Most recent articles relating to Microsoft;

Collaboration solutions for demanding situations

Fresh from implementing an integrated collaborative solution for AVIVA, Ismayeel Syed is spreading the word, and his ideas, about truly connected workplaces and finding receptive listeners across the globe. Anna Mitchell reports.FULL STORY...

Microsoft's MirageTable gives videoconferencing an AR boost

Microsoft is pushing the boundaries of videoconferencing with a 3D, Kinect-based interactive solution. MirageTable allows sharing and interaction with real and virtual objects using a Kinect sensor, a curved screen and a 3D projector. Researchers, led by Hrvoje Benko, previewed the solution on the Mircrosoft Research site and recently presented it at the Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) conference in Austin, Texas.FULL STORY...

Microsoft Research develops sound based gesture system

SoundWave, developed by Microsoft Research and the University of Washington, is a real-time sensing technique that leverages a speaker and a microphone to robustly sense in-air gestures and motion around a device. It is capable of detecting a variety of gestures, and can directly control existing applications without requiring a user to wear any special sensors. FULL STORY...

$22bn spend for VC and TP by 2016, Cisco retains number one spot

The video communications market will go from strength to strength as analysts predict that $22 billion will be spent on videoconferencing and telepresence worldwide over the next five years.FULL STORY...

Microsoft turns walls, desks and hands into interactive displays

Mobile computing takes a leap forward as a Microsoft Research project paves the way for users to access device interfaces on any surface – walls, desks, notepads and even your own hand. Researchers have combined a pico projector and Microsoft Kinect sensor into a shoulder worn device. A video shows a researcher dialling a telephone number on a wall and navigating a map in the palm of his hand.FULL STORY...

Transparent desktop controlled by hands in 3D space

Desktop interaction has taken a leap into the 3D realm after the Microsoft Applied Sciences Group demonstrated a new computing concept. A transparent Samsung OLED display allows operators to see their hands beneath a display and use them to control on-screen data using movement and gestures. A recently released video shows users moving smoothly between gesture control and a traditional keyboard/track-pad.FULL STORY...

Microsoft Research: Illumishare shares anything with anyone, anywhere

Microsoft Research continues to push ahead with innovations in collaborative appliances and technology. One of several developments it unveiled recently is the IllumiShare concept. It enables remotely situated people to share an physical or digital object on any surface.FULL STORY...

DT’s VideoMeet connects to Lync

Deutsche Telekom’s cloud videoconferencing solution, VideoMeet, now connects to Microsoft Lync.FULL STORY...

Microsoft explores potential for Kinect in collaboration

Microsoft research is forging ahead with developing its own, non-gaming applications for the Kinect sensor. In its latest video release the company demonstrates how Kinect can be used to help software developers in meetings interact with programming development environment Codespace. Meeting attendees can work on the display itself, or from their seats using gestures or mobile devices to interact with content displayed on a screen.FULL STORY...

Researchers crack HoloDesk, holo-deck not far behind?

The Microsoft Research team are making use of everyone’s favourite interactivity solution, Kinect, in a research project that should have fans of future technology truly excited. The HoloDesk allows users to pick up and manipulate virtual 3D objects, whilst also recognising the presence of other non-virtual objects in the environment. The research team hasn't revealed too much about how its new natural user interface system works, but read one to see what we do know, and a video of it in action.FULL STORY...

Touch yourself better than ever

The Microsoft Research team working on the system formerly known as Skinput are presenting the latest prototype at this week’s UIST 2011. The latest version is now known as OmniTouch and is designed to turn any surface the user desires into an interactive interface. Readers with long memories will recall we first publicised this research in March 2010. Watch the video in the main story.FULL STORY...

Microsoft completes Skype acquisition

Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype has been finalised, bringing the VoIP service under the software company’s wing in a deal worth $8.5bn.FULL STORY...

Midwich scoops Surface II contract for the UK

Midwich has been appointed as the sole UK distribution partner for the Surface II touch solution, jointly developed by Microsoft and Samsung.FULL STORY...

Microsoft unveils 3D scanning tools at Siggraph 2011

Microsoft Research, home to some very smart interactive development types, is widely credited with stealing the show at last week’s Siggraph 2011 conference with KinectFusion. Fusion is a system that takes live depth data from a moving depth camera and in real-time creates high-quality 3D models. The system allows the user to scan a whole room and its contents within seconds. As the space is explored, new views of the scene and objects are revealed and these are fused into a single 3D model.FULL STORY...

Microsoft Researcher aims to take touch input further

Hrvoje Benko a researcher on adaptive systems and interaction at Microsoft research is developing ways of including more gestures into the traditional touch lexicon. His project, called Rock & Rails, aims to take things beyond the current “poke to click” paradigm. His work is to be presented this week at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Vancouver, Canada.FULL STORY...

Kinect + Videoconferencing + AR = ???

This is how it should be done. Four researchers from MIT’s Media Lab have taken Microsoft’s wildly popular gaming interface to yet another level of amazing with a new project called Kinected.Conference. In their own words: “What we can do if the screen in videoconference rooms can turn into an interactive display?”FULL STORY...

Microsoft champions gesture recognition

Microsoft is bolstering its position in the gesture recognition market with the acquisition of Canesta, a small silicon valley company that specialises in natural user interfaces. The purchase indicates how central gesture recognition is becoming to interfaces for AV and IT equipment. No details of the agreement have been disclosed but the acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of the year.FULL STORY...

Offices adopt gaming technology

Microsoft is moving Project Natal into the office, demonstrating that interactive gesture recognition technology isn’t reserved for gamers. The project, unveiled in June at a gaming exhibition, uses microphones, a camera and a depth sensor to allow players to control a game with their body instead of a controller. Now, Microsoft has revealed a Windows solution that is set to transform the way an office works.FULL STORY...