Channel10, CNet, MSNBC, and a growing collection of others are talking about the just announced Surface Computing effort at Microsoft--previously called the PlayTable.
The idea is simple: Project onto a surface and enable the user to interact with the projected display by sensing fingers and other objects using a series of cameras (both located behind the user surface). The sensing technology enables some interesting scenarios, such as multi-touch detection and tracking, "scanning" of photos or any document, and even 3D objects.
Microsoft is unique in that it is trying to merge these technologies into a cohesive offering.
I hope, however, that there's also some active thinking about the core technologies involved here--and I don't mean simply in terms of the hardware. I'm talking software.
There's lots of overlap here with Tablet technologies, for instance. Multi-touch is just one. Then there's the overlap with projector-based whiteboard systems--the commercial ones I'm aware of use forward projectors--but many of the ideas are the same.
In fact, it seems that there's an SDK here begging to be released, but so far I haven't heard anything. Maybe tomorrow we'll hear more.
Regardless of the hardware that implements the multi-touch, for instance, isn't there a common set of gestures, recognizers, interaction models, document manipulation, and so on that would give Vista one more "Wow?" Seems like it to me.




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