No Microsoft Surface available, then simply bring your own.

It has been published in at many websites but I like the ZDNet one most so here it is

It looks like Microsoft has finally figured out how to turn its table-sized multi-touch Surface computer into a more portable experience.



Microsoft is planning to demonstrate this week at its employee-only Microsoft Research showcase in Redmond a project it is calling the “Mobile Surface.” (Microsoft is briefing a few select press on some of its TechFest projects before the event begins. I wasn’t briefed; I just found the link for this while trolling around on the Microsoft Research site.)

From a description of the Mobile Surface on the company’s Microsoft Research (MSR) Web site:


“Our goal is to bring Microsoft Surface experience to mobile scenarios, and more importantly, to enable 3D interaction with mobile devices. We do research on how to transform any surface (e.g., a coffee table or a piece of paper) to Mobile Surface with a mobile device and a camera-projector system. Besides this, our work also includes how to get 3D object model in real-time, augmented reality and multiple-layer 3D information presentation.”


Microsoft has been working on a variety of Surface-like projects, including the rumored “Oahu” multi-touch table (which would be smaller and cheaper than the Surface) and the Courier book-style tablet. Courier is thought to be in the incubation phase at this point, although the final product may look little like the screen shots and video images that leaked last fall. Last I heard, Courier is unlikely to debut in commercial form until 2011 at the earliest.


Natural user interface (NUI) technology, in general,is going to be a big emphasis at TechFest, based on some of the early information coming from Microsoft’s briefings.


One project I haven’t yet seen mentioned (but which I found on Microsoft’s Research site as one of its TechFest 2010 demos) marries NUIs, tablets and touch. That effort, known as “Project Gustav,” is an “immersive digital painting” research project, as Microsoft’s Web site describes it. More on Gustav from the Microsoft site:


“The natural interface makes Project Gustav ideal for hobbyists and professional artists alike. Project Gustav achieves a high level of interactivity and realism by leveraging the computing power of modern GPUs, taking full advantage of multitouch and tablet input technology and our novel, natural media-modeling and brush-simulation algorithms.”


Update: I thought the whole Mobile Surface concept sounded kind of familiar. It probably has its roots in the Microsoft Research “PlayAnywhere” project on which developers have been working since some time before 2007. (PlayTable, which is related to PlayAnywhere, evolved to become Microsoft’s Surface.)

3D projection and pico projectors

When reading the article below you start understanding the great importance of small projectors. If you want to create a 3D screen )where you do not need those funny glasses' and want it to be viewable by many angles you need a lot of projectors and to have this in a house pico projectors would help a lot making it small enough.

Oct 14, 2009 13:35 Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics

Hitachi Ltd exhibited its 10-inch "Full Parallax 3D TV" at CEATEC 2009. It does not require special glasses, can be watched from any direction and has a resolution of 3D image as high as VGA (640 x 480 pixels), according to the company.

The Full Parallax 3D TV is based on a method called "Integral Photography with Overlaid Projection." Specifically, it consists of 16 projectors and a lens array sheet to cover them. The lens array sheet ensures parallax in any direction (not only in the horizontal direction). Because of parallax, the 3D image seen by the user differs in accordance with the angle from which the screen is viewed.

Aiming to exceed limit of pixel count

In general, the total pixel count of a 3D display that does not require special glasses is equal to the pixel count of 3D image multiplied by the number of viewpoints that show different images. In other words, there is a trade-off between the number of viewpoints and the resolution of 3D image.

If the number of viewpoints is focused too much, the resolution of 3D image deteriorates. But it is not easy to increase the total pixel count of a display. For example, the Science & Technical Research Laboratories (STRL) of Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) is now developing a 3D display using the "Ultra-high Definition TV" with a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320 (approximately 33 Mpixels) but seems having a hard time to achieve a high resolution.

Hitachi aims to go over the limit of total pixel count by using multiple projectors, each of which has a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels (SVGA). So, a display using 16 projectors has a resolution of 7.68 Mpixels, which is equivalent to 4K x 2K resolution. Considering its small size (10 inches), the new 3D display is much finer than a normal 4K x 2K display.

"We will be able to arrange projectors in a higher density by employing laser-based micro-projectors and increase the number of projectors by more than 10 times," Hitachi said.

Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) also employed the method of increasing the total pixel count by using projectors and exhibited a 3D display that does not require special glasses at CEATEC in two consecutive years. But NICT utilizes projectors to increase the pixel count only in the horizontal direction.

Finally.a reasonable/good pico projector

Ok we had to wait some time but LG managed to build a reasonbly goor pico projector. Enough light and nice resolution. According to engadget it should be available soon for 500 euro


LG's new HS200 DLP projector is here at IFA sourcing DivX video off local USB media and throwing the audio over its embedded FM transmitter. And because it's LED-based, it racks up numbers like 200 ANSI-Lumens and 30,000 hours of operation before burn-out -- that's 4 hours of operation per day for oh, say, 20 years. The 80-inch, 800x600 pixel moving image that we saw was reasonably bright in a demo-room where ambient lighting was on par with a daytime living room, curtains closed. The viewing and listening experience was more than passable, enjoyable even, and far superior to what you'll get from a pico projector. Jacks include HDMI, RGB / component, and composite with an expected price of €499 when it lands in Europe this month

why not just as part of a cell phone

I like the idea and the concept is pretty much ok but I wonder why is this not past of a cell phone. Most cell phones have navigation already so using google maps the idea would be much easier. But I like the idea of projecting a map. Still go for one you can edit the view and data by touch

But anyway. For those without a cell phone it still might be cool and it still can generate some new concepts

Maptor is this wonderful combination of a map and projector that (predictably) projects the desired map onto any surface. Palm of the hand, floor, and walls included. What I really fancy about it, is its size. Small enough to pass off as a lipstick (or a chapstick for you guys), the device is discreet enough for you to quickly hop into a quiet corner, check for directions and make your way forth. All this without anyone knowing that you are lost or need help!

Another good thing about the Maptor is that it has GPS included; as a result there is this big red arrow on the map that points to your current location. Therefore getting your bearings and charting your course is easy.

Although the images of the projected map look visible enough even in daylight, I wonder if it’s really going to be that clear in its practical avatar.

Anyways, I think this project has the potential to make it to the market and be a hit, I would love to get one for my husband, who hates to ask for directions!

Designers: Jin-Sun Park and Seon-keun Park

Goodbye monitor....Light Blue Optics Demonstrates Touch-enabled Pico Projectors

06/02/2009

So goodbye monitor. This needs a bit more lumen and then you have your touch screen with you all the time. A pico projector, touch enabled.

Light Blue Optics is demonstrating their touch-enabled projection system at SID. LBO are working on Holographic Laser-based projectors modules, which should be released for OEM's towards the end of 2009.

LBO are saying that a product configuration can allow the user to touch the projected image to control the projector or computer - basically they are demonstrating a touch-projector-interface.

Their modules support WVGA-QVGA images at 10 lumens. LBO’s proprietary technology has an ultra-wide throw angle and the ability to correct for optical aberrations using software. These features enable LBO’s miniature projection systems to switch between conventional front projection onto a wall and a novel table-down projection mode where the device is placed on a table and the content is projected down onto the surface in front of it.