Melbourne-based ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects are already proposing an architectural application for Apple's new iPad.
Melbourne-based ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects are already proposing an architectural application for Apple's new iPad. 
CHC has designed a library feature wall which utilises the iPad as tiles. The size of the iPad (242.8mm x 189.7mm x 13.4 mm) and the weight (0.73kg) works very well for this purpose. In terms of price, some of the more expensive mosaic tiles in the market nowadays cost over US$250 each, thus, however while iPad has a $499 price tag it contains state of the art technology which enables it to offer far more then traditional television walls. - Read
2 Comments
There are far better ways to build a multi-touch wall. By using larger screens networked to a central piece of hardware, the user's activity will not be restricted to individual tablets, the overall capabilities will be increased, and the cost would be only a small fraction, even of used ipad's.
Seperating the screen from the hardware is fundamentally a good route in terms of hardware, as it uses computing resources more efficiently and effectively. They mention that each ipad has its own hard drive and processor, but what are they using to network that storage? I doubt a practical solution exists. Having a seperate processor for each tile is also not a good use of resources, as computing demand will not flow to tiles equally, and the tiles near the floor and ceiling will see almost no use, leaving their processor and memory capacity as an expensive waste.
From a software perspective this idea also has a lot of limitations. using a more traditional operating system will allow site-specific and independantly developed software to make better use of the installation, and a more traditional OS will also allow more hardware-intensive software that makes better use of a large wall.
Interactive installation design is an exciting area right now and good solutions are coming both from hardware and software. Multi touch walls are a great concept, but the ipad as a method, is vastly over priced and lacks a lot of functionality.
Just wondering what are those human figures?
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