Showcased earlier this year at the ISE 2009, the Core 2 Duo-powered Engage X-Desk boasts a 1,024 x 768 resolution panel and possesses the ability to recognise up to 16,000 objects using “Smart Tags”. Of course, anyone would compare the X-Desk to the Surface, our view is that the X-Desk feels alot more fun, much more responsive and even packs a bluetooth mobile device transfer feature. The X-Desk would suit not just businesses but also those who strive to show off high-tech gadgets in the comfort of their own home.

Check out the press release after the jump…

17 April, 2009 – Sci-Fi becomes a reality at the Gadget Show Live! this year with the launch of the first commercially available multi –touch screen, interactive tabletop, – the X-Desk. Developed by Impressx and Engage and powered by Epson’s 3LCD projectors, the X-Desk transforms an ordinary surface into a vibrant, multi-touch interactive display. The X-Desk blurs the lines between the physical and virtual worlds allowing people to physically interact with their digital content such as; photos, videos, documents, maps and information. It even recognises physical objects such as mobile phones and MP3 players when they are placed on the surface .

Easy to use and programme, the X-Desk allows people to move items back and forth and reduce or enlarge object sizes simply by using their fingers. With X-Desk, the 52’’ interactive display opens up a world of possibilities for businesses and consumers alike.

It’s not hard to see how entertaining the X-Desk would be at home, imagine viewing your digital photos with friends, each of you being able to magnify and rotate individual images simultaneously or being able to play a computer game through simple touch commands.

For businesses, the X-Desk creates unique, engaging user experiences. Whether it’s salesrooms and shop premises or hotels and conference centres, the X-Desk has many possibilities. It could be used to create an interactive point of sale, using its ability to detect physical objects people could place two objects side by side for comparison and the X-Desk will read and display the relevant data. In museums or hotels it could be used as a navigation device; in restaurants it could even offer an interactive menu.

Blurring the lines between the ‘physical’ and ‘virtual’ demands precise, true to life images. At the heart of the X-Desk is Epson’s 3LCD projector. It can project vibrant and extremely bright images in addition to being highly economical thanks to the long service life and low power consumption for the Epson E-TORL lamp.

Daniel Barthels, Director, Impressx “We have developed the X-Desk to give businesses the opportunity to create truly compelling customer experiences. We’re proud to be the first to bring this to the commercial market in the UK. We want to help create effective, interactive relationships between brands and customers. The possibilities for X-Desk are only limited by imagination. ”

Caroline Kay , Sales and Marketing Manager from Engage “Application options are virtually unlimited with X-Desk our team play a vital role in bringing clients brands to life by exploiting our specialist technical know-how, creative ability and marketing insight. Ensuring a unique experience for each and every customer, whether that be a specially created branded environment or developing a new game, we’re excited about the opportunities this product brings.”

Graeme Davidson, Senior Product Manager, Epson UK, says: “We are pleased to partner with Impressx and Engage for this exciting launch of the X-Desk. They have created a phenomenal user experience which deserves the very best image quality. Our 3LCD projectors provide true-to-life images with excellent quality and brightness and when combined with their unique design and cooling systems, it makes our projectors perfect for this type of application.”

Key Features

• Multi Touch – for example, single touch allows you to move or flick pictures around or by using two fingers you can scale and change the orientation of your pictures.
• Multi User – multiple users can access the surface computing platform without the threat of compromising any element of installed content
• Gesture recognition – easy to learn and program, by simply drawing on the surface, the computer tries to recognise any pre-programmed shapes
• Object recognition – up to 16,000 variations of optical Smart Tags can be easily applied to the system, identifying products and users
• Connectivity – the X-Desk also provides full Bluetooth connectively to interact further with consumers, allowing users to transmit images between the device and desk

The X-Desk consists of the housing, rear projection screen, camera, a PC loaded with Impressx’s xcite™ software, optical sensors that register and interpret the touches on the surface and an Epson 3LCD projector.