Sensational Smart Surface

The Microsoft Surface is the latest in the revolution of user interface. Well, It is a smart table which responds to touch and which can do a whole lot of functionality.  

Microsoft Surface

The surface has object recognizing capabilities and also tracking. The interaction between the user and this machine is simply by touching or dragging their finger-tips across the screen. Its multi-user and multi-touch and can respond to 52 touches at a time. 

I got to see the Surface at an Expo a few months back. In the demo , 2 Microsoft smart phones were kept on the surface which then automatically recognized all the files in each of the phone's memory. Rapid data transfer between the devices were done in seconds . But i wonder if it will work with other smart phones as well.

I was amazed to see the display quality and its precise multi touch perception. This kind of interaction with computers are termed Natural User Interface(NUI). Surface finds increased usage in hospitality businesses such as retails,hotels,public& entertainment and education.

One application of the Microsoft Surface in primary education is shown in the table below: 

From HCI Perspective:

• It overcame the single touch problem and enables multi touch user interface
• Allows multiple users to interact at the same time using real world objects.

I personally feel that the Microsoft Surface will be too expensive for domestic use and moreover it is not compact as well. Leaving the negatives aside, It is one amazing device and  a revolution in HCI

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Ashwin Rao
Personal Journal - Entry 3