on “Surface Computing” - 123seminarsonly.com€¦ · CERTIFICATE This is to certify that...

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

JNANA SANGAMA, BELGAUM - 590 014 KARNATAKA

SEMINAR REPORT on

“Surface Computing”

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE.

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

IN ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION

Submitted by:

KARTHIK KUMAR.H. P (1CG05EC030)

Guide: Manjula. R Dept. of ECE CIT, Gubbi, Tumkur

HOD: Prof. V. C. Kumar, M.Tech Dept. of ECE CIT, Gubbi, Tumkur

Channabasaveshwara Institute of Technology (An ISO 9001:2000 Certified Institution)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

(Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum & Recognized by AICTE New Delhi)

N.H. 206 (B.H. Road), Gubbi, Tumkur – 572 216. Karnataka 2008 - 09

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that General (Technical) seminar on the topic “SURFACE

COMPUTING” has been successfully carried out by KARTHIK KUMAR. H. P

(1CG05EC030) student of VIII semester B.E in Electronics & Communication

Engineering under our supervision, guidance and submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements of the award of degree in Bachelor of Engineering by Visvesvaraya

Technological University, Belgaum during the academic year of 2008 – 09.

Guide: Manjula. R

Dept. of ECE CIT, Gubbi, Tumkur

HOD: Prof. V. C. Kumar, M.Tech Dept. of ECE CIT, Gubbi, Tumkur

Principal:

Dr. C. R. Pradeep, M.Sc, Ph.D

CIT, Gubbi, Tumkur

Examiners:

1. 2.

Channabasaveshwara Institute of Technology (An ISO 9001:2000 Certified Institution)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

(Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum & Recognized by AICTE New Delhi)

N.H. 206 (B.H. Road), Gubbi, Tumkur – 572 216. Karnataka 2008 - 09

Surface Computing

Dept. of ECE 2008-09

ABSTRACT

The name Surface comes from "surface computing," and Microsoft envisions the

coffee-table machine as the first of many such devices. Surface computing uses a blend of

wireless protocols, special machine-readable tags and shape recognition to seamlessly merge

the real and the virtual world — an idea the Milan team refers to as "blended reality." The

table can be built with a variety of wireless transceivers, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and

(eventually) radio frequency identification (RFID) and is designed to sync instantly with any

device that touches its surface.

It supports multiple touch points – Microsoft says "dozens and dozens" -- as well as

multiple users simultaneously, so more than one person could be using it at once, or one

person could be doing multiple tasks.

The term "surface" describes how it's used. There is no keyboard or mouse. All

interactions with the computer are done via touching the surface of the computer's screen

with hands or brushes, or via wireless interaction with devices such as smartphones, digital

cameras or Microsoft's Zune music player. Because of the cameras, the device can also

recognize physical objects; for instance credit cards or hotel "loyalty" cards.

For instance, a user could set a digital camera down on the tabletop and wirelessly

transfer pictures into folders on Surface's hard drive. Or setting a music player down would

let a user drag songs from his or her home music collection directly into the player, or

between two players, using a finger – or transfer mapping information for the location of a

restaurant where you just made reservations through a Surface tabletop over to a smartphone

just before you walk out the door.

Surface Computing


CONTENTS CHAPTERS PAGE. No.

