Microsoft is looking to extend its surface-computing work into the spatial-computing arena with
a new research project known as LightSpace.
Andy Wilson, a Microsoft research who was key in bringing the
Microsoft Surface tabletop