HP has unveiled its Sprout computing platform (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 42) – and it’s a big change, if niche in its audience. The AIO PC is certainly like no other before it, making use of a DLP projector and integrating 3D features.
The hub of Sprout is a 23″ display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 10-point touch. A user’s work will appear here, of course. However, the interesting part is how images and objects reach the screen.
In front of the monitor is a 20″ mat, with 20 touch points. In conjunction with the projector hanging over the monitor, an Intel Realsense 3D camera and a 14.6MP camera, objects placed on the mat can be scanned in 3D and replicated on the display. There, they can be manipulated and even sent to a 3D printer. The mat’s sensors will pick up touches by pens, stylii and brushes as well.
Technically, accessories outside the mat and projector are not needed with Sprout. The projector can display an interactive keyboard and the mat can act as a mouse. However, it is supplied with a wireless keyboard and mouse.
While definitely unorthodox, Sprout uses traditional PC components. It runs Windows 8.1 on an Intel Core i7 processor (Haswell) and features 8GB of RAM. Data is stored on a 1TB hybrid drive. The GPU is an Nvidia Geforce GT 745A with 2GB of VRAM. HDMI, 3.0 (x2), USB 2.0 (x2) and RJ45 ports are featured.
HP will begin to sell the Sprout PC this month, for $1,900.
Display Daily Comments
It’s good to see genuine attempts to update the interface for PC applications. I wrote an article for Information Display last month on this topic. You can find it at http://tinyurl.com/keqmdwr (BR)
