We're quickly getting used to the fact that computer, smartphone and tablet screens are meant to be touched -- but what about paper?
Fujitsu has developed a technology that detects objects your finger is touching in the real world, effectively turning any surface -- a piece of paper, for example -- into a touchscreen, DigInfo reports.
"This system doesn't use any special hardware; it consists of just a device like an ordinary webcam, plus a commercial projector. Its capabilities are achieved by image processing technology," explains Taichi Murase, a researcher at Fujitsu's Media Service System Lab.
In a video presentation (above), we see how one can manipulate data on a piece of paper: by using finger gestures, you can copy an image or a text excerpt and store it into memory.
Besides flat surfaces, the technology also works on curved or uneven ones, so one can easily manipulate data from a book.
Though the technology is still at the "demonstration level," researchers at Fujitsu plan to develop a commercial version of the system by fiscal 2014.
Check out the video above and tell us how'd you use this technology in the comments.