Microsoft Surface - surface and gesture based computing lands

Over the years we've seen plenty of surface and gestural interface computing systems and prototypes, but nothing mass-market -- nothing consumable, if you will. Microsoft aims to change all that with Surface, its first foray into surface / gestural interfaces; arriving in the form of a 30-inch table-like display, Microsoft envisions its eventual uses as pervasive as imaginable, like ordering beverages from your restaurant table and silently scanning your wine bottle's RFID tag to automagically present information on the vineyard and vintage. Sure, some of it's pretty pie in the sky, but Microsoft is touting Surface's multi-touch, multi-user interface, object recognition and gestural interaction, and it's out to dispel myths of vaporware with limited 2007 rollouts in T-Mobile stores, Starwood hotels, and even Harrah's in Vegas.

As for the consumer end of things, it's estimated that we're still a number of years out on the technology (for starters these Surface units are estimated to cost up to ten thousand bucks). Pretty steep for what ultimately amounts to being an underbelly projector with digital cameras that track surface interaction (all of which running on a stock 1GHz Vista box), but the focus of any nascent technology is never price, it's function.

P.S. -If you're feeling this thing check out the 18 minute demo over at Microsoft's On10.

Gallery: Microsoft Surface - surface and gesture based computing lands

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[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ May 30th 2007 1:43AM]

Here's a link of the video with Surface Computing.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html


Number_41

[Josh @ May 30th 2007 1:45AM]

Pretty slick. DLP bulbs don't last all that long, though... I think businesses would burn through them rather quickly with these things on all the time.

[Brian W @ May 30th 2007 1:47AM]

It looks exactly like the doctor's table in the film "The Island". Pretty incredible, I like it.

[michael @ May 30th 2007 2:50AM]

@Brian W

The doctor table is exactly what Microsoft Surface is. I worked on the set of "The Island" to work with advertisers who were using product placement to make their products look "futuristic". Microsoft was one of our bigger advertisers. Microsoft had the table brought in, and although it doesn't look exactly like the one we see, it was still based on the same technology. And even then, we really were impressed with what they had right there. So it really isn't a surprise that they're similiar. Man this thing is awesome. Rock on. This is the future as we know it.

[yakov chodosh @ May 30th 2007 1:49AM]

the killer app for this device:
PONG

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ May 30th 2007 1:59AM]

I have an idea for a killer app here but does anyone know if that Milan thing is big enough to hold 99 bottles of beer?

[Stephen @ May 30th 2007 2:00AM]

@yakov: Yes please! I want pong on one of these now!

@All: This thing is like the iPhone all grown up... Let's see now:...

I'm gonna want one to use as a desk, one for a dining table, one for a coffee table, and one dedicatied to playing pong... That's only $40,000, sounds like it'll be doable for my budget in about a bagillion years. Do you think layaway lasts that long? I hope so, cause I really want this -- Like the "I want this so bad it should have been in the UPS man's hands as he presses the dorbell button yesterday so I could be playing with it right now" kind of wanting.

[BiG� @ May 30th 2007 2:00AM]

Makes the iPhone look like a steal ;-)

[Sy @ May 30th 2007 2:08AM]

Great for Microsoft ...they should shrink it and use the technology on a cellphone. Oh wait..

[John Doe @ May 30th 2007 11:11AM]

Yah never mind that the iPhone doesn't interact with physical devices which is the whole point of this device. Oh but you would know that if you weren't a fucking troll.

[Sean @ May 30th 2007 2:21AM]

"Stock 1Ghz machine" my A$$. Not to mention the wireless device interface had better have an improved bluetooth stack- been having boku problems with BT on my Vista system. Perhaps this will FINALLY bring wireless USB front and center.

And yeah DLP seems retarded for this.

[Miles Smith @ May 30th 2007 2:23AM]

Gee, folks! Let's see... take Apple's multitouch, apply it to big screen, say... a Wacom Cintiq type device and you get teh same thing. Once again, MS proves they couldn't innovate their way out of a paper sack... they just borrow others' inventions (Apple DOS, multi-touch), tweek it (Macintosh to Windoze, LCD to DLP), slap their name on it and all those MS desciples worship them as the inventors of technology. Gimme a break!

