Microsoft aims to get more touchy-feely
Bill Gates may not be hanging around Microsoft's research labs 24/7, but his vision for going beyond the mouse and keyboard seems to be doing pretty well without his day-to-day oversight.
At a user interface conference this week, the software maker plans to present several research papers, including a number designed to take the multitouch interface used in Microsoft's Surface and expand it into new arenas.
Although Microsoft's tabletop computer is still in the midst of its earliest commercial deployments, the company is already hard at work trying to figure out where the technology can go next.
Andy Wilson, one of the Microsoft researchers who helped create the Surface, is among those presenting at the User Interface Software and Technology conference, which is being held in Monterey, Calif. He is set to talk about how the same kind of physics engines used in 3D games could help make surface computing much more realistic.
Although multitouch computing is a huge leap forward in making computer objects feel more tangible, the illusion is challenged because all touch is treated the same, unlike in the real world where we can touch lightly, or push, or grab an object.
While a child using Surface for the first time will tend to use his or her whole hand to interact with objects, adults learn to use just a fingertip because they quickly realize that essentially the computer is only recognizing a single point for each "touch."
"The problem with that is you are flushing away a lot of the subtlety," Wilson said.
But, if the physics engines were better, Wilson says, objects can be folded and twisted and even torn like a piece of paper.
"How can we enhance the interaction model so we don't fall into this trap of thinking of every contact as a discrete point?" Wilson said. In his paper, he suggests a few different interactions, showing how a user can grasp a solid object and interact with it (say rolling a ball), or fold or tear an on-screen piece of cloth.
Another team of researchers from Microsoft's Cambridge, England, lab is showing a technique called SecondLight that allows a surface computer to project two images, one on the computer's surface and the other at some other point in the air.
This one's a little harder to explain. Essentially, the surface of the computer is one that quickly alternates between a transparent display and one that catches an image. The projector is in sync with this alternating pattern and sends one image when the display is transparent and a second when it is not. The first image is projected above the device, while the second appears on its surface. Because the images can alternate faster than the eye can detect, both images appear to be constant.
Real-world applications
Among the potential applications for this would be gaming. Clear plastic pieces could sit on top of the game and become chess pieces or checkers or other game tokens as needed. Medical imaging could be another interesting use, where doctors could look at an entire X-ray on the main display and hold up a piece of paper to see a second image, perhaps a close-up or an earlier X-ray.
"We're actually bringing the display into the real world," said Steve Hodges, one of the researchers behind SecondLight.
Such a move also helps break one of the inherent limitations of current surface computing. "It's still bound to the surface," Hodges said. "You are interacting on the surface."
One of the nice things about the SecondLight approach is that although the technology is complex, the objects that interact with the computer can themselves be simple. "All the peripherals are very cheap, either bits of plastic or pieces of paper," said Sharam Izadi, another researcher on the project.
Microsoft is also presenting a round surface computer prototype known as Sphere, which CNET readers got a look at back in July.
Another touch research project is aimed at trying to record gestures without using the screen as the surface. Microsoft already explored one notion, dubbed LucidTouch, in which users could control a screen by moving their hand below the device. Microsoft tries a different approach in its latest project, dubbed SideSight. In this example, the device sits flat on a table, while infrared sensors on the side of the device can record gestures made on either side of the display.
Such alternatives are important for two reasons. One, on very small devices, there is often not enough screen real estate for a touch screen. Secondly, by their nature, the very thing being pointed at is blocked while someone is touching it, hampering the ability to be precise. Both LucidTouch and SideSight are aimed at, quite literally, getting around these issues.
"Across Microsoft Research, in different parts of the world, there's a strong theme of finding new ways of interacting," Hodges said. "These projects all relate and overlap at the edges."
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
If only they would be the same in their Windows development.
Err, no thanks. It has niche uses I guess, but not much use in the real world.
/P
There is a huge difference there, and not just in size. Can you run Photoshop on the iPhone? Doom? How about editing a movie? Or editing pictures? Record music?
It is only your silly and petty dislike of MS that makes you equate them in any way.
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Cmon Penguinisto, you're not an idiot. At least try to say something worth reading. Its like you focused on one tertiary idea in the article and are using that to dismiss everything else contained in it. The multi layered display technology is at least interesting. The non-touch based interaction also holds some real promise for a range of applications. Will these directly translate to consumer level modalities? Maybe not, but the point of research is to explore where the boundaries are and hope that something tangible results from that.
Penguinisto immediately posting negative comments about subject in which he has no experience or knowledge. Check.
Two for two, par for the course.
I have used the Surface systems and while they won't replace a desktop computer, they aren't meant to either. Because your iPhone can play video, does that mean you will now throw away your 50" Plasma TV? Of course not. Different uses and purposes. To compare the two would be irresponsible and ignorant.
So in other words, you really don't have anything useful to comment on.
