Microsoft multi-touch Sphere surfaces in Redmond

There it is, right on cue Microsoft's Surface has gone spherical over at Microsoft Research. Rumored since March, the prototype relies upon an infrared system to detect hands, fingers, and objects as well as an internal (not external like Surface) projection system developed by Global Imagination (and customized by Microsoft) to deliver its multi-touch UI. At the moment, Microsoft is demonstrating photo manipulation, a spinning globe, 360-degree video, and a simple Pong-like game, the latter giving us a taste of future gaming possibilities. Sphere is expected to make its first public appearance Tuesday at Microsoft's Faculty Summit in Redmond. Ultimately, it will appear in public spaces like lobbies as part of a larger ecosystem of Surface gear. The prototype UI looks a bit jumpy compared to its tabletop cousin -- hit the read link to see for yourself.

[Jhongerkong @ Jul 29th 2008 1:03AM]

Kid: "Mommy, watch me play with the big ball!"

Mom: "OH SHI-"

*crash*

[Michael LaFramboise @ Jul 29th 2008 1:58AM]

Jhongerkong: Kid: "Mommy, watch me play with the big ball!"

Mom: "OH SHI-"

*crash*

Michael LaFramboise: *facepalm*

[mymaclife @ Jul 29th 2008 2:37AM]

The new Zune Touch - try getting that in your pocket!

[E71 @ Jul 29th 2008 9:54AM]

I can't wait to put my coffee cup on that sphere!

[Jhongerkong @ Jul 29th 2008 12:05PM]

Oh come on, you guys cant take a joke? Sheesh.

[iCrap @ Aug 15th 2008 1:08PM]

"Mommy, watch me play with daddy's big ball..."

"OH SHI..."

[ReductiMat @ Jul 29th 2008 1:05AM]

This is nothing!

Apple is going to have replaceable batteries soon!

WOW!

[Haikibutsu @ Jul 29th 2008 1:07AM]

Replacable in what?

[sw @ Jul 29th 2008 1:43AM]

Thanks for the heads up Santa!

[ben @ Jul 29th 2008 1:54AM]

3.5/10 - lacks subtlety.

[andres @ Jul 29th 2008 2:02AM]

in their wallets

[wout @ Jul 29th 2008 3:13AM]

Hey it's Karadzic! Welcome to the forum!

[Haikibutsu @ Jul 29th 2008 1:07AM]

Hmm. Looks pretty cool. but having an inverted sphere, or half sphere would be better. Instead if you being outside you are partially in a sphere.

[Midnightblade @ Jul 29th 2008 1:09AM]

I think my arms would get too tired reaching out to touch the sphere after a while (if I were inside a giant sphere)

I can't really see much use for a sphere (other than a globe) but I'm people will manage to find uses for it.

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 29th 2008 6:37AM]

"inverted sphere" ? Can that even exist?

[Andir3.0 @ Jul 29th 2008 8:34AM]

http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/projection/domemirror/uprightdome2/

Spherical displays...

[Josh @ Jul 29th 2008 1:09AM]

Seeing this just made me once again go watch the bigass table vid. haha

[Thomas @ Jul 29th 2008 1:14AM]

Surface is very cool and I am a huge Microsft fan but there is a problem. I just got back from Las Vegas. I visited the surface installation at the Rio Casino and Surface was not what you see on the video's. It was jumpy, the grafics were horrible, the camera feature was useless, youtube loaded extreamly slow and crashed twice and the games hardly responded. I don't know if those Surface tables were bad, but it looks like Microsoft has a long way to go with touch technology.

[Tynen @ Jul 29th 2008 6:33PM]

I used a demo model at MS, it may have been newer. It jumped a little, but mostly it was very responsive and very cool. I played with it for over an hour and didn't see it crash at all. There were some bugs, but they were all very minor.

[Samsam @ Jul 29th 2008 1:38AM]

I want to use it as a giant programmable 8 ball.

[brad @ Jul 29th 2008 10:54AM]

reply hazy, send error report?

[Ben @ Jul 29th 2008 1:41AM]

And now we have big ass balls to go with those big ass tables.

[tha-don @ Jul 29th 2008 1:45AM]

it's like game sphere from south park! w00t!

[chef @ Jul 29th 2008 1:50AM]

How long before somebody makes this into a breast OS mod?

[alexkiritz @ Jul 29th 2008 1:57AM]

I'm pretty sure you mean the surface has an internal projection system
and this has an external one.

[Richard @ Jul 29th 2008 10:52AM]

"the prototype relies upon an infrared system to detect hands, fingers, and objects as well as an internal (not external like Surface) projection system developed by Global Imagination (and customized by Microsoft) to deliver its multi-touch UI."

I think what he meant was the detection method for pciking up whether you are interacting with the table or not. Initially, the prototypes that were shown off required cameras to be mounted facing downward to detect any of your movement.

I went to a Joint Warfighting conference a couple of months ago in Virginia Beach and was able to see Surface first hand. To my surprise, no cameras. They had upgraded the table to IR and had a program to show it off. The table would switch to a flat black screen and your hands would appears white and grey when placed on the Suface, the program was then able to count how many fingers you had on there and circle the fingerprints and all that. Very interesting!

They also had a map program that they were showing off that could switch to 3d mode and be manipulated with an Xbox controller. Everyone was taking turns flying through the Grand Canyon. Good stuff! Only saw one crash of the OS while I was there.

[jroberts2147 @ Jul 29th 2008 1:57AM]

watching porn would be a bit difficult

[Jason @ Jul 29th 2008 2:03AM]

Oh spherical 8 ball.... Will this product come to market?


....Outlook not so good.....

[duke @ Jul 29th 2008 4:56AM]

Despite it not being so good, they sold a lot of copies of Outlook.

[Kennyb123 @ Jul 29th 2008 2:19AM]

This actually looks very promising - I think it'll be a definite conversation piece wherever it is utilized, and it actually seemed to function pretty well. There has to be so much more that can be dreamed up for this thing.

On a side note, wouldn't it freak you out if you put your hands on it, and the gigantic eye of Sauron took over the Sphere globe? LOL!

THE LIDLESS EYE SEES ALL!

[yode @ Jul 29th 2008 2:26AM]

Yea, and everywhere you turned, it stared at you the whole way... creepy stuff

[heshmati4 @ Jul 29th 2008 2:25AM]

Too Bulky!

[yode @ Jul 29th 2008 2:27AM]

Test.

[joewhat @ Jul 29th 2008 2:34AM]

"Think outside of the box"...oh well, I think I prefer sticking inside of the box. Traditional systems seem to be so much more efficient (and by the way, who is pushing photos around all day?It seems to be the only thing you really need multitouch for :) )

[Breeegz @ Jul 29th 2008 2:44AM]

What's next?

Giant Multi-touch hamster wheel! Let us hope beyond hope!

If the Breast OS is next I think a touchpoint would be a fitting optional pointer device.

[Harley3k @ Jul 29th 2008 3:04AM]

That doesn't look very useful to me at all.

I mean, beyond a virtual globe/maps app, what the hell would you use it for?

[someguy7234 @ Jul 29th 2008 3:31AM]

fortune telling

[Bit @ Jul 29th 2008 3:11AM]

Looks like Balmer's head.

[Mic2000 @ Jul 29th 2008 3:24AM]

phathetic

[Jubei @ Jul 29th 2008 3:35AM]

I soon expect Microsoft to create a "me too" multi-touch device in the shape of a phallus. In which Ballmer will demo after his typical over the top antics to his developers. Sweaty and breathing heavily, he will immediately demonstrate multi-touch on a phallus looking device.

[Ethan @ Jul 29th 2008 3:50AM]

Companies don't want the same device all the other stores or companies have. They want to get something bespoke in order to brand it. Surface could be an OS for a flexible array of interactive adverts and kiosks, but the companies have to be able to build it themselves, or an ad firm like Clearchannel.

[Blaine Oliver @ Jul 29th 2008 4:11AM]

We could use an IBM notebook nipple to control the breast XD

[z @ Jul 29th 2008 4:18AM]

I'd love to hear what Ricky Gervais would say bout this. :D

[Straider @ Jul 29th 2008 4:18AM]

I must admit, it does look cool. But the BIG problem I see with this product (And surface anyway) is that it has at the moment nearly no praktical use at home or at work. It's cool to play around with it for an hour but then you will just want an normal mouse and keyboard...

[diode3diode @ Jul 29th 2008 4:25AM]

Hmmm, one step closer to 3-D imaging. If I have this, I would definitely put the "Eye of Sauron" as a screen saver.

[mafweb @ Jul 29th 2008 4:40AM]

I've seen something like this at NEC C&C Innovations Research Lab (http://www.nec.co.jp/rd/Eng/Overview/soshiki/ccinov/index.html). Also a sphere with a rotating earth projected in it. The image could be switched to an other spectrum (e.g. infrared). Brightness and contrast were a bit low, but we could rotate the earth by moving both hands in a similar way as one would rotate a giant trackball in a touchscreen kind-of-way.
Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23407846@N08/2709505233/.

[Sy @ Jul 29th 2008 4:40AM]

I really don't see any practical application to this except for an interactive geographic presentation of earth, etc. The products derived from this will be mostly be novelty items.

[eZtipS @ Jul 29th 2008 5:36AM]

Wow! this has countless applications! Like... a globe... but more expensive...

And if anyone asks "but can it play doom?" I hope you sponaneously combust... which is actually possible according to the current understanding of quantum physics. Burn baby, burn.

*runs to hide fire extinguisher*

[Bad Beaver @ Jul 29th 2008 6:14AM]

Hmmmm, the sweet taste of pointless... one would think that the highly paid experts at MS had noticed that a sphere is about as inefficient as it gets when if comes to interfacing displayed information as the vast majority of the display area is always out of view. Regardless, if groping big ass balls is your game, go buy some MS shares today.

[neofolklore @ Jul 29th 2008 8:02AM]

hands, fingers, penis.