[scott tsai @ May 31st 2007 2:47AM]

Yeah dumbass, cuz we all know that Apple doesn't steal technology either (*cough*Xerox). And FYI, Apple didnt develop "multi-touch". Get your facts straight before you jump on the hating bandwagon.

[Chinthaka @ May 30th 2007 2:34AM]

yo, read what it does, its not just a touch screen

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/touch-me/confirmed-project-milan-touch+sensitive-minority-report-table-revealed-as-microsoft-surface-264338.php

[ShaleX @ May 30th 2007 5:07AM]

Funny, cause I've seen MS demo similar tech for probabbly 2 years, 'cept using an overhead projector. Look up Microsoft House.

[ShaleX @ May 30th 2007 5:07AM]

Funny, cause I've seen MS demo similar tech for probabbly 2 years, 'cept using an overhead projector. Look up Microsoft House.

[wraith808 @ May 30th 2007 1:04PM]

So you really think they came out with this in less than 5 months? Be for real. Parallel development is possible you know, and the idea isn't something that is *that* far-fetched (minority report much?)

[Aaron Walker @ May 30th 2007 2:31AM]

Of all the things Microsoft could have rolled out instead of a rich man's toy at best.

Who cares!?!

A new Zune, a portable Xbox 360, geez, they could have just slashed the price of Vista and got rid of all those stupid SKU's and made more sense than this.

This is a nice device but it isn't for your average consumer. This should have been debuted somewhere else with a lot less fanfare.

Bill, how about sharing some of the technology that's in your house so all of my devices talk seamlessly together like Intel demo-ed? Or even you showed in your keynote at CES 2006? Being able to view information streamed from my PC and the internet that syncs to my phone or UMPC/tablet/notebook with a touch on the screen??????????? No, instead you give us a table?

Gee, I guess I better rush out to a T-Mobile store so I can put my phone on a table so it can tell me what I already know I have on and can do with my phone. Or whenever I go to Harrah's Casino (NOT), I'll be able to check on the vineyard and vintage of the wine AFTER I've already ordered it. "Hey, let me show you my pictures from my vacation, where's the nearest Starwood Hotel?" (I've never even heard of them! Motel 6, Holiday Inn, them I know, but Starwood?!?)

And here I go thinking Microsoft was actually going to "Wow" me this time. Big disappointment.

[Chinthaka @ May 30th 2007 2:34AM]

@Sy : yo jackass, this is just a tad different from the touch screen that supports two touches that is the iphone... did you even read what this does?

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/touch-me/confirmed-project-milan-touch+sensitive-minority-report-table-revealed-as-microsoft-surface-264338.php

other than the iphone i'm waiting to see what the apple fanboys say that microsoft is ripping off from apples designs here... is it the rectangular shape? colour screen? oh wait it runs of electricity... damn microsoft!

[Kaizen Maven @ May 30th 2007 2:42AM]

Forgot what anybody says, I have just seen the future. I'm drooling, check on the video from the link post:

http://on10.net/Blogs/larry/first-look-microsoft-surfacing-computing/

[fuzzycuffs @ May 30th 2007 2:55AM]

Wow, Apple fans sure like to think that Apple invented multi-touch. *rolleyes*

[john a. @ May 30th 2007 3:05AM]

Apple fan here - apple didn't invent multitouch - they bought a company that had patented aspects of it, and then added some (patented) innovations of their own.

Notice microsoft's using cameras and projectors to do what apple is doing with a (much smaller) touch screen.

The table is a cool technology demo - now if only microsoft had added multitouch to vista...

[slug @ May 30th 2007 5:59AM]

lol its the same with every post about an apple or ms article. sooner or later everyone turns it into an apple vs microsoft argument.
anyone else think this is gettin boring? *sighs*

[Sy @ May 30th 2007 3:02AM]

No one say Apple invented multi-touch technology. Apple just happens to have a mass commercial product utilizing the the technology coming out within a month. Last time I checked, it won't cost more than some new cars.

