
If you have a day or two and about $200 to spare, you can construct your own multitouch table fairly easily, using a guide from Instructables.

Some touch panels are pressure sensitive, too basically, a pressure-sensitive coating is applied, and when a finger presses down on the panel, it flexes and changes the way the light scatters. The camera is able to detect multiple fingers or objects. When your finger (or another object) touches the panel, it scatters the infrared light, which an infrared camera then reads. To build your own Surface-style table, you need an acrylic panel that’s lit around the edge with infrared LEDs. The key to making a multitouch panel is infrared light.
