Creating Transparent Touch Screen: Find the Right Display

[noagname]

I'm trying to create(or buy) a transparent touch screen. I realize this is a difficult task, through all of my research. I have found http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/TouchSystems/TouchScreen/Solutions/TouchScreens/MicroTouchSCT3250EX/" to be the best transparent touch pad. Now I need to find a way to display an image onto the screen.

I haven't spent much time working with projectors but I would think shinning an image onto the glass. The image would just go through the glass and not really show up(please tell me I'm wrong). Then I did more research and found holo screens and oled displays.

So I need help with finding the right kind of display that I can buy. Which would become transparent as soon as a computer told it to.

 

[MATLABdude]

Maybe you could use smart glass?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass

You could probably front or rear-project an image onto it while in opaque mode?

 

[sophiecentaur]

What exactly are you envisaging this thing looking like? Would it be transparent but with illuminated, opaque objects floating on it? You can get non-back-lit LCD screens but they are diffuse / translucent rather than transparent.
Would you settle for a Pepper's Ghost type of display? With a large (curved) mirror, you could produce a virtual image in the same plane as the touch screen yet also see through to objects behind the screen. Size would be very relevant to whether or not you could do it.

 

[noagname]

For the size, it has to be at least 18 inches horizontal, preferably 20 inches. With a 4:3 aspect ratio that would been 26.6 vertical giving us a diagonal of 33 inches. It also has to be flat, the image also has to be bright and vibrant.

I'm envisioning a large touch screen with an image on the front and you can't see that background. Then when its time the image fades away and you can see the background.

I can control the lighting on the behind the screen, I also found these http://www.prodisplay.com/switchable-smart-film-screens.html
http://www.smartglassinternational.com/commercial-smart-glass/

 

[sophiecentaur]

How about a camera behind the screen which provides a background image when it's needed? It would fail the parallax test, of course, but it could be somewhat convincing. Actually, for one user, you could even track their eye / head movement and get the parallax / zoom right so the view of behind could look pretty convincing.

 

[noagname]

lol, we had thought about that. We had done some basic research on the idea and truthfully we couldn't find a reason not to. Other then we all liked the idea of a transparent screen more.

 

[BlackDragon27]

I am trying to something just like this and I can't find any transparent screens what so ever. I don't care about it being completely transparent i just want it some what transparent. I was thinking about the screen that they put inside projectors and sandwitch it between the pieces of plexyglass with a touch pad on top. it is going to be hand held so i can't use smart glass and a projector. Any suggestions are helpfull

 

[johnbbahm]

I think you can get acetate sheets that have very limited frosting on them.
You rear project on to the screen at an angle, and use the projector electronics to correct for the distortion. The slight frosting should allow the screen to still be transparent, but also disperse enough of the projected pattern to see it.
Unless your background is green, green light is the easiest to see.