Infinite Z Aims to Change How We Use Computers

After enjoying close to 30 years, the mouse and keyboard are seeing new systems gathering at the gates, ready to overthrow their rule and move computing into a new age.

A diagram illustrating how Infinite Z allows users to see 3D objects projected in empty space. Infinite Z

After enjoying close to 30 years of rule nearly unchecked, the mouse and keyboard are seeing new systems gathering at the gates, ready to overthrow their rule and move computing into a new age.

Many have tried. There were pen tablets, then touchscreens, and more recently systems that can detect a user’s physical movements. But none pose such a threat to the archaic modules than the gadget just released from the labs of Infinite Z.

ZSpace resembles something straight from a science fiction film. It uses augmented reality to create objects floating in space that the user can then pick up, move, and alter as if they were real. It does this using a custom-built 3D screen with super high resolution, passive (polarized) 3D glasses, and a laser stylus used to control it all.

“We think we’ve got something that’s really, really revolutionary,” said Infinite Z CEO Paul Kellenberger.

What ZSpace brings is ease of use. It’s meant to move human-computer interaction to a more human level—closer to the way you'd pick up, move, and work with a physical object.

Kellenberger said they’ve been “rethinking the user interface,” and “within our stylus, there is a lot of technology that allows us to get precision.” He said moving forward, they’re working on additional tools to make the system even more natural—potentially replacing the stylus with gloves that let users work with digital objects.

The goal, Kellenberger said, is to reduce, as much as possible, the barrier between the user and their work. “If you see our system it’s quite unique, it’s quite natural. There’s no training. People pick it up quickly,” he said.