A team of researchers is opening a path to a range of new possibilities for interacting with the digital world by using an optical technique that helps project interactive touchscreens on any surface. Working with colleagues at a science and technology institute in Japan, Suren Jayasuriya, an assistant professor in the Fulton Schools and ASU’s School of Arts, Media and Engineering, helped devise a system that relies on a laser scanning projector. By ensuring only movements just above the surface of the projection are detected, the technique makes it possible to register users’ fingers as they press buttons, while ignoring everything else in the camera’s field of view. Jayasuriya and his collaborators are hoping the technology can be used to create large, interactive displays almost anywhere.