Here’s the scoop on another new technology that’s just coming out. This one is AWESOME and has the potential to totally change multimedia presentation and eventually even advertising, if costs aren’t a problem.

You can read the entire story at the Discovery Channel’s News website. You can also get Discovery Channel News via RSS.

A new interactive computer touch screen uses fog as a projection medium instead of glass or plastic.

Such an immersive projection technology could have applications that range from walk-through advertisements to hygienic touch screens in operating rooms, where handling a keyboard or mouse could undermine sanitary conditions.

According to Ismo Rakkolainen, chief technology officer at Seinäjoki, Finland-based Fogscreen, other screens made from fog have been developed, but remain non-interactive because the large water vapor particles they employ would create a damp experience for the user.

But Rakkolainen’s Fogscreen is a ceiling-mounted device that sprays a fine mist of tap water particles so small they feel dry to the touch.

The fog is contained to a rectangular shape because it is sandwiched between two layers of flowing air that keep it from dispersing.

Depending on the image and the environment, the screen can appear opaque or translucent, and in both cases the same image can be seen from both sides.

The interactivity is made possible by an optical camera that tracks any hand motion in front of the screen, tiny infrared emitters that illuminate the hand the camera sees, and sensors that pick up reflected light.

So when a finger is used to select an item onscreen, the camera sees it, the infrared lights illuminate the hand, and the reflected light is captured by the sensors. The computer system determines the position of the finger and produces the appropriate response onscreen.

“It is very impressive and works well even in reasonably bright environments,” said Alan Wilkinson, a divisional manager at Electrosonic, a worldwide audio-visual company headquartered in Dartford, England.

The only downside, he said, is that the system requires fairly still air to work best.

You can even watch a video of a Fogscreen in action on their website.