# Coffee Table Remotes CRISTAL's Touchscreen Interface Super-Sizes the Universal Remote By Marissa Brassfield | Published 2009-08-16 | Tech Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cristal-touchscreen References: [gizmodo](http://gizmodo.com/5338149/cristal-control-your-living-room-by-dragging-dropping-swiping-a-surface-table) & [wired](http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/coffee-table-remote/) The CRISTAL touchscreen interface essentially turns your coffee table into one giant [universal remote](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-id360-touchstone). CRISTAL stands for Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces, and is an ongoing project from the Media Interaction Lab. It uses a camera to show a live view of your room from above, and you can manipulate your gadgets by just touching the appropriate part of the screen. For example, if you wanted to use the CRISTAL touchscreen to watch a specific movie, you'd just drag the movie title on top of the television. Amazing! While the CRISTAL touchscreen doesn't use the Microsoft Surface, doing so would rapidly accelerate the product hitting the consumer market. Check out the [CRISTAL](http://mi-lab.org/projects/cristal/) touchscreen in action above. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.8/10 - Popularity: 69% | Activity: 96% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Tech](https://www.trendhunter.com/tech) > [Gadgets](https://www.trendhunter.com/gadgets) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Touchscreen Interfaces:** The rise of touchscreen interfaces is disrupting traditional remote control systems, providing a more intuitive and interactive user experience. - **Room-view Technology:** Room-view technology that provides a live view from above is revolutionizing the way users interact with their gadgets and appliances. - **Gesture-based Controls:** Gesture-based controls offer a futuristic and convenient way to manipulate devices, eliminating the need for physical buttons or remote controls. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Home Automation:** The home automation industry can leverage touchscreen interfaces and room-view technology to enhance the control and management of various smart devices in a household. - **Consumer Electronics:** Consumer electronics manufacturers can adopt gesture-based controls to create innovative and intuitive user interfaces for their products, increasing customer satisfaction and market competitiveness. - **Hospitality:** The hospitality industry can integrate touchscreen interfaces and room-view technology to provide guests with a seamless and immersive in-room entertainment and control experience. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Connected Touchscreen TV Tables](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tcl-telly-table.md) - [Dynamic Interaction Coffee Tables](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/enigmasurface.md) - [Universal Smart Remote Controllers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/universal-smart-remote-controller.md) - [T-Shaped Remote Controls](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sightless-remote-control.md) - [Computer-Equipped Coffee Tables](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/smart-coffee-table.md) - [Configurable Concave-Button Remotes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-liza-remote.md) - [Smart Home Control Displays](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kocom-the-frame.md) - [Transforming TV Controllers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/controller-and-remote.md) - [Suspended Removable Display TVs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tcl-dune-tv.md)