Surface Computing

[Crimson Sky]

In development since 2001, unveiled today was the Microsoft Surface (http://www.microsoft.com/surface/) computing table. It uses cameras inside the table to sense multiple hand movements (not a standard touchscreen) for surface interaction. The first commercial application will be for hotel and retail kiosks.

[SgtM]

That looks fun as hell! I want one.

[rendermandan]

Sweet, shoudl only be about $40,000 when they release it.

[Zephik]

So... whats the difference between that and touch screens? Aren't they basically the same thing?

Hmm, maybe I'm confused.

[Bucko]

Touch screens (from what I've seen and used anyway) only allow ONE input at a time. Try with 2 fingers in two spots and it gets confused.

[xRyokenx]

Touch screens (from what I've seen and used anyway) only allow ONE input at a time. Try with 2 fingers in two spots and it gets confused.


The cash registers at work have touch screens and if you put two fingers on it it'll be "selecting" the point in between your two fingers. On my PDA it just gets all screwy.

EDIT: Just looked at the MS:S (Microsoft Surface, yeah, I'm lazy or whatever...), it looks freakin' cool. I'm trying to think of how awesome that would be for gaming... guess it depends on whether you get used to it or not...

[GT40_GearHead]

ha ha o just messed with an ATM machine =)


on topic: that thing looks cool, wonder how much 000 will it have in its price:D

[Eclecticos]

Amazing. Looks like the panel from StarTrek.

I'm just gonna wait for the MS:Teleporter to comeout. :D

. . Now the thing to do would be to create something you could sell on there.

[XcOM]

Sweet, shoudl only be about $40,000 when they release it.

$40,000! I'll have 2 please, one for the front room, and one for the toilet i think!

[Luke122]

I remember seeing something like this about a year ago from some German(maybe?) research firm.. I think they were originally doing it a table top interface.. something for a bars and such. Way to go MS.. someone else comes up with a cool idea, buy it and sell it as your own. :D

I got an email about this just this morning from another geek friend of mine, and then I turned on CNN, and it was there, and then came here, and here it is.

It's definitely cool technology, I can see this being a great item to have in EOC (Emergency Operation Centers) for disaster events.. realtime tracking of assets in the field with complete interactivity.. cool. :D

[Crimson Sky]

Either MS developed their own version of this screen technology, or the person who invented it has sold the technology. You can make this screen yourself with enough cash and R&D and not infringe on any patents.

[Crimson Sky]

Way to go MS.. someone else comes up with a cool idea, buy it and sell it as your own. :D


LoL..oh you mean like every other piece of technology on the planet? Consider that any company that manufactures blue colored LED diodes in the US must pay a small fee to Phillips. ;)

[jaxspades]

I saw something like this while in school a few weeks ago....except the way he described it was a touch screen that COULD read multiple points at once...not with cameras or anything...and it even kind of had it's own OS....it wasn't MS, Apple, or Linux, just a simple one for the demonstration of what the Touch screen could do.

EDIT: http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/

I think that's what I was looking for...

[Cool1Net6]

... Way to go MS.. someone else comes up with a cool idea, buy it and sell it as your own. :D...
Apple's iPod wasn't new, or as featured as its competitors, but it still blew up to huge proportions. All Microsoft did here was take a bunch of other ideas, slap an easy-to-use interface on it, and assembled it into a shiny package, just like Apple.

The multi-touch screen I saw a few years back was an actual LCD Touch Screen that could detect more than one touch point. They did the same things like sizing pictures and playing with water and such.

I also saw a separate video from japan that used little squares to represent different "programs", one for weather, one for music, etc. That worked by joining 2 of them side-by-side to make more complicated "programs", like scrolling through forecasts, shopping, etc. But on that one, you put your cell phone down to pay for things.

All in all, I really like this.

-Cool-

[Sakker]

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65

From 2006, looks a bit familiar huh?

[rendermandan]

I'm sure it uses some sort of sensors, instead of "cameras". Similar to the wall for the Cir de sole show in vegas where they climb the wall and every spot they touch, a processor recognizes that and sends a signal to the projector to create a "water pool effect" for every tough. -Similar technology, just in a smaller package.

I think the biggest problem with it would be the constand need to clean figerprints off your screen. :)

[Airbozo]

I think the biggest problem with it would be the constant need to clean fingerprints off your screen. :)

This is also my main gripe with ANY touch screen. After installing dozens of touchscreen POS systems at one particular Theater, it was only a couple of weeks after installation that they were calling me complaining of "out of focus" monitors. Of course I had to charge them mucho $$ to go on site and use the windex on the monitors...

[Cool1Net6]

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65

From 2006, looks a bit familiar huh?
The exact video I was talking about. Here is the other one using tiles. (http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/person/rekimoto/movies/tile2.mpg)

-Cool-

[ChevronX]

I wonder what use I will have for one of these.

[AJ@PR]

This is also my main gripe with ANY touch screen. After installing dozens of touchscreen POS systems at one particular Theater, it was only a couple of weeks after installation that they were calling me complaining of "out of focus" monitors. Of course I had to charge them mucho $$ to go on site and use the windex on the monitors...

ROFLMAO...

The screen is amazing.
I had seen this some months ago... different video, different company.

Can't blame MS though... I mean, if it's a cool tech, go for it!

Can you imagine a big conference table with that?!

I call dibs in playing Pong!

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

first things first.... micro**** has a huge cheque book so they can buy w/e the hell they want.... so this obviously isnt there technology
second i think its rly jazzy but man... this is gunna be like the Wii first time at the controls and ur gunna be like wtf lol

[slytherock]

it can be a nice way to reintroduce table gaming. Imagine a big and nice Axis & Allies game... mmmm... there,s no limits

[Bopher]

Nice.. The wife showed me the MS one and I was like, "I want it." Could yu imagine turning it into your media center PC/Coffee table. Everything would be right there from movies to music. And if you could access your Tivo from it and change the channels you wouldn't have to move from your couch.

[Crimson Sky]

give it 5-6 years and we will all be able to have one.

[Guttenaffe]

CZ: or tomorrow if you build one :D

IE: The peeps in this forum topic might like yesterday's hack-a-day: http://www.hackaday.com/2007/07/02/build-your-own-multitouch-display/

whoohoo! :D




link to the instructables how to if the hackaday page somhow breaks:
http://www.instructables.com/id/EJIXKOEF3ER7VN5/?ALLSTEPS