TheBattalion04182012

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thebattalion ! wednesday,

april 18, 2012

! serving

texas a&m since 1893

!"first paper free – additional copies $1 !"© 2012 student media

Futuristic touch COURTESY PHOTO

ZeroTouch, a multi-touch sensing technology that requires no touch surface developed by the A&M Department of Computer Science and Engineering, is constructed of 256 infrared sensors and 32 LEDs (right), and gives users hands-on experiences (left) with new technology. Photo by James Thompson — THE BATTALION

ZeroTouch technology offers surface-free sensing Amber Jaura

The Battalion Imagine a world where any surface could be touch-screen, where computers or televisions transform into giant tablets. Now imagine the ability to command a device without even needing a touch pad. The Interface Ecology Lab in the A&M Department of Computer Science and Engineering has developed multi-touch sensing technology that requires no touch surface. Jon Moeller, co-developer of ZeroTouch and computer science graduate student, said the technology uses sensors that can be placed on top of any display to enable multi-touch sensing on the display.

coming thursday

MSC reopening Check out Thursday’s issue to learn about the new features the remodeled MSC has to offer before it opens Saturday.

“There is no touch surface with ZeroTouch, so you can hang the frame in mid-air and use it Minority Report-style. It can track objects or styli [pens], so we can use it for that too,” Moeller said. The 27-inch ZeroTouch frame has 256 infrared sensors and 32 LEDs to detect motion. The sensors are assimilated with high resolution pixels and can support interaction with multiple fingers and hands at a time. The motion of objects is tracked as they pass through an invisible two-dimensional optical web. Moeller works as a research assistant to Andrew Kerne, associate professor and director of the Interface Ecology Lab. Moeller said with Kerne’s strong experience as well as

[ZeroTouch] is definitely something we could see more uses of in the future. — senior computer engineering major David Dornier

collaboration with researchers in the lab, the team assembled the frame, which uses lowcost infrared emitters and allows for detection at intersections within the frame. “ZeroTouch enables real-time sensing of fingers and hands, even in the presence of strong ambient light,” Moeller said. “Our use of wide-angle optoelectronics allows for ex-

cellent touch resolution, even in the corners of the sensor.” Moeller said a prototype related to ZeroTouch was first developed in 2009 and while the technology is constantly advancing, they are now at a stage where it is marketable and ready for early production. Jamie Rhodes, director for new ventures for the Office of Technology Commercialization at A&M, said they will complete the patent filing for ZeroTouch within the week. “We are excited to commercialize the technology and license it to companies,” Rhodes said. “We’ve already begun the process of forming a company around the ZeroTouch.” See ZeroTouch on page 3

campus

sports

inside A&M downs No. 6 Texas The No. 24 Aggie women’s tennis team finds a way to win Tuesday on senior night at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Check out page 2.

Dumezich takes Big 12 honor

A&M tennis set for season final

Science Day Camp sets date

Texas A&M softball junior Mel Dumezich was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week today by the conference office. It is the third of Dumezich’s career and the first for any A&M player this season.

The Texas A&M men’s tennis team will close out the 2012 regular season with a Wednesday match against Baylor with first serve set for 6 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on the Texas A&M campus.

SAN ANGELO – The Texas AgriLife Extension Service’s 4-H youth component will conduct the District 7 4-H Science Day Camp from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on June 5 at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center. TAMUTimes

campus

baseball

Student hackers compete to defend cyber simulation

Rice bests A&M in Tuesday night loss, 5-4 Austin Meek

Michael Dror

The Battalion Hacking, once a job opportunity for tech-savvy criminals, is now a career path for computer science majors. Since hacking has become a growing security threat, intelligence agencies and internet-based companies recruit young hackers from national cyber defense competitions. Texas A&M’s Cyber-Defense team will return to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Finals for the fourth consecutive year. Ten teams won regional competitions to advance to the competition, which will be held April 20-22. The

HUGE SELECTION

Autumn Rizzo — THE BATTALION

teams will work to protect a model business system — complete with email, servers and sales mechanisms — from hackers while maintaining regular business activities. “We’re hired to fix an insecure system, while the [National Security Agency] ‘red team’ tries to break into the files,” said Ross Dixon, freshman computer science major. “But, since day one we walk in not knowing what’s on the computer, even

0% FINANCING

the passwords to use it. We have to hack in to get the software and firewalls running.” Texas A&M won two previous competitions in the event’s seven-year history. The University is looking for another victory this weekend in San Antonio. “I love the challenge,” said Nik Johnson, team captain and second-year veteran of the competition. “It’s so broad a field that it’s impossible to know everything. See Hacking on page 3

The Battalion In a wacky game that saw both teams’ starters pulled before the end of the first inning, No. 2 Texas A&M fell to the No. 7 Rice Owls, 5-4, at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park Tuesday night. The Aggies plated four runs in the opening inning but were unable to muster offensive firepower thereafter. “Pretty disappointing loss,” said head coach Rob Childress. “We played just good enough to lose. We talked about it before the game started — you only get so many opportunities against Rice, and ours was in the first inning.” Freshman pitcher Gandy Stubblefield didn’t make it out of the first inning after allowing two free bases and walking in the first run of the game. In the bottom of the frame, four runs by the Aggies also sent Rice’s starter, Jordan Stephens, to the showers prematurely. Junior right fielder Tyler Naquin’s 2-RBI single turned into three bases after a fielding error, and senior designated hitter Matt Juengel brought in the All-American with an RBI double. Freshman left fielder Chance Bolcerek knocked in another as the See Baseball on page 2

TWO DAYS ONLY

Friday & Saturday, April 20 & 21

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