Thanks, Gabi.
Larry Larsen admits that Microsoft’s new surface computing product category exceeded his optimism about multi-touch computing systems, taking him by surprise. And it’s a most pleasant surprise.
In Microsoft’s recent press release it is said that the motivation behind researching surface computing consisted in breaking two kinds of traditional barriers: one between people and technology and one between the physical and the virtual worlds. Microsoft Surface is
[...] the first in a new category of surface computing products from Microsoft that breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects.
The product is still in its first stage of commercial development and will be available in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues starting from the end of the year. As production costs will drop, the surface computing technology will enter mass-production and will be widely available within an industry already foreseen as one of the multibillion dollar category.
The great advantages brought by the new user interface technology are named to be:
Direct interaction. Users can actually ‘grab’ digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
Multi-touch. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen, but up to dozens of items at once.
Multi-user. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.
More about all this in Microsoft’s press release and Surface demo section of their website.
Comments
@ 13:07
Something similar as been unveiled in February 2006 (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65)
by Jefferson Y. Han (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Han)
So is it convergence of ideas or did M$ copied somebody else’s research again ?
You decide…
@ 23:02
Matthieu, it’s definitely a global convergence, by cooperation or competition, of individual efforts and initiatives, coming from both single tech geniuses, like Jeff Han, or big companies like Apple and Microsoft, which have their own research teams. Surely, eavesdropping into what others do can be part of the research. Finally it’s about what they can do with it and about the market power.
It’s true Microsoft’s surface computing product category in the demo looks a lot like what Jeff Han has to show and the influence is not to be doubted. According to FastCompany’s coverage on Jeff Han in February this year, “wherever touch-screen technology leads, Han will face stiff competition. Microsoft has been working on its own version, TouchLight, which offers echoes of the Spielberg sci-fi flick Minority Report.” And now they issued Microsoft Surface. The race is on.
The same source mentions that Jeff formed his own company, Perceptive Pixel, because, in his own words: “I want to create an environment where I can create technology, get it into the hands of someone to market it, and move on to other technologies so I can keep innovating. [...] I want to be a serial entrepreneur: Incubate an idea, get it to a good state, and make that an enabler to get to the next state. It’s every researcher’s fantasy.”
I think Microsoft succeeded in doing the first step towards the mass-production of the surface computing technology at a bigger scale, like the one of Jeff’s, who’s definitely among the great pioneers. That is the major shift brought by Microsoft, meaning at the market level. And of course, I’m sure competition is already catching up really fast.
Thanks for your observant comment.
@ 18:54
Nobody said anything about seeing this concept at MIT two years ago. Of course theirs is projected, but it is the idea of making smart surfaces that is the same.
It is far too cool for M$ - they will probably use it for something completely proletarian like a toilet and people won’t adopt it because the original interface was simpler. *flush*
@ 22:37
Thanks for uploading this, it gave me something to read on my lunch break.
Shareware
http://www.mostshareware.org
@ 13:18
Indeed, Bob. The Microsoft Surface coverage in the press seems to skip the history of it, emphasizing only the product and its qualities. Surface computing is clearly common concept for years and it was researched by different academic and business actors in the field.
@ 22:23
Here, in the Ars Technica article it is said that:
“Surface has actually been in development at Microsoft for years. A team was formed in October 2001 to pursue surface computing, and the idea got the go-ahead from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in 2003. A prototype, called T1, was up and running a month later, crafted from an IKEA table with a hole chopped in the center and a piece of vellum serving as a diffuser.
The hardware design that Microsoft is showing today was finalized back in 2005, but it has taken a significant amount of time to transform the prototype machines into commercial models that can stand up to public use. More than 100 people now work on Surface, indicative of the amount of attention that Microsoft is giving the technology.”