SEMINAR REPORT ON SURFACE COMPUTING

SUBMITTED TO: MS PARUL LECTURER COMPUTER DEPTT.

SUBMITTED BY: NISHU SINGLA 11080202 COE-B1

Contents

Introduction. What is Surface Computing? Microsoft Surface. Origin of Microsoft surface. Components of Microsoft surface. Working of components. Applications. Future. Conclusion.

Introduction

Today in the era of technology, we everyday encounter a new research product. Large number of scientists all over the world is being engaged in inventing new things making the life of humans more comfortable. Computers are one of such revolutionary invention which has revolutionized the whole world. The look, feel and functionality of computers kept on changing from its birth till now. We very well know about the generation of computers and basic components of computer i.e. screen CPU and keyboard etc. But researchers have moved one step ahead, they have moved beyond the traditional screen, keyboard & mouse to alternate surface for input and output. And from here surface computing came into picture.

What is surface computing ?

Surface

Computing

is

completely intuitive and liberating way to interact with digital content. It blurs the lines between the physical and the virtual worlds without using mouse and keyboard. It is basically an idea of turning an ordinary surface into an active computer surface. This system turns an ordinary table top into an interactive surface that could be used for playing games, among other things.

It consist of a computer, a projector and an image processing system that analyses video from an incorporated camera to see what is happening on the table, allowing the system to react as program.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface is first in new category of surface computing products from Microsoft that breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology. The word Surface is derived from Surface computing. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface lets us manipulate a tremendous amount of information with our hands so the content work with you rather than for you for eg: we can manipulate map and move it, shrink it and access personalized data for local sites, attractions and venues. With the Surfaces photo application, you have the ability to sort through pictures, decides which one to share, zoom in for closer look and more. Surface computing at Microsoft is an outgrowth of a collaborative effort between the Microsoft Hardware and Microsoft Research teams, which were struck by the opportunity to create technology that would bridge the physical and virtual worlds which will transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live. Its a major advancement that moves beyond the traditional user interface to a more natural way of interacting with information

Surface computing, which Microsoft has been working on for a number of years, has four key attributes:

Direct interaction: Users can actually grab or keyboard.

digital information with their

hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse

Multi-touch: Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen, but up to dozens of items at once.

Multi-user: 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.

Origin

Origin of Microsurface
When Steve Bathiche and Andy Wilson conceived their idea of surface computing at Microsoft in 2001, they were way ahead of their time. Engineers wanted to create a table that could interact with objects placed on top of it. They led a small team starting in October of 2001 that sought to build a new way of interacting with a computer through touch and vision. Early on, Bathiche and Wilson thought they would build a PlayTable, something that would be used for games such as pinball. By early 2003, the team made a presentation to Bill Gates. He liked the idea and encouraged more exploration. The team started developing applications such as a pinball game, a photo browser and a video puzzle. About six years later, Microsoft has finally unveiled its Surface Computer.

Components

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" tag.

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.

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.

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.

Working

Surface is a 30 inch display in a table like form factor that small group can use at a same time. One of the key components of surface computing is a multitouch screen which accepts input from multiple fingers and multiple users simultaneously, allowing for complex gestures, including grabbing, stretching, swiveling and sliding virtual objects across the table. Multi touch screen:

Touch sensing is common Place for single points ofcontact, multi-touch sensing enables a user to interact with a system with more than one finger at a time. Such sensing devices are inherently also able to accommodate multiple users simultaneously, which is especially useful for larger interaction scenarios such as interactive walls and tabletops. The FTIR (frustrated total internal reflection) sensing technique is used. This technique is force-sensitive, and provides unprecedented resolution and scalability, allow to create sophisticated multi-point widgets for applications large enough to accommodate both hands and multiple users.

Basic components of multitouch screen are: Touch Screen Sensor:

A touch screen sensor is a glass plate having touch responsive surface. The touch sensor is positioned over a display screen so that the responsive area of the plate covers the maximum viewable area of the video screen. using a different approach to detect touch input. The sensor has an electrical current or signal passing through it and touching the screen causes change in voltage or signal. This voltage or signal change is used to find out the location of the touch to the screen. There are number of touch sensor technologies available in the market today, each

Controller:
The controller used in touch screen is a small PC card that interconnects between the touch sensor and the PC. Controller takes data from the touch sensor and converts it into information that PC can understand. For integrated monitors, the controller is usually installed inside the monitor or it is placed in a plastic case for external touch add-ons/overlays. The controller is useful to determine what type of interface/connection you will need on the PC. Integrated touch monitors are provided with an extra cable connection on the back for the touch screen. Controllers are available by connecting to a Serial/COM port (PC) or to a USB port (PC or Macintosh).

Software Driver: The driver is software for the PC system that permits the touch screen and computer to work together. It tells operating system of computer how to interpret the touch event information that is sent from the controller. Todays touch screen drivers are a mouse-emulation type driver. This makes touching the screen the same as clicking your mouse at the same location on the screen. This permits the touch screen to work with existing software and provide new applications to be developed without the need for touch screen specific programming. Some devices such as thin client terminals, DVD players and specialized computer systems either do not use software drivers or they have their own in -built touch screen driver.

Object recognition:
Surface also features the ability to recognize physical objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes. Thus there is no requirement of cables and external ports for plugging in peripherals. When objects touches the tabletop , the light reflects back and is picked up by multiple infrared cameras , sensor trigger the camera to take a picture of the part as it passes beneath the camera and often synchronizes a lighting pulse to freeze a sharp image. The cameras image is captured by the Framegrabber which converts the output of the camera to digital format(typically a two dimensional array of numbers, corresponding to the luminous intensity level of corresponding point in the field of view, called pixel)and places the image in computers memory so that it may be recognized by machine vision software. The software will typically take several steps to process an image. Often the image is first manipulated to reduce noise or undergoes binarisation to identify the object.

Advantages
More interactive. Easy usage. No requirement of knowledge. Multiuser system Natural handling No more mess of cables.

Challenges

Expensive Built for specific task.

Future and Applications

Surface 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.

Conclusion
Many people today are intimidated and isolated of technology many features are available in mobile phones, PCs and other electronic devices like digital cameras are noy even used because technology is intimidating. Surface computing breaks down this barrier to technology so that people can interact with digital contents in more intuitive, engaging and efficient manner. It is about technology adapting to user, rather than user adapting to technology

REFERENCES
1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) www.popularmechanics.com www.micosoft.com/surface. http://Seattlepi_com microsoft blog surface demo. http://network_strategy thinking through. blogspot.com/2007/06/Microsoft-surface-