Microsoft Mobile Surface

Remember Microsoft Surface? You know, the big multi-touch coffee table? Now Microsoft is working on a much smaller version with Mobile Surface.

Mobile Surface is a research project from Microsoft that attempt to combine the power of smart phones and flexibility of a huge coffee table interaction into on. And the trick right now is to use a small projector to display the image from the phone unto any surface.

But it gets better, because you can then interact with you phone interface directly via the projected image. Not just in a 2D flat way that we are used to, but in 3D.

notice: Update - official video from Microsoft

Here is another but similar video from TechFlash

As Microsoft puts it.

It is a novel interaction system for mobile computing. 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.

It is in interesting project, especially the part about 3D interaction space. But the projector technology isn't really usable for this sort of thing. Some of the new coming laser projectors might change that though. Although they too are at a very early stage, and not nearly good enough.

(via Microsoft Research and TechFlash)