Surface computing

Multi-touch at the Surface

Multi-touch devices have come of age and taken the form of an interactive, highly intuitive computer called the Microsoft Surface, writes Varun Aggarwal

Picture a surface that can recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and more. This is where Microsoft’s Surface, a new category of surface computing product come into play as it breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology. Today consumers can interact with Microsoft Surface at select AT&T retail locations, the iBar in the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and select Sheraton locations.

Ability to touch and play with a computer has been a fascinating thing for long but seldom useful. Although we have a plethora of touch devices in the market, most of them are single touch, shrinking the already minimal usability of the technology. With the iPhone, we got the opportunity to use a dual touch, enabling features that are more sophisticated. Dual touch gave the much-desired capabilities to the iPhone to an extent that an iPhone user just yawns at any other touch devices available in the market.

Coming to PCs, we have seen and experienced many tablet PCs with touch capabilities and the HP TouchSmart PC that makes a desktop work like a tablet PC. While, these devices may be good for some specific tasks, they do not give you the interactive experience offered by say an iPhone. To bring the same capabilities (or higher) into the PC, Microsoft started work on a multi-touch computer called Microsoft Surface, way back in 2001 (long before the iPhone was launched), which not just recognizes multiple touch, but also recognizes the objects placed on it. According to Diptarup Chakraborti, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner, “Microsoft feels keyboards and mouse would soon be passé and that touch and speech would be the next wave in computing going forward. Surface Computing is an extension for touch that Microsoft envisaged.”

Conception of Surface

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 it.

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, Microsoft formed a virtual team to pursue bringing the idea to the next stage of development; Bathiche and Wilson were key members of the team.

In early 2003, the new Consumer Products Group, led by David Kurlander, presented the idea to Bill Gates, 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. The team built a variety of early applications, including pinball, a photo browser and a video puzzle. As more applications were developed, the team saw the value of the surface computer beyond 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 it could apply surface computing to varied 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. The team built over 85 early prototypes for use by software developers, hardware developers and user researchers.

Recognizing objects

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 that it continues to use today. This tag is an 8-bit, three-quarter-inch-square tag that is optimal thanks to its small size.

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. The team finalized the final hardware design (seen today) in 2005 after extensive testing and user research.

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 is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that is 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.

The final Surface

Today’s Microsoft Surface is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft Corporation targeted for companies in the retail, leisure and entertainment industries. It turns an ordinary piece of tabletop into an interactive surface that allows effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. In essence, it is a surface that comes to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more.

The 30-inch display in a table-like form factor lets individuals or small groups interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world. Microsoft 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.

Microsoft Surface will ship to customers with a portfolio of basic applications, including photos, music, virtual concierge and attract mode, which they can customize to provide their guests with unique experiences.

Intuitive features

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. 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 orkeyboard.
• 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 Microsoft Surface, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
• Object recognition: Users can place physical objects on the display to trigger different types of digital responses. In the future, this will include the ability to transfer digital content.

The way ahead

According to Chakraborti, “The Microsoft Surface can impact the home scenario getting a family together for gaming, discussions, collaboration etc. This can be more prominent in emerging economies such as India, where learning together is a common practice. This could also change the way discussions take place in a boardroom meeting, replacing the ubiquitous projector with the Surface for more interactive discussions.”

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—at schools, businesses, homes and in any number of form factors—part of the countertop, the wall or the refrigerator.

While, Microsoft could be the only player offering a multi-touch computer, there are others working on similar concepts. HP Coffee Table is a collaborative platform, much like the Surface, but also lets you charge your other devices such as cell phone, notebook PC and like without any cables. However, the device is still a prototype and it would take some time before it takes its final shape.

Be it the Surface, the HP Coffee Table or any other similar device, the multi-touch concept is poised to change the way collaboration takes place at home, at office or even at nightclubs. The intuitive concept would go further than the single touch tablets.

varun.aggarwal@expressindia.com