The F series touch screen is the latest multi touch solution created by Mesa Mundi. I got to see it in action at their booth at PAX East in Boston.

The touch table is built around a 42 inch Philips Commercial Display with a glass touch overlay mounted to it. The touch overlay has no bezel and is completely clear (some capacitance systems have a grid that overlays the screen). It can detect 10 simultaneous touch points. The TV and touch overlay fit snugly in a custom modular wooden table.

The new F series has several advantages over the older Monolith and B series.

• No bezel - The lack of a bezel is a major improvement for both looks and usability. The whole screen is now flush with the table and has a clean appearance. The touch is now detected right when your finger hits the glass instead of a bit before. This helps with double-clicking, has less accidental touches and makes it feel more responsive.
• Faster response time - The delay for registering a touch location is about 1/3 of the older technology. This is very noticeable when dragging or painting on the screen. The drag/brush point stays much closer to your finger. There is still a bit of lag that is noticeable. It isn't quite a good as the capacitance system.
• Fewer "sleeve" touches - One problem that exists with the older technology is that sleeves and other objects can trigger a touch by breaking the IR beams above the screen. When we were playing with the F series, brushing the screen with a sleeve or card didn't trigger a touch.
• Waterproof - Waterproofing was an option in the B series, but it added to the price.

There are also a couple of disadvantages.

• Separate power connection - The overlay needs both USB out and a power connection while the older version got power over the USB. The enclosure that Mesa Mundi has created hides this extra connection well, but it is another item to plug in.
• Air gap - This is a small gap between the touch overlay and the TV screen. If you are sitting at a low angle to the surface, there is a distance from where it looks like your finger hits compared to where the touch is registered. This is a problem in the old system too, but it is more noticeable now.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the F series. The clean look, fast response time and lack of accidental "sleeve" touches make it a much better experience.

The wooden table that the TV fits into is modular and takes about a minute to put together or take apart. There are four pieces that fit together to make the sides, two interior pieces that connect vertically, four interior pieces that connect horizontally, a hidden shelf and an overlay for the top.

The frames are available in several colors. The nicest is the bamboo which is lightly stained and shows off the alternating pieces of wood.

As of 3/10/2015 Mesa Mundi doesn't have the new system on their website. At the show they were pricing a 42 inch 10 touch system $4000. That included the TV, touch overlay and table, and didn't include a computer. The touch system supports Windows 7+, Mac, Linux and Android.

I haven't confirmed this, but I'd guess that the system will be available in 42/55/65 inch and 10/20 touches.