1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………...………..01

2. WHAT IS SURFACE COMPUTING?.................................................................02

3. HISTORY OF SURFACE COMPUTING………...………………………….…03

3.1 Hardware Design…………………………………………………………….05

3.2 From Prototype to Product…………………………………………………..06

4. KEY ATTRIBUTES OF SURFACE COMPUTING……………………………07

5. TECHNOLOGY BEHIND SURFACE COMPUTING……………………..….08

6. MICROSOFT SURFACE OVERVIEW………………………………………..09

6.1 The Hardware………………………………………………………………...09

6.2 System Software………...………………………………..………………….12

7. FEATURES………………………………………………………………..…….13

8. PERCEPTIVE PIXEL…………………………………………………………..15

9. APPLICATIONS OF SURFACE COMPUTING………………………………17

9.1 Water…………………………………………………………………………17

9.2 Video Puzzle…………………………………………………………………18

9.3 Paint………………………………………………………………………….19

9.4 Music…………………………………………………………………………20

9.5 Photos………………………………………………………………………...21

9.6 Casino………………………………………………………………………..22

9.7 Dining………………………………………………………………………..22

10. SURFACE COMPUTING – IN FUTURE.……………………………………..23

11. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………..…..….24

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………….25

1 Surface Computing


1. Introduction:

Over the past couple of years, a new class of interactive device has begun to

emerge, what can best be described as “surface computing”. Two examples are illustrated

in this report. They are-

Surface Table top

Perceptive Pixel

The Surface table top typically incorporates a rear-projection display coupled

with an optical system to capture touch points by detecting shadows from below.

Different approaches to doing the detection have been used, but most employ some form

of IR illumination coupled with IR cameras. With today’s camera and signal-processing

capability, reliable responsive and accurate multi-touch capabilities can be achieved.

The multitouch pioneer and his company, Perceptive Pixel, have devoted the

better part of two years to building an entirely new multitouch framework from the

ground up. Instead of simply mapping multitouch technology to familiar interfaces and

devices, Han's goal is far more sweeping: To use the technology as a foundation for an

entirely new operating system.

Because they are new to most, the tendency in seeing these systems is to assume

that they are all more-or-less alike. Well, in a way that is true. But on the other hand, that

is perhaps no more so than to say that all ICs are more-or-less alike, since they are black

plastic things with feet like centipedes which contain a bunch of transistors and other

stuff. In short, the more that you know, the more you can differentiate. But even looking

at the two systems in the photo, there is evidence of really significant difference.

The really significant difference is that one is vertical and the other is horizontal.

Why is this significant? Well, this is one of those questions perhaps best answered by a

child in kindergarten. They will tell you that if you put a glass of water on the vertical

one, it will fall to the floor, leading to a bout of sitting in the corner. On the other hand, it

is perfectly safe to put things on a table. They will stay there.

2 Surface Computing


2. What is surface computing?

Surface computing is a new way of working with computers that moves beyond

the traditional mouse-and-keyboard experience. It is a natural user interface that allows

people to interact with digital content the same way they have interacted with everyday

items such as photos, paintbrushes and music their entire life: with their hands, with

gestures and by putting real-world objects on the surface. Surface computing opens up a

whole new category of products for users to interact with.

Surface computing is a completely intuitive and liberating way to interact with

digital content. It blurs the lines between the physical and virtual worlds. By using your

hands or placing other unique everyday objects on the surface – such as an item you’re

going to purchase at a retail store or a paint brush – you can interact with, share and

collaborate like you’ve never done before. Imagine you’re out at a restaurant with friends

and you each place your beverage on the table – and all kinds of information appears by

your glass, such as wine pairings with a restaurant’s menu. Then, with the flick of your

finger, you order dessert and split the bill. We really see this as broadening content

opportunities and delivery systems.

Surface computing is a powerful movement. In fact, it’s as significant as the move

from DOS [Disk Operating System] to GUI [Graphic User Interface]. Our research shows

that many people are intimidated and isolated by today’s technology. Many features

available in mobile phones, PCs and other electronic devices like digital cameras aren’t

even used because the technology is intimidating. Surface computing breaks down those

traditional barriers to technology so that people can interact with all kinds of digital

content in a more intuitive, engaging and efficient manner. It’s about technology adapting

to the user, rather than the user adapting to the technology. Bringing this kind of natural

user interface innovation to the computing space is what Surface Computing is all about.

3 Surface Computing


3. History of Surface Computing:

Surface computing is a major advancement that moves beyond the traditional user

interface to a more natural way of interacting with digital content. Microsoft Surface™,

Microsoft Corp.’s first commercially available surface computer, breaks down the

traditional barriers between people and technology to provide effortless interaction with

all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects instead of

a mouse and keyboard. The people will be able to interact with Surface in select

restaurants, hotels, retail establishments and public entertainment.

