Have you seen Microsoft Surface (http://www.surface.com)? It’s really cool, but probably not for the reasons you might think.
The basis of Microsoft’s new Surface technology seems to be multitouch. But that’s nothing new. Not at all. Heck, the Apple iPhone is supposed to have multitouch and that’s due out any day now. As well, some other peeps (http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/) have been working on this technology for some time too.
So what is it?
Well, Microsoft, in a bold move outside of their usual realm (this is hardware and Microsoft is a software company), has seemingly developed a table-top interactive display. There’s nothing really new here… touch screen, projected from behind, yadda yadda. The “multi” in multitouch means that instead of the computer registering one single point of contact (such as a mouse click), it registers more than one. In the demos, I’ve seen as many as 8-10 different points being tracked simultaneously.
This allows for a somewhat natural interaction with items on the screen/desktop (and desktop here takes on a very literal meaning). For instance, you can move pictures around by dragging them with a single finger, just like it were an actual photo lying on the table. But if you want to rotate the picture or zoom into it, you can use two fingers at the same time and just drag the corners of the photo where you want then. Separate your fingers and the picture gets larger. Bring them closer together and… well, you get the gist.
But that’s not the coolest part of Surface. The interactivity system (IS?) also recognizes objects placed on the desktop. For instance, place a digital camera on the table and the pictures stored on it seem to spill out onto the desktop to be manipulated. As well, one of the demo videos showed two people both placing their Zunes on the table and then dragging songs to and from each of them. Very slick!
Ostensibly, the recognition has to do with something that’s in the object itself. For instance, Zunes have built-in wi-fi, so that’s probably how the interaction is happening. There was also a demonstration where a virtual check arrove at a restaurant table and multiple parties placed their credit cards on the table. Then they were able to drag the individual items in the check to their respective credit cards to split up the bill. Very cool. I assume these are “smart” cards, which allows Surface to determine the account number, etc.
But there was another demo of a drink being placed on the table and then Surface played funny games, like placing a ring around the base of the glass with words like “getting thirsty?” and little bubbles coming out that the people were able to pop or push around. Very cool. But I am dubious. At tens of thousands of dollars for each Surface table top, and with glasses that probably have some sort of chip or tag embedded in them so that they can be identified, how much would that bar have to charge for a drink? “Scotch and water? That will be $9,000, sir. Just place your watch, your left arm, and your first-born child on the Surface so that we can take them in payment.” Perhaps Surface will automatically connect to a lending entity: “Congratulations, sir or madam, your application for a loan for your Bud Light has been approved. Don’t drink it all in one place. Drink responsibly and have a nice day.”
In any case, I really like the idea that items can be interacted with in such a manner. That, to me, is far cooler than the touch screen or the coffee table-type interface. Heck, I wouldn’t mind just having a pad that could sit next to my mousepad that I can just place my camera, phone, iPod, or Archos on that would place an icon on my desktop that I could then interact with the same as in the Surface demos. That would be worth its weight in gold… no more cables! That’s a future I can be happy about.
What do you think about this new technology? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.
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What do you mean $9000 for a drink? Once you have a surface computer (yes that might cost that much), you would only need a small chip on the underside of the glass that would be recognized by the cameras in the computer, and do all those fancy displays. You could even reuse the glass. I’m not sure you really understand what your writing.
Posted June 4th, 2007 at 6:33 pm Michael Swanberg Says:
Okay, step 1, look up the word “hyperbole” in the dictionary. Then look up the word “humor,” since you obviously have no sense of it.
Step 2, do the math. The Surface system is reported to cost anywhere from $10,000-20,000 PER UNIT. The average cocktail lounge has anywhere from 10-30 tables. That’s anywhere from $100,000 to $600,000 added cost of the lounge just for the tables. Nevermind that there will need to be a LAN backbone to tie it all together, as well as the software to run it all. Such software systems can cost tens of thousands of dollars for normal POS systems… just imagine how much it would be for a sophisticated system like this.
Now, add in that each glass will need some sort of chip or RFID tag in it, raising the cost of each glass around tenfold. Glasses get broken all the time in restaurants and lounges, so it’s not a one-time expense.
In the end, the only way to sufficiently recoup those expenses in any reasonable amount of time would be to charge outrageous prices. Either that, or get a bookkeeper that has plenty of red pens.
Ever been to one of those restaurants that revolves around the top of a tall building? Ever wonder why they charge so much for their food? Hint: it ain’t the high quality of the food. It’s the expenses of doing business, which get passed on to the customers.
Crack a business book once in your life and then think about your comments before making an obvious idiot out of yourself.
-Mike
Posted June 4th, 2007 at 7:01 pm Baron Says:
Another point being missed altogether…is that the technology combines a projection display coupled with IR camera’s to track the “touching” heh.
So, what if you had a barcode or some sort of icon laser etched into the bottom of a glass, and when you placed it on the touchtop, the camera’s recognize that symbol. There has to be a training function for you to assign stuff like that, the system is purportedly too intuitive for there not to be.
Also…the initial applications for this system is t-mobile kiosks, so someone who wants info on a phone model just places it on the surface and the corresponding info is automatically pulled. this can be done using bluetooth.
Applications of technology like this probably wont make it to the bar scene for years, if not a decade or more.
but say a store like best buy or a similar competitor, has a surface unit or two, you pick up a cordeless mouse, digital camera, dvd, whatever, the cameras scan the barcode or model number (mice have both on the bottom) and pulls up all corresponding information in addition to pricing, user reviews, bla bla bla.
Posted June 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
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