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Yes—with a Kinect depth camera, a separate projector, and a computer, you can build a projected interface that senses fingers near a table or other visible surface. The camera detects hand and finger position; software maps those positions to the projected controls. This is a camera-and-projector interface, not a touchscreen panel, and multi-touch capability does not guarantee reliable multi-user identification.
What you need
- A Kinect depth camera: It observes hands and the target surface. A depth camera can detect position relative to the surface without adding touch sensors to it.
- A digital projector: It displays the computer interface on the chosen surface. The Kinect does not project images.
- A computer and software: The computer processes depth data, maps detected contacts to the interface, and turns them into application input.
A historical TouchCU capstone project specified Microsoft Kinect for Windows, a standard projector, and a Windows 8 PC. That is an example of a past prototype, not evidence that those devices, operating system, or software remain available or compatible as a current setup: TouchCU project summary.
How the projected touch system works
- Observe the surface and hands. The depth camera captures the target area and the changing position of fingers and hands.
- Establish the surface and detect contact. Software uses depth information to estimate the surface geometry and identify finger movement near or into its plane. A 2017 MIT student prototype describes depth acquisition, finger detection, and touch-input processing; it used FPGA processing and produced mouse-like operating-system input: MIT Touch Projector report.
- Align camera coordinates with projected pixels. Calibration connects the location the camera detects with the corresponding place in the projected interface. Microsoft Research’s LightSpace project describes cameras and projectors calibrated to 3D real-world coordinates: Microsoft Research LightSpace.
- Translate contacts into controls. The application can use detected input for actions such as clicks, drags, or gestures. How well it handles simultaneous contacts depends on the particular software and implementation.
Can it support multiple fingers and users?
Depth data can support tracking multiple contacts, and hand or arm shape can help software reason about whether contacts belong to the same hand or user. Andrew D. Wilson’s Microsoft Research paper discusses this approach, including hover and touch association: “Using a Depth Camera as a Touch Sensor”.
That research establishes a possible technique, not a promise that every Kinect build will correctly separate users or track a particular number of fingers. TouchCU calls its prototype multitouch, but its project summary does not report simultaneous-user capacity, error rate, latency, or robustness. Treat “multi-user” and “multi-finger” as separate capabilities to verify in the specific software you plan to use.
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What “any surface” really means
A depth camera can avoid instrumenting the surface and may support non-flat surfaces, but the usable area is constrained by the installation. The camera must see the hands and relevant surface; the projector must illuminate the intended area; and the geometry must be calibrated. Obstructions, poor overlap, or a surface shape the software cannot model can make projected controls and detected touches misalign. LightSpace’s camera-projector calibration is an example of why spatial alignment matters.
Trade-offs compared with a touchscreen panel
| Consideration | Kinect and projector | Conventional capacitive touch |
|---|---|---|
| Touch timing and precision | Depth resolution and line of sight limit how precisely the system can determine the moment of touch. | Wilson describes direct sensing such as capacitive touch as more precise for determining the moment of touch. |
| Surface flexibility | Can sense without installing touch electronics in the surface and may accommodate non-flat surfaces, subject to visibility and calibration. | Designed for a touch-enabled display surface rather than arbitrary projected surfaces. |
| Installation | Requires a camera, projector, computer, suitable viewing and projection geometry, and calibration. | Uses an integrated touch display or panel rather than a separate camera-projector arrangement. |
| Multi-user interpretation | Possible to associate contacts with hands or users, but accuracy depends on the implementation. | Not assessed by the cited Kinect research. |
Wilson states: “Limits of depth estimate resolution and line of sight requirements dictate that the determination of the moment of touch will not be as precise as that of more direct sensing techniques such as capacitive touch screens.” This is a finding from his Microsoft Research publication, not a current product benchmark.
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Check compatibility before choosing hardware
The cited examples are historical research and prototypes. They do not establish which Kinect model, drivers, SDK, adapters, operating system, or software stack is currently available or compatible. Before buying or assembling parts, confirm the exact sensor-to-computer connection, host and software support, projector throw distance and brightness, and mounting geometry. The sources do not identify a specific adapter or mount as compatible with a present-day setup.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Related depth-camera research
Microsoft Research’s LightSpace explores spatially calibrated camera-and-projector interaction. Carnegie Mellon’s OmniTouch announcement describes related research using a short-range depth camera and pico-projector, but it is not the same system as a Kinect tabletop build: Carnegie Mellon OmniTouch announcement.
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