Microsoft's 'touch screen' for any surface goes on sale

Screengrab from Ubi's video about its touch screen for any surface software that uses a Microsoft Kinect for Windows sensor.
(Credit: Screengrab by Dara Kerr/CNET)

Turning a wall into a touch-screen computer has many uses -- it could help teachers instruct classes or be used by shops to display product information. It could even be used for fun to play interactive active games.

Once just a prototype created by the startup Ubi with a Microsoft Kinect for Windows sensor, this technology is now out of beta and on sale for consumers.

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that Ubi has worked to develop the software with more than 50 organizations and is now accepting orders for purchase.

"We want human collaboration and information to be just one finger touch away, no matter where you are," Ubi co-founder and CEO Anup Chathoth wrote in a blog post. "By making it possible to turn any surface into a touch screen, we eliminate the need for screen hardware and thereby reduce the cost and extend the possibilities of enabling interactive displays in places where they were not previously feasible -- such as on walls in public spaces."