and more) and work very well with a number of different types of shoes (including high-heeled shoes!).
How many people can the ActiveFloor sense at a time?
20ft x 20ft Interactive LED Floor displaying touch data from hundreds of sensors.
There is technically no limitation to the number of people that the ActiveFloor can detect at one time. Whether 1 or 500 people are on the ActiveFloor at a time, the content will immediately respond to any sensor on the floor that have been triggered by touch. The response time for 1 or 500 people is the same. In the example shown, the TouchController GUI is displaying sensor data from a 12 x 12 Panel Interactive LED Floor.