MFA: Museum Tech
The MFA will open their new Art of the Americas wing to the public on November 20. RainyDayMagazine got a preview of the new wing last Friday. The building, the galleries, and the art were all spectacular. With Malcom Rogers at the helm of a world-class team, we would have expected nothing less.
We were pleasantly surprised by all the technology sprinkled through out the new wing. The most impressive was the multi-touch table on the forth floor. It was just THERE. Some noticed it, others just walked right on by. We, of course, zero-ed in on it as soon as we saw it. We were not able to get much info on the specs regarding the technology inside the box. The multi-touch technology appears to be based on FTIR, the same tech demo-ed by Jeff Han in the TED conference in 2006.
Everyone is familiar with the multi-touch user interface on the iPhone and iPad. However, most have not had hands-on experience with the large screen implementation of multi-touch technology. We can confirm that the tech is no longer just demo-ware. The MFA’s table is an excellent use of the technology. The complexity of interacting with the content has been completely hidden from the user. Anyone can just walk up to the display, and with one touch they are immediately hands-on. It was pretty clear that even people over thirty were able to use it 🙂
The table at the MFA was able to accommodate multiple users with excellent response time. While the display resolution of the table was not as HDTV, it was perfect for the purpose of the station. The “tools” on the table enable visitors to experience and experiment with composition, color arrangements, and other aspects associated with abstract art, and then share it with the entire table
If you want to check out the latest in multi-touch user interface technology, visit the MFA on November 20 when they open the new Art of the Americas wing and head directly to the fourth floor. Oh yeah, don’t forget to look around at the works of art. They are pretty cool too 😉
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