We had previously many talks about getting multitouch support for Android, and you probably remember Luke’s work to demonstrate capabilities of G1 to run multi-touch. Today we have a breaking news from France, a team from the ENAC interactive computing laboratory -- including Mohamed-Ikbel Boulabiar, Stephane Chatty and Sebastien Hamdani -- succeeded to bring native multitouch support to Linux.

The code released is a proof-of-concept of what could be done with linux kernel and need to be improved for production, but you can see already a demo in the video below of their actual work

To run the sample provide you will need Linux kernel 2.6.30; a computer with a Broadcom 5974, Stantum, NTrig or DiamondTouch surface (the HP TouchSmart tx2 has a Ntrig surface, but you need to get the appropriate firmware from the NTrig site); their NTrig, Stantum, or DiamondTouch driver, or the Broadcom 5974 driver from Henrik Rydberg; in addition to demo code.

More information could be found here

Just noticed today a press release planned for next monday (19th November) by Synaptics, member of the OHA. Synaptics Inc., a leading developer of capacitive-based human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications and entertainment devices; and today they are announcing the touch interface driver for Android SDK. A good news for developers who were looking for a way to test the touch interface capabilities with Android SDK.

Synaptics is the only touch interface company in the alliance, and they are already providing mobile solutions for Onyx, Pantech, Samsung and many others. According to the press release, Synaptics will provide mobile handset designers with a powerful yet easy to use tool to develop advanced, multi-touch gestures for the Android platform.

“Synaptics is proud to be a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance,” said, Joseph Virginia, Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Handheld Business of Synaptics. “Our contribution to the Android platform will help bring dynamic touch user interfaces to everyone in the mobile market. By creating an open environment conducive to collaboration and partnering, the Alliance will allow key influencers to deliver innovative devices and services to meet the needs of the fast-changing mobile industry.”