* @catch23: up the specs on the iPhone, and yes you have a fully-qualified computer: CPU, RAM, storage, I/O, networking, OSX... what vital parts are allegedly missing aside from size?
* @ rapier1: What use does the thing have outside of certain niches (e.g. mobile applications, industrial applications, kiosks)? Do you have kids? Would you want them touching the screen all day long (and subsequently clean up after it)? How exactly does one play games or use the thing in a home or business setting without constantly having one's hands in the way of what they're reading? For certain situations, you've not much choice (kiosks and industrial terminals). OTOH, those uses are pretty simplistic at best.
* @Seaspray0: Mobile interfaces are touch-screen these days because the need to get maximum use out of a very small form factor. Due to their size a small setup with a touchscreen is easier to keep clean. Now let's try that concept on a 24" monitor...
* @ Vegaman_Dan, the MSFT employee: You make no sense, at all. I've never said that it has no use at all, just that those uses are niche at best, and have been done already in other applications (e.g. the iPhone).
Fact is, the MSFT Surface project is basically an iPhone writ large, and nothing more. The only real difference is, the iPhone was built for a specific market and sells outstandingly well in it. The Surface products are (at best) built for niche markets, but will likely suffer the fate of the Tablet notebooks (too pricey, too limited, too slow, etc).
I merely used the iPhone and Surface products as comparisons, pretty much like the rest of the planet will.
I do find it hilarious though that the MSFT fanboy crowd immediately takes ubmbrage with what is essentially a dead-on comparison - just because I used the iPhone as a reference point.
Network connection, COPY and PASTE, printing, keyboards, external monitors, projection display, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Again, you know nothing of what you speak. Please use the product before embarassing yourself.
"* @ rapier1: What use does the thing have outside of certain niches (e.g. mobile applications, industrial applications, kiosks)? Do you have kids? Would you want them touching the screen all day long (and subsequently clean up after it)? How exactly does one play games or use the thing in a home or business setting without constantly having one's hands in the way of what they're reading? For certain situations, you've not much choice (kiosks and industrial terminals). OTOH, those uses are pretty simplistic at best.
"
"Pretty simplistic" pretty much describes your comments, Penguinisto. Of course it's a niche product and meant for kiosk use. Where did you get the idea that this was going to replace the desktop computer? You're reading things into the story that simply aren't there. Go back and reread the article, please. It will help you to avoid such embarassments.
"* @Seaspray0: Mobile interfaces are touch-screen these days because the need to get maximum use out of a very small form factor. Due to their size a small setup with a touchscreen is easier to keep clean. Now let's try that concept on a 24" monitor...
"
I see... so you are saying the reason why the iPhone is the size it is is solely to keep the screen clean? What sort of idiot would think that? Come on now, you have to do better than that. Have you ever acutally USED a Surface unit? They don't have fingerprint issues- a fact you would know if you have ever used one. They also don't have a glossy screen like the iPhone which DOES have fingerprint issues. You even acknowledged that fact yourself. Your argument falls flat and foolish. Really.... very very sad.
"* @ Vegaman_Dan, the MSFT employee: You make no sense, at all. I've never said that it has no use at all, just that those uses are niche at best, and have been done already in other applications (e.g. the iPhone)."
Right, I'm still waiting for you to prove I'm a Microsoft employee. I tried to tell my boss that I was and that I deserved the same salary, but you know what? They laughed at the idea. No, I'm not a Microsoft employee. That's just another LIE that Penguinisto likes to tell people in order to spread more misinformation and FUD. Lies, deceit, dishonesty and serious ethical issues on your part, Penguinisto.
But hey, let's try your claim anyways-
"those uses are niche at best, and have been done already in other applications (e.g. the iPhone)." "
Sure, no problem. Let's see- 1-4 people can use the Surface at once. They can share applications, send entire screens to each other, play multiple person games, play current generation games, etc. The iPhone can do... well, none of that.
Once again, please consider using or at least reading up on the product before you crucify it. All you have done here is to prove really how foolish and ignorant you really are.
Penguinisto wrote:
"what is essentially a dead-on comparison - just because I used the iPhone as a reference point."
Right. Even here you claim the iPhone is the same as the Surface. Uh huh. But then you qualify you comments to take it back. Once again, when someone counters your comments with facs, or even your very own words, you run away.
Pathetic.
Already done and even with larger monitors. When was the last time you ate at a restaraunt and noticed that the host/hostess used a touch screen to place the order and print the bill? As the mouse replaced command line, touch is replacing the mouse. But I can understand how this must make you feel obsolete... you're a linux nut where command line is still king.
I would talk to the OEM of your wireless card for support for their product. Talking to Microsoft for support of your wireless card is like going to Chevrolet because your Sony stereo you are trying to install doesn't work.
- by nortac9455 October 21, 2008 8:37 PM PDT
- I really just want to use surface at a restaurant to order food, touch when i need something, and pay for the meal so i don't have to wait on some slow waiter.
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