[craig @ May 30th 2007 12:27PM]

The iPhone won't really use multitouch either. It supports a maximum of two simultaneous touchs and the integrated apps make essentially no use of it. At least MS has applied multitouch in a manner than maximizes its usefulness. It's not clear that multitouch is even valuable in any form.

I don't recall the same hatred being expressed at Apple for stealing the same technology and passing it off as it's own. None of this comes as any surprise of course. Funny how people think $40K is expensive for a kiosk.

[randy @ May 30th 2007 3:05AM]

Ah, this is incredible. So now we know why Leopard was delayed!

[Yme Bosma @ May 30th 2007 3:22AM]

You've reported on something similar from Philips before. I've played around with it, it has similar capabilities to this prototype from MS.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/04/philips-entertaible-melds-video-gaming-with-traditional-board-ga/

[mike @ May 30th 2007 3:37AM]

Killer app for this device:

OS X Dock, with exact same font.

You heard it hear first...





Doh!!

[Watership @ May 30th 2007 9:12AM]

That's a nice video. I don't know why it's labeled APPLE though. That's Jeff. Y Han, and he's been involved in Multitouch devices through his university and private company for years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Han

[Justin @ May 30th 2007 3:41AM]

Haha. Guys let's not make silly claims here. Gestural interfaces have been heavily researched for almost 20 years now. I can't possibly count how many videos just like this I've seen at CHI over the years (and most of them were actually working instead of cute promotional "what if" renderings).

I can't wrap my head around the cost at this point. Good lord that is expensive. Obviously they're not aiming at your average consumer here. It is good to see Microsoft taking Apple's lead and developing your own hardware. If you're truly serious about interface design, you'll want control over your hardware.

Will be interesting to see where this goes, but there's certainly nothing revolutionary here. Just an idea that's been shared by academics and industry for a long time finally coming to market.

[Deezee @ May 30th 2007 3:54AM]

I need this. I have no idea what I would use it for. Pr0n maybe? I don't care. Even if it just sits there. Give it.

[Brian St. John @ May 30th 2007 4:21AM]

I remember thinking this was incredibly cool in Tron.

[_man1c_ @ May 30th 2007 5:14AM]

me likes. cant wait till it is affortable enough for the average person.

[nikster @ May 30th 2007 5:19AM]

I worked as an intern at Apple ATG 10 years ago and there was a group working on this kind of thing. It worked at the time, too - no tech that wasn't already available at the time - on OS 9 no less. It was gesture based and collaboration-based, so multiple people could sit around the table and 'collaborate'.

It was also insanely expensive and never made it out of the research labs and was probably canned during the great cleanup when S. Jobs returned.

I know it sounds like a lame fanboy comment when I say Apple had this 10 years ago, but in this case it's true ;)

[Matt @ May 30th 2007 5:43AM]

I can't wait to go to my T-Mobile store to see one of these things, only to find it crashed, frozen, damaged, or otherwise unusable.

I've been replacing Windows-based kiosks long enough to know just how unreliable they are, and this throws a whole new input scheme, sensitive electronics, and applications with complex UI code into the mix.

I wish Microsoft would stop spreading itself out so thin and refocus on its operating system.

[_man1c_ @ May 30th 2007 6:14AM]

meh. dont care if apple had it first, or ms. the fact is its here, and eventually will be used by the masses. thats the whole point really. right now cost/size is an issue to most, but thatll shrink over time.

[bruce @ May 30th 2007 6:46AM]

Yes, impressive. It's no coincidence that MS "announced" it today on the eve of Gates's appearance at D5 with Jobs. However, what makes Apple's foray into multitouch more impressive is that in a month consumers can actually buy it. Also if you check the patents involving multitouch tech you'll see Apple has some covering larger displays with more functions. I'm not sure how effective MS's tech will be in this area but if they didn't get it right it'll only turn developers away from producing this tech into what it can be. MS has announced and released ideas that are still quite impressive but has failed to implement them well, example Origami and the Zune's WiFi. MS does have the ability to come up with cool ideas, they just screw it up. Apple has the ability to take cool ideas and make it work, and to take boring functions and make them fun. Amazing features are useless if it's not in a form that the consumer can use it.

