Scaling API-first – The story of a global engineering organization
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1. 1
A seminar report on
SURFACE COMPUTERS
BY
K.NUSHITHA
14A81A0585
(Under the guidance of MR.J.VIJITHANAND, M.TECH)
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
SRI VASAVI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Pedatadepalli, Tadepalligudem-534101,
W.G.Dist, AndhraPradesh,
2016 - 17
2. 2
INDEX
S.NO CONTENT NAME PAGE NO
ABSTRACT
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2
WHAT IS SURFACE COMPUTING 2
2.1 Multi-touch user interaction 4
2.2 Tangible user interface 4
2.3 Multi-user Interface 4
2.4 Object Recognition- 4
2.5 Technology behind it 5
3
THE HARDWARE 7
3.1 Screen 8
3.2 Infrared 8
3.3 System unit 8
3.4 Projector 8
4.
WORKING 10
4.1 Multi touch 10
4.2 Perceptive Pixel 12
4.3 Minor Reports of Surface Computers 13
5
APPLICATIONS 15
5.1 Water 15
5.2 Multi-Touch Display 15
5.3 Video Puzzle 16
4. 4
LIST OF FIGURE
FIG NO FIGURE NAME PAGE NO
Fig 2 Surface Cmputing in 2003 3
Fig 2.5 Microsoft surface Today 6
Fig 3 Microsoft Surface Hardware 7
Fig 4.1 Multi touch 10
Fig 4.2 Demo of Perceptive Pixels Multi Touch 13
Fig 4.3 Apple ROSIE Surface Computer 14
Fig 5.2 Multi Touch 15
Fig 5.3 Video Puzzle 17
Fig 5.5 Photos 18
Fig 5.6 Dining 19
5. 5
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 Division of
Computer Science, SOE 5 Surface Computing 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.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Surface computing is the term for the use of a specialized computer GUI in which
traditional GUI elements are replaced by intuitive, everyday objects. Instead of a keyboard
and mouse, the user interacts directly with a touch-sensitive screen. It has been said that this
more closely replicates the familiar hands-on experience of everyday object manipulation
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 signalprocessing 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 really significant difference.
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2. WHAT IS SURFACE COMPUTING
For years engineers and computer technicians have looked for a better way for people
to communicate with their computers. Keyboards while feeling natural to many of us has
advanced very little beyond the typewriters which have been around for well over a hundred
years and though the mouse is a step above that it still takes practice for someone who has
never used one to become used to the idea of moving the mouse with it and after years of
using a computer many older people still have trouble with the concepts of double clicking,
right clicking, dragging, dropping and other techniques that can seem simple to more
advanced computer users. The most recent solution, and one that seems likely to stick is that
of surface computing. Surface computing at its most basic is an attempt to make the use of a
computer better match the way we interact with other things in our environments as well as
better interacting with those things and allowing for far less time thinking about how we
interact with our computers so more energy can be put into how we use them. The most
common and popular type of surface computing is that of touch screen monitors of the type
that can be found on many modern phones. These are also common in many businesses
where untrained workers are expected to use a computer. Until recently though these touch
screen monitors were really little more than a replacement of the mouse. You could still only
point at one thing at a time, and it wasn't even as good as a mouse because you can't right
click or highlight things without using a keyboard.
More recently though both Microsoft and Apple have come up with new ways to use
surface computing.Microsoft's plan is a device called Microsoft Surface which takes the form
of a large table and would be used in places such as hotels and casinos or board rooms. The
key difference between this and other similar devices is the multi touch system. This allows
users to use both hands to manipulate things such as photos, as well as the use of hand
gestures and even physical gestures. Other features Division of Computer Science, SOE 12
Surface Computing on the Microsoft surface allows for wireless communicates between
devices so things like phones, cameras and laptops can sync with the table and move data
between them effortlessly. 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.
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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. 2.1 How It All Started 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 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.
Fig 2 Surface Cmputing in 2003
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Features:
The Core features of Surface Computer consists of :
2.1 Multi-touch user interaction
The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface
computers together, providing a collaborative, face‐to‐face computing
2.2 Tangible user interface-
Surface aims to provide physical form of digital information.
i) One can draw on surface with any physical paint brush.
ii) placed on the Surface, squares of glass can play videos (puzzle).
Hand gestures are The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to
gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face‐to‐face computing
preferred to physical instruments.
2.3 Multi-user Interface
Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital
responses. They are identified by their shapes or embedded ID tags. Surface acts as a
mediator between devices (e.g. data exchange between digital camera and Mobile phone).
2.4 Object Recognition
Surface also features the ability to recognize physical objects that have identification
tags similar to bar codes. This means that when a customer simply sets a wine glass on the
surface of a table, a restaurant could provide them with information about the wine they’re
ordering, pictures of the vineyard it came from and suggested food pairings tailored to that
evening’s menu.
