Over the years we've seen plenty of surface and gestural interface computing
systems and prototypes, but nothing mass-market -- nothing consumable. Now
Microsoft aims to change all that with Surface (homepage),
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.
Surface computing has four key attributes: - Direct interaction. Users can actually "grab" digital information with
their hands and interact with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a
mouse or keyboard.
- Multi-touch contact. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact
simultaneously, not just from one finger, as with a typical touch screen, but up
to dozens and dozens of items at once.
- Multi-user experience. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several
people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative,
face-to-face computing experience.
- Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger
different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.
I like it, it looks really cool, and if these things were $2k a pop, I'd happily replace my current coffee table with one of these!