In 2001, Stevie Bathiche of Microsoft Hardware and Andy Wilson of Microsoft

Research began working together on various projects that took advantage of their

complementary expertise in the areas of hardware and software. In one of their regular

brainstorm sessions, they started talking about an idea for an interactive table that could

understand the manipulation of physical pieces. Although there were related efforts

happening in academia, Bathiche and Wilson saw the need for a product where the

interaction was richer and more intuitive, and at the same time practical for everyone to

use. This conversation was the beginning of an idea that would later result in the

development of Surface, and over the course of the following year, various people at

Microsoft involved in developing new product concepts, including the gaming-specific

PlayTable, continued to think through the possibilities and feasibility of the project. Then

4 Surface Computing


in October 2001 a virtual team was formed to fully pursue bringing the idea to the next

stage of development; Bathiche and Wilson were key members of the team.

In early 2003, the team presented the idea to Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman, in a

group review. Gates instantly liked the idea and encouraged the team to continue to

develop their thinking. The virtual team expanded, and within a month, through constant

discussion and brainstorming, the first humble prototype was born and nicknamed T1.

The model was based on an IKEA table with a hole cut in the top and a sheet of architect

vellum used as a diffuser. The evolution of Surface had begun. A variety of early

applications were also built, including pinball, a photo browser and a video puzzle. As

more applications were developed, the team saw the value of the surface computer

beyond simply gaming and began to favor those applications that took advantage of the

unique ability of Surface to recognize physical objects placed on the table. The team was

also beginning to realize that surface computing could be applied to a number of different

embodiments and form factors. Over the next year, the team grew significantly, including

the addition of Nigel Keam, initially software development lead and later architect for

Surface, who was part of the development team eventually tasked with taking the product

from prototype to a shipping product. Surface prototypes, functionality and applications

were continually refined. More than 85 early prototypes were built for use by software

developers, hardware developers and user researchers.

One of the key attributes of Surface is object recognition and the ability of objects

placed on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer

of digital content. This feature went through numerous rounds of testing and refining.

The team explored various tag formats of all shapes and sizes before landing on the

domino tag (used today) which is an 8-bit, three-quarter-inch-square tag that is optimal

thanks to its small size. At the same time, the original plan of using a single camera in the

vision system was proving to be unreliable. After exploring a variety of options,

including camera placement and different camera lens sizes, it was decided that Surface

would use five cameras that would more accurately detect natural movements and

gestures from the surface.

5 Surface Computing


3.1 Hardware Design:

The “Tub” model

By late 2004, the software development platform of Surface was well-established

and attention turned to the form factor. A number of different experimental prototypes

were built including “the tub” model, which was encased in a rounded plastic shell, a

desk-height model with a square top and cloth-covered sides, and even a bar-height

model that could be used while standing. After extensive testing and user research, the

final hardware design (seen today) was finalized in 2005. Also in 2005, Wilson and

Bathiche introduced the concept of surface computing in a paper for Gates’ twice-yearly

“Think Week,” a time Gates takes to evaluate new ideas and technologies for the

company.

6 Surface Computing


3.2 From Prototype to Product:

“T1 Prototype”

The next phase of the development of Surface focused on continuing the journey

from concept to product. Although much of what would later ship as Surface was

determined, there was significant work to be done to develop a market-ready product that

could be scaled to mass production.

In early 2006, Pete Thompson joined the group as general manager, tasked with

driving end-to-end business and growing development and marketing. Under his

leadership, the group has grown to more than 100 employees. Today Surface has become

the market-ready product once only envisioned by the group, a 30-inch display in a table-

like form factor that’s easy for individuals or small groups to use collaboratively. The

sleek, translucent surface lets people engage with Surface using touch, natural hand

gestures and physical objects placed on the surface. Years in the making, Microsoft

Surface is now poised to transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live. This is a

radically different user-interface experience than anything and it’s really a testament to

the innovation that comes from marrying brilliance and creativity.

7 Surface Computing


4. Key attributes of Surface Computing:

Surface computing features four key attributes:

• Direct interaction. Users can actually “grab” digital information with their

hands and interact with content through 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.

8 Surface Computing


5. Technology behind Surface Computing:

Microsoft Surface uses cameras to sense objects, hand gestures and touch. This

user input is then processed and displayed using rear projection. Specifically:

Microsoft Surface uses a rear projection system which displays an image onto the

underside of a thin diffuser.

Objects such as fingers are visible through the diffuser by series of infrared–sensitive

cameras, positioned underneath the display.

An image processing system processes the camera images to detect fingers, custom

tags and other objects such as paint brushes when touching the display.

The objects recognized with this system are reported to applications running in the

computer so that they can react to object shapes, 2D tags, movement and touch.

One of the key components of surface computing is a "multitouch" screen. It is an

idea that has been floating around the research community since the 1980s and is swiftly

becoming a hip new product interface — Apple's new iPhone has multitouch scrolling

and picture manipulation. Multitouch devices accept input from multiple fingers and

multiple users simultaneously, allowing for complex gestures, including grabbing,

stretching, swiveling and sliding virtual objects across the table. And the Surface has the

added advantage of a horizontal screen, so several people can gather around and use it

together. Its interface is the exact opposite of the personal computer: cooperative, hands-

on, and designed for public spaces.

9 Surface Computing


6. Microsoft Surface Overview:

Microsoft Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive computing

experience. The product provides effortless interaction with digital content through

natural gestures, touch and physical objects. In Essence, it’s a surface that comes to life

for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more. Currently available in

select in restaurants, hotels, retail establishments and public entertainment venues, this

experience will transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live.

Surface is a 30‐inch display in a table‐like form factor that’s easy for individuals

or small groups to interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world.

Surface can simultaneously recognize dozens and dozens of movements such as touch,

gestures and actual unique objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes.

Surface computing breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology,

changing the way people interact with all kinds of everyday content, from photos to maps

to menus. The intuitive user interface works without a traditional mouse or keyboard,

allowing people to interact with content and information by using their hands and natural

movements. Users are able to access information either on their own or collaboratively

with their friends and families, unlike any experience available today.

6.1 The Hardware:

Essentially, Microsoft Surface is a computer embedded in a medium-sized table,

with a large, flat display on top that is touch-sensitive. The software reacts to the touch of

any object, including human fingers, and can track the presence and movement of many

different objects at the same time. In addition to sensing touch, the Microsoft Surface unit

can detect objects that are labeled with small "domino" stickers, and in the future, it will

identify devices via radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags.

The demonstration unit I used was housed in an attractive glass table about three

feet high, with a solid base that hides a fairly standard computer equipped with an Intel

Core 2 Duo processor, an AMI BIOS, 2 GB of RAM, and Windows Vista. The team lead

10 Surface Computing


would not divulge which graphics card was inside, but they said that it was a moderately-

powerful graphics card from either AMD/ATI or NVIDIA.

(1) Screen: A diffuser turns the Surface's acrylic tabletop into a large horizontal

"multitouch" screen, capable of processing multiple inputs from multiple users. The

Surface can also recognize objects by their shapes or by reading coded "domino" tags.

(2) Infrared: Surface's "machine vision" operates in the near-infrared spectrum, using an

850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the screen. When objects touch

the tabletop, the light reflects back and is picked up by multiple infrared cameras with

a net resolution of 1280 x 960.

(3) CPU: Surface uses many of the same components found in everyday desktop

computers — a Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and a 256MB graphics card.

Wireless communication with devices on the surface is handled using WiFi and

Bluetooth antennas (future versions may incorporate RFID or Near Field

Communications). The underlying operating system is a modified version of Microsoft

Vista.

(4) Projector: Microsoft's Surface uses the same DLP light engine found in many rear-

projection HDTVs. The footprint of the visible light screen, at 1024 x 768 pixels, is

actually smaller than the invisible overlapping infrared projection to allow for better

recognition at the edges of the screen.



The display screen is a 4:3 rear-projected DLP display measuring 30 inches

diagonally. The screen resolution is a relatively modest 1024x768, but the touch detection

system had an effective resolution of 1280x960. Unlike the screen resolution, which for

the time being is constant, the touch resolution varies according to the size of the screen

used—it is designed to work at a resolution of 48 dots per inch. The top layer also works

as a diffuser, making the display clearly visible at any angle.

Unlike most touch screens, Surface does not use heat or pressure sensors to

indicate when someone has touched the screen. Instead, five tiny cameras take snapshots

of the surface many times a second, similar to how an optical mouse works, but on a larger

scale. This allows Surface to capture many simultaneous touches and makes it easier to

track movement, although the disadvantage is that the system cannot (at the moment)

sense pressure.

Five cameras mounted beneath the table read objects and touches on the acrylic

surface above, which is flooded with near-infrared light to make such touches easier to

pick out. The cameras can read a nearly infinite number of simultaneous touches and are

limited only by processing power. Right now, Surface is optimized for 52 touches, or

enough for four people to use all 10 fingers at once and still have 12 objects sitting on the

table.

The unit is rugged and designed to take all kinds of abuse. Senior director of

marketing Mark Bolger demonstrated this quite dramatically by slamming his hand onto

the top of the screen as hard as he could—it made a loud thump, but the unit itself didn't

move. The screen is also water resistant. At an earlier demonstration, a skeptical reporter

tested this by pouring his drink all over the device. Microsoft has designed the unit to put

up with this kind of punishment because it envisions Surface being used in environments

such as restaurants where hard impacts and spills are always on the menu.

The choice of 4:3 screen was, according to Nigel Keam, mostly a function of the

availability of light engines (projectors) when the project began. Testing and user



feedback have shown that the 4:3 ratio works well, and the addition of a slight amount of

extra acrylic on each side leaves the table looking like it has normal dimensions.

Built-in wireless and Bluetooth round out the hardware capabilities of Surface. A

Bluetooth keyboard with a built-in trackpad is available to diagnose problems with the

unit, although for regular use it is not required.

6.2 System software:

Microsoft Surface works much like another Microsoft product, Media Center, in

that the main application runs on top of Windows and takes over the whole screen. Like

Media Center, it is designed to be difficult to exit the application without using a mouse

or keyboard. I asked if the Surface team considered allowing the user to drop into

Windows mode while retaining the touch functionality, but they felt that the product

worked better if it stayed in this mode.

The various demonstration programs are accessed from a main menu, which

scrolls left and right in an endless loop. The user moves the selection by swiping back

and forth and selects an application with a single tap. This works reasonably well and

feels quite natural. When an application is selected, a swirly purple ring appears in the

center of the screen to indicate that the program is loading.

There were eight different programs available: Water, Video Puzzle, Paint, Music,

Photos, Casino, a T-Mobile demonstration app, and Dining. Much of the software was

written using Microsoft's WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), though the XNA

development toolkit, a framework originally created for writing PC and Xbox 360 games,

is also supported. XNA allows programmers to use managed code written in C# to

manipulate various DirectX features; managed code frees the programmer from worrying

about handling memory, allocating and discarding memory automatically. This approach

has allowed Microsoft and its partners to write impressive-looking demonstration

programs for Surface more quickly than would otherwise be possible.



7. Features:

Multi-touch display. The Microsoft Surface display is capable of multi-touch

interaction, recognizing dozens and dozens of touches simultaneously, including

fingers, hands, gestures and objects.

Perceptive Pixel’s touch screens work via frustrated total internal reflection

Technology. The acrylic surface has infrared LEDs on the edges. When undisturbed, the

light passes along predictable paths, a process known as total internal reflection. When

one or more fingers touch the surface, the light diffuses at the contact points, changing

the internal-reflection pathways. A camera below the surface captures the diffusion and

sends the information to image-processing software, which translates it into a command.

Multitouch technology has been around since early research at the University of

Toronto in 1982. With multitouch devices, one or more users activate advanced functions

by touching a screen in more than one place at the same time. For example, a person

could expand or shrink images by pinching the edges of the display window with the

thumb and forefinger of one hand, explained Microsoft principal researcher Bill Buxton.

Users could also, while in contact with a point on a map, touch other controls to make the

system display information, such as nearby restaurants, about the area surrounding the



indicated location. This is accomplished much as it has been in PCs for years. For

example, desktop users can press the Alt and Tab keys at the same time to toggle between

open windows. The OS translates the simultaneous keystrokes into a single command.

Industry observers say tabletop computers are likely to become a popular multitouch-

screen implementation. Because multiple users at different positions will work with

tabletop systems, the computers must be able to display material in different parts of the

screen and move controls around to keep them from blocking reoriented content. The

systems can determine users’ locations based on the positions from which they input

commands or data. The computers then orient their displays toward the tabletop edge

nearest to the user. Vendors are beginning to release commercial multitouch systems. For

example, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories’ Diamond Touch table, which

includes a developer’s kit, can be used for small-group collaboration.

Horizontal orientation. The 30-inch display in a table-sized form factor allows

users to share, explore and create experiences together, enabling a truly

collaborative computing experience.

Dimensions. Microsoft Surface is 22 inches high, 21 inches deep and 42 inches

wide.

Materials. The Microsoft Surface tabletop is acrylic, and its interior frame is

powder-coated steel.



8. Perceptive Pixel:

Jeff Han demos one of Perceptive Pixel’s multitouch devices by calling up various Minority Report photos

from the Web on his virtual keyboard. With a flick of his finger, he severs Tom Cruise's head from his body

and sets it frenetically bobbing across the screen.

Computer scientists see technologies such as surface computing and multitouch as

the key to a new era of ubiquitous computing, where processing power is embedded in

almost every object and everything is interactive. Last year, New York University

professor Jeff Han launched a company called Perceptive Pixel, which builds six-figure-

plus custom multitouch drafting tables and enormous interactive wall displays for large

corporations and military situation rooms. "I firmly believe that in the near future, we

will have wallpaper displays in every hallway, in every desk. Every surface will be a

point of interaction with a computer," Han says, "and for that to happen, we really need

interfaces like this."

The display’s surface is a six-millimeter-thick piece of clear acrylic, with infrared

LEDs on the edges. Left undisturbed, the light passes along predictable paths within the

acrylic, a process known as total internal reflection. When objects such as fingers touch

the surface, the light diffuses at the contact point, causing the acrylic’s internal-reflection



pathways to change. A camera below the surface captures the diffusion and sends the

information to image-processing software, which can read multiple touches

simultaneously and translate them into a command. The system sends information about

screen touches to applications via the lightweight Open Sound Control protocol, utilized

for network-based communication between computers and multimedia devices, and User

Datagram Protocol data transport technology. The applications then take the appropriate

actions. Perceptive Pixel, which has built a prototype that measures 36 _ 27 inches, is still

working on applications for its displays, Han noted. They could be used for collaborative

work on design-related and other projects, perhaps in place of interactive whiteboards, he

said.

Short-term success for a technology can be measured by how much attention a

product gathers when it is new. Long-term success is measured by how effectively that

product disappears into the everyday routine of life. Surface computing has enormous

potential to do both — it is a splashy new computer interface, surrounded by hype, but it

is also, quite literally, furniture. It is a technology in its infancy, where even the engineers

behind it can't predict its full impact; but the possibilities are everywhere, underhand and

underfoot — on every surface imaginable.



9. Applications of Surface Computing:

9.1 Water

Water is used as an "attract mode" for the Surface desktop, and it is certainly

attractive. The default background picture is an image of smooth pebbles that appear

to sit beneath a thin layer of rippling water. By itself, the water moves as if it were being

disturbed by a light breeze, but it is when you touch the screen that it becomes more

interesting than just another screensaver.

Tapping anywhere on the surface causes larger ripples to spread out from the

point of contact. Many people can tap at the same time, making an effect similar to a

rainstorm. But by far the most fun is when you sweep your whole hand across and cause

waves to bounce back and forth. The physics of the water simulation is not perfect: the

ripples never get above a certain intensity, and there is no way to simulate diffraction.

However, the overall effect is strangely compelling and is certainly a good way to

introduce people to Surface.



One interesting feature of Water is that if you take any object (the team used a

regular stove dial) and stick an identification sticker on the bottom, the program will

switch background pictures whenever you turn the dial.

9.2 Video Puzzle

Video Puzzle showcases the power of the little identification tags mentioned above.

The tags consist of a pattern of variously-sized dots; Keam mentioned that the dots

currently represent an 8-bit code (256 permutations) but that 128-bit tags were in the

works. The neat thing about the tags is that they can be very nearly transparent and the

system will still pick them up. Not only can the tags transmit numerical information, but

the geometrical arrangement of the dots means that Surface can also tell, to a high degree

of accuracy, how much the tag (and therefore the object) has rotated.

In Video Puzzle, these virtually invisible tags are placed upon small squares of

glass. When the pieces of glass are put on the table, the screen starts playing video clips

underneath each one. Because the video moves whenever you move the squares, it

creates the illusion that the glass itself is displaying the video, which looks very futuristic.

As you move the squares around, you quickly realize that the video clips are all pieces of

a larger video. Flipping the glass squares over inverts the video playing underneath,

making completing the puzzle even more of a challenge.

When you complete the puzzle correctly, the system senses the achievement,

congratulates you, and shows you the time taken to finish. According to Mark Bolger, the

current record for finishing when the pieces are fully randomized is 1 minute and 53

seconds. On my first attempt, I finished in just over 2 minutes, but the squares were all

right side up to begin with (Microsoft is nice to journalists, it seems).



9.3 Paint

Paint programs have been a natural demonstration application for new platforms

ever since MacPaint graced the first Macintosh back in 1984. Surface’s paint program is

even lighter on features than MacPaint was, but the natural user interface makes up for

this deficiency.

There are three draw modes that can be toggled by touching an icon on the bottom

of the toolbar: brush, paint, and reveal, the last of which is kind of a negative brush that

shows a background bitmap underneath. The brush mode is a bit spotty and tends to skip,

but the paint mode is smooth and fun. You can draw using one finger, all your fingers at

once (good for drawing hair), the palm of your hand, or using any natural object such as a

regular paintbrush. Using the program is like having a flashback to finger painting back

in kindergarten (minus the mess), and certainly children will have tons of fun with this

kind of application.

That said, having this great touch interface absolutely cries out for a more full-

featured program, something that can mix colors (like Microsoft's own paint program that

comes with the Tablet PC version of Windows) and play around with textures and natural

materials. I immediately thought of Fractal Design Painter and how much fun it would be

with this interface. Of course, real digital artists have been using advanced pressure-



sensitive graphics tablets for years, and Surface is not aimed at replacing this kind of

workflow. Still, a more full-featured Paint program would be nice to have, and Keam

mentioned that the team is still deciding whether or not to add features to Paint or

instead take an existing paint program and rework it for Surface.

9.4 Music

The Music application works like a virtual jukebox, displaying music arranged by

album and allowing the user to flip over albums, select songs, and drag them to the "Now

Playing" section. The album browser works a bit like Apple’s Cover Flow, although

many albums are visible at once without scrolling.

In addition to playing music that is already stored on the unit's hard drive, Music

can also transfer songs from portable music players. Mark Bolger demonstrated this by

placing two Zunes on top of the Surface and using the wireless connection to drag and

drop songs between the units, the song list, and the Now Playing section. I mentioned to

the team that this was the first time I had ever seen even one Zune "in the wild," and they

joked that Microsoft headquarters didn’t really count as being in the wild. Bolger noted

that sharing songs in this manner would be "subject to DRM restrictions, of course."



9.5 Photos

Sharing photos is a much more unrestricted activity, thanks to the fact that the

consumer is also the creator of the content, and the photo album application reflected this

freedom. By simply placing a Bluetooth-equipped digital camera on the tabletop, Surface

was able to import the photos and place them in a pile on the screen, which Bolger

verified by taking a picture of Cindy, my Microsoft PR contact who was sitting in the

next chair. Most of the other photos were pictures of Microsoft employees' children;

Bolger joked that only the cutest kids were allowed to be put in the demonstration.

Photos are arranged into albums that look like piles. Tapping the pile once spreads

it around the screen and from there you can drag, rotate, and resize the images to your

heart’s content. Since Surface can detect many touches at the same time, multiple people

can sort and resize pictures, which could potentially turn a tedious job into a fun family

affair. The program can also apparently sort photos into stacks by using metadata tags,

although I did not see this feature demonstrated.

Not only pictures but full-motion videos can be viewed in this way; tapping the

video once starts the playback, and it can be smoothly resized and rotated while it plays.



9.6 Casino

The Casino application was developed in cooperation with Harrah's of Las Vegas

and is a good example of how Surface can be used in a hospitality environment. The

background image is a giant map of the hotel and casino, with all the attractions marked

for further inspection. Hotel customers can place their card anywhere on the screen and

reserve tickets to any of these shows. The background map can be easily scrolled with a

brush of the hand, and zoomed in and out by performing the two-finger pinch.

9.7 Dining

The application allows diners to preview the entire menu by choosing a category

(drinks, appetizers, main courses, and so forth) and then scrolling left and right through

the available options. Items can be dragged into a central "ordering area" and when

everyone is satisfied with their choices, a single tap on the Order button sends the list out

to the waiter. This could potentially save service people huge chunks of time and would

be very useful for busy restaurants. The software can display the daily specials, and for

regular customers with their own identification cards, it could display a list of "favorites"

to make ordering even easier. Combine this with entertainment activities for the kids

(perhaps Paint?) and you can see how many restaurants could view this as a compelling

application.



10. Surface Computing - In Future:

Although surface computing is a new experience for consumers, over time

Microsoft believes there will be a whole range of surface computing devices and the

technology will become pervasive in people’s lives in a variety of environments.

As form factors continue to evolve, surface computing will be in any number of

environments— schools, businesses, homes — and in any number of form factors — part

of the countertop, the wall or the refrigerator.



11. Conclusions:

Some people will look at Surface and claim that it does nothing that hasn't been

tried before: computers with touch screens have been around for years and have already

found niches in ATMs, ticket ordering machines, and restaurant point-of-sale devices.

This view largely misses the point of the product. Like most projects, Surface

takes existing technology and presents it in a new way. It isn't simply a touch screen, but

more of a touch-grab-move-slide-resize-and-place-objects-on-top-of-screen, and this

opens up new possibilities that weren't there before.

Playing with the unit felt a bit like being in the movie Minority Report (in a good

way), but it also felt like a more natural and enjoyable method of doing certain computing

tasks. Sharing and looking at family photos, for example, is more fun on Surface than on

any other device. The retail applications, particularly the dining application, show how

businesses could use the technology to really stand out from competitors, though one

wonders how diners will react when their table locks up and needs a reboot.

Many people who viewed the early Xerox PARC demonstrations of the GUI came

out of that experience knowing that every computer would work that way someday, and

they were right. Playing with Surface, one gets the sense that although not every

computer will work like this someday, many of them will. More importantly, computers

running Surface-like software will end up in places that never had computers before, and

the potential applications are exciting. Imagine a multiplayer real-time strategy game

where you and another human opponent can move units around as quickly as you can

point to them. Or perhaps an educational environment, where university students could

assemble and disassemble anything from molecules to skyscrapers quickly and easily.



12. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Apple iPhone Multi-touch. http://www.apple.com/iphone/

2. www.scribd.com

3. www.whereisdoc.com

4. www.docjax.com

5. Microsoft Surface, http://www.surface.com

6. Perceptive Pixel, http://www.perceptivepixel.com

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