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2.5 Technology behind it
The main idea behind the surface technology is to let people interact with their digital
content in a much more new and innovative way which are quite different from the traditional
ways. The concept is to give digital content a new dimension where it is not restricted to your
mobile phones or television sets rather has the ability to interact with you physically.
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 theSurface has
the added advantage of a horizontal screen, so several people can gathe around and
use it together. Its interface is the exact opposite of the personal computer:
cooperative, hands-on, and designed for public
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3. 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 labelled 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 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.
Fig 3 Microsoft Surface Hardware
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3.1 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.
3.2 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.
3.3 System unit
A typical desktop computer consists of a computer system unit, a keyboard, a mouse,
and a monitor. The computer system unit is the enclosure for all the other main interior
components of a computer. It is also called the computer case, computer chassis, or computer
tower. Cases are typically made of steel or aluminum, but plastic can also be used. While
most computer cases are rather dull, black, metal boxes, some manufacturers try to give the
unit some flair with color and special design elements.
3.4 Projector
Microsoft's Surface uses the same DLP light engine found in many rearprojection
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 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
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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 track pad is available
to diagnose problems with the unit, although for regular use it is not required.
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4. WORKING
4.1 Multi touch
Surface features a touch interface, but it doesn't use a touch screen. Instead, five
separate cameras are used to record motion on the table's surface. Five cameras were needed
because of field angle issues. In order to get the table as low as it is, five cameras are used so
that each one can have a small field of view. That translates into better resolution and speed
(measured in pixels/second) than a single camera with an exceptionally wide-angle view of
the table surface. The five cameras are near infrared devices, but that's not because they are
trying to read heat signatures from fingertips (or other body parts) on the table. Instead, it's
because the entire surface of Surface is bathed in light; by illuminating the top of the table,
the cameras can easily see when things are placed on it.
Shining colored light across the surface of the table would spoil the effect that
Microsoft wants, so near-infrared light is used for invisible illumination. Those cameras,
which are located below the acrylic surface of the table, can read a nearly infinite number of
simultaneous touches, and are limited only by processing power. Keam says that Surface has
been optimized for 52 touches enough for four people to use all 10 fingers at once and still
have 12 objects sitting on the table. In addition to recognizing fingers, Surface can recognize
inanimate objects. Microsoft has developed a 3/4" square tag called a "domino" that can be
attached to objects so that Surface can interact with them on the fly. Instead of relying on
RFID, the domino tag uses dots to encode its information. There is a single dot in the center
of the tag, three $dots on one side for orientation, and space for eight more dots that are read
Fig 4.1 Multi touch
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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 multitouchscreen 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.
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4.2 Perceptive Pixel
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-figureplus 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
infraredLEDs on the edges. Left undisturbed, the light passes along predictable paths within
the acrylic, a process diffuses at the contact point, causing the acrylic’s internalreflection
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 understand.
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Fig 4.2 Demo of Perceptive Pixels Multi Touch
4.3 Minor Reports of Surface Computers
The Rosie Surface Computer is an Apple based surface computer. It was created by
Savant home A/V computer and uses a 40 inch coffee table running apple technology to
create integration between computing and everyday tasks. The Savant surface is an
evolutionary technology that can download and share photos from digital cameras, and also
play music, movies, TV shows right onto its surface and accomplish complete home control
all from within one elegant interface. Savant plans to offer the ROSIE Surface in a number of
different furniture styles ranging from contemporary to traditional.The hardware specs havent
been released yet. However some features that have been verified are: § Interaction with
iTunes multimedia content, digital cameras, IP network cameras, business card readers, and
many more digital devices on the horizon. § Touchscreens readily created & customized via
RacePoint Blueprint design
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5. APPLICATIONS
5.1 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 wer 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 ou
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.
5.2 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.
Fig 5.2 Multi Touch
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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.
5.3 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).
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Fig 5.3 Video Puzzle
5.4 Paint
Paint programs have been a natural demonstration application for new platforms ever
since Mac Paint graced the first Macintosh back in 1984. Surface’s paint program is even
lighter on features than Mac Paint was, but the natural user interface makes up for this
deficienc.
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 fullfeatured 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.
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5.5 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 wildsongs in this manner .
Fig 5.5 Photos
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5.6 Dining
Fig 5.6 Dining
"favorites" to make ordering even easier. Combine this with entertainment activities for the
kids (perhaps Paint?) and you can see how many restaurants 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 could view this as a compelling application.
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6. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
6.1 Advantages
We can direct interact with the computer without using mouse and keyboard.
Multiple user can interact at a same time.
Any physical object can be directly recognized.
Microsoft Surface responds to many points of contact simultaneously
Designing made easier Time saving by eliminating many processes.
Wireless communication between two object is possible.
New and improved learning experience.
6.2 Disadvantages
Not portable and Very expensive
Dim lighting required to avoid washing out of screen.
Barcode Required for an objects.
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7. CONCLUSION
Although surface computing is a new experience for consumers, over timeMicrosoft
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. 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.