[Jon @ May 30th 2007 6:57AM]

Give it a rest people. Apple wasn't the first to implement multi-touch, nor were they the first to implement harddrive and flash based MP3 player, or the first to offer a smartphone (which looks like a buttonless Dell X50), touchscreen based PDA, QWERTY keyboard, GUI, laptop, monitors etc. etc. etc.

Maybe to some their design are good, but to come in and claim they innovate, while bashing others for copying? Isn't that a little bit hypocritical seeing that Apple themselves copies from the industry as well?

[bruce @ May 30th 2007 7:18AM]

Yes, Apple is often not the first to implement an idea. However, they are more often than others the first to implement it in a way that is easy and intuitive to use. They bring functionality to functionality. That's their true innovation. They put the fun into function if you will.

[Tim Brown @ May 30th 2007 7:07AM]

M$ Windows, Apple O$ X, Beos, Linux, Unix, DOS etc etc etc… what ever! Who cares, the only thing that is of note is that some one is finally bringing this tech out of the lab and into the market place, albeit a rather expensive market place. The fact is that some one finally has produced one of these that is commercially viable(ish). So why does every one keep on banging on about it, we have all seen the video demos from university research labs, it was just a matter of time before one of the big boys snapped up the students involved and started to produce their own. The only reason that M$ was out the door first is that they have a staggering R&D budget, I am sure we will see more of the same coming from other sources over the coming year, and I am sure that the fan boys will continue to try and shoot each other down.

[bruce @ May 30th 2007 7:18AM]

10K is commercially viable? Give it a few years. They were first out the door with it to give Gates some cool talking points today. No doubt this has stolen some of Jobs's thunder. Give me a way to put this in my home and make sure it works well then I'll be impressed. Until then it might as well be Star Trek.

[_man1c_ @ May 30th 2007 7:28AM]

yes. to the businesses its aiming for at the moment. its a relative cheap new tech that will get consumers talking. as others also stated apples own Lisa computer cost bout 10grand at one point. this indeed too will come down in price.

[wraith808 @ May 30th 2007 1:10PM]

Remember that plasmas were once 10k...

[jarednoah @ May 30th 2007 7:24AM]

I am really impressed...This is the kind of product the redefines personal computing... Good for microsoft.

[ssr @ May 30th 2007 8:55AM]

get over yourselves those who think apple will be first to market with a multitouch interface ...

http://www.jazzmutant.com/lemur_overview.php

(available NOW)

[bruce @ May 30th 2007 9:03AM]

Apple wasn't the first to do a MP3 player either. They were the first to make it easy to use, marketable and stylish. Anyways, all of this, Surface,IPhone, etc... only goes to show that gestural interface is the future. Now it's a matter of who makes it work best for the consumer.

Also the product you show is industry specific, not a mass market product.

[John Miller @ May 30th 2007 9:48AM]

Apple fanboys are literally becoming more annoying by the day. Over at Gizmodo-- where they had a proper write-up of the device, not this Ryan Block weak sauce-- everybody was going nuts over it. This is truly revolutionary.

[Leon @ May 30th 2007 9:51AM]

Be serious, Apple, Google, Dell and every other tech company in the world probably have one of these running in their labs. This idea (in addition to being rather obvious) has been around for years, take a look at some of Jeff Han's work. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great idea, just not very well implemented (projector) or particularly inspired.

On another note, if anyone else compares this thing to an iPhone, I will hunt you down.

[bruce @ May 30th 2007 10:07AM]

Leon, comparisons are going to abound. Some of it will be valid, much will be tripe. The fact that it shares interface ideas merits comparison. Quality ,implementation and accessibility can be legitimately compared and critiqued.

[rantanamo @ May 30th 2007 10:00AM]

LOL @ the denial here. Seriously, I don't think some of you read much or watched this OR there are some serious fan boys here. I don't remember sitting a digital camera on an iphone and extracting files from them, then sitting a blue tooth device on the table and then simply sliding the files to them with your hands. IF the iPhone does things like that, I want one. Multi-touch is cool, but it is just a small piece of what this is.