Microsoft's Surface has managed to carve out a small niche for itself, but there's only so many places that a large, touchscreen installation can find a home (a
yacht, for instance). Microsoft Research seems to be aware of that, and it's apparently been hard at work on a more portable Surface for some time now. As you can see above (and in the video after the break), the so-called Mobile Surface would rely on a combination of a projector and a camera (and mobile phone, in this instance), which would offer about the same level of interaction as a regular Surface, and even a few advantages -- like being able to use a pair of drumsticks to play the drums. If this all seems a little familiar, it should, as
Light Blue Optics and
others have already employed nearly identical systems to turn any surface into a touchscreen display. Curiously, Microsoft Research has since pulled the Mobile Surface page from its website, but you can find all the pertinent details by diving into the links below.
posted March 2nd 2010 5:37PM
I think it's called Courier...
@DaHarder
... at least in its most portable iteration.
@DaHarder I thinks it is called Microsoft Surface...
@DaHarder
I think it's called an iPhone..
HAHAHAHAH
@Wesscoast Excuse me, but you have violated my patent #8,353,183: "Expressing laughter over the internet through phrases such as 'HAHAHAHAHA'" twice now. Prepare to be sued.
@N900
You just infringed on my 7 year old cousins patent by writing in all caps
@yulebellow Damn, should have went with that cross-licensing deal xD!
@N900
I think we have a new meme in the works...
@DaHarder
You know what would be more incredible? If they projected this Surface onto a vertical wall...
Portability is nice, but practicality is much better to aim at now. I'm loving the potential, but the "small niche" part is what I'm worried about.
I think it's called Tablet/Slate thingy...
@One Love I see where that is coming from, but a tablet can't be that big, and it won't be able to sense where your fingers are. If you watch the video, you can see that he doesn't need to touch, he can just do gestures in the air..
@Dking7: Yes, I didn't see the projector thingy.
A portable big-ass table? Does Microsoft have some kind of magical hypercube technology we haven't seen yet? I can't wait to see what they have in store for next year's CES.
@MastaQ
Read. The. Article.
Or
Learn. To. Read.
I'm not even sure if you can read my comment- but I'll try anyways.
@Special Agent Steve
It was a joke...
@MastaQ
hell yea dude, you ever see the movie avatar, you know when the guy is panning through the 3d image of the planets terrain land in the headquarters, thats kinda what im picturing here
@MastaQ
Sorry. I'm just so used to reading trolls on Engadget I kinda overdid it. :(
I'm so ashamed.
Try to call infringement on that that Apple.
@yulebellow
What's funny is, unlike most of the Apple infringement comments, if this uses a similar algorithm to translate gestures, it could actually violate one of Apple's patents.
@yulebellow
Wow trolling other non Apple posts huh?
Anything to attack Apple right?
Seriously get over it.
1) Apple applied for a patent....NOT illegal
2) Apple's patent was approved...NOT illegal
3) Google, HTC violated said patent....ILLEGAL
4) Apple sued Google and HTC...NOT illegal.
Apple has EVERY right to take whatever legal action they want to take so long as they have concrete evidence and solid ground on which to build their case.
THE SAME THING applies to Google, HTC, and the other companies.
The funny thing is that when it's Nokia or Palm suing or threatening to sue Apple it's A OKAY. So long as Apple is getting the lawsuit treatment the Apple hater are fine and dandy.
HYPOCRITES.
@jon I might, but it was doing most gestures in the air. I don't think Apple patented air yet.
1) *It, not I
2) It was a joke, dude. Go sit on my couch, my chillastic couch, and chill out.
@TheRogueFFAngel
I was going to dismiss your comment until I saw who wrote it, so now I really have to say...
I'm the troll?
@yulebellow
I Wish that all Apple's lawyers die from hypersonic diarrhea, now.
@TheRogueFFAngel
"Seriously get over it."
Take your own advice
@N900
1) Air or surface has got nothing to do with it. It takes code to translate a gesture into a command, that code is what Apple has patents on, not capacitive screens or multi_touch.
2) I'm confused, I pointed out something funny, and you're telling me to chill out? Or were you talking to the mouthpiece below me?
@jon Oh, my fault. That post below my response to you was aimed at the guy in oblivion; and my grammar error.
@TheRogueFFAngel
I think a better question is: Why are you defending Apple? Or any company for that matter.
So this is what everybody though the iPad would be?
Go Microsoft! Make a better tablet.
@kjb434
HAHAHAHAHA.. .loser, we've seen MS's garbage for 10 years, Step aside luddites.
@Wesscoast
apple has been making garbage since 1976 until 2005, i dont know what your talking about...
And we call it.... the iTable! It fits right between the floor and your laptop. It's magical and we think it's going to change the world.
@rwalrond stated, "It's magical"... Hmmm?
I think we've all had enough of false claims of 'magical' devices this year.
MS appears to be far more realistic when it comes to using 'hyperbole' to describe their efforts.
@rwalrond I think instead of magical iTablet we call it iProjection
Leave it to Microsoft to completely ruin surface computing. I think there is tremendous potential for this medium. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a MS product that worked anywhere near its potential.
@(Unverified)
Uh, have you ever used a surface? Works pretty dam well.
@PBB I had a chance to use a Surface in the Samsung house up here during the Olympics, wasn't too impressed. Certainly cool but nothing great. I think like most newer products, its life is dependent on the success of the software that can run on it.
Leave it to Microsoft to completely ruin surface computing. I think there is tremendous potential for this medium. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a MS product that worked anywhere near its potential.
I think apple had a patent for this in 2005
Those viliv S5 owners are getting their money's worth!
Make it standard on high-end WP7S phones.
Also, release a Skype video tile where you can video call and see your friend in the tile.
The difference between Surface and some multi-touch display was that the Surface table has cameras that actually record and analyse images of the object placed on, or hovering over, the table. That's why it's so big and bulky and using projectors instead of just a big LCD.
Maybe it's a system that is solving more of a problem that it needs to, that could be largely dealt with by touchable screens that can provide a larger number of touch points back to the OS.
amazing idea I have been waiting for something like this since they first released the concept of what we all thought windowsmobile 7 was going to be
http://gizmodo.com/341287/windows-mobile-7-details-leaked-+-multi+touch-motion-gestures
I think the next step from a touchscreen ui is a gesture based ui... I mean think of all the things that would rid us of...
-much more screen real-estate for applications
- easier to use interfaces, based on physical actions we use in the real world.
and whole host of other useful applications and things developers will come up with in the future :-)
wow seriously the parts they are 'researching' putting together are ancient (a camera to track your hands, objects in your hand, and then, a surface of some kind to interact with). I'm pretty sure the SUM has been done... like years ago. At least, I've seen electronic music and art installations that do this type of thing...
@Nicnac
Microsoft has been pioneering in this for a long time. They haven't shared a lot, but I was a fan of this video from a stanford lecture that a microsoft guy put on in 2006. Its all the basis of this technology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRCeIBbdf9A
This looks way too elaborate and complicated to carry around. Like honestly, what's the point in making this system mobile? Surface is nice but for a portable solution I'd rather have a multitoich tablet. Sure it couldn't do as much but it could do most of the things Surface does now.
this is simply what pranav mistry had in mind. http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense.html
Great. Another Microsoft product that will fizzle and die just like the stationary Surface.
I graduated on a similar concept a year ago. I agree my concept is not as small as this one, but the screen is a lot bigger (60inch)
http://vimeo.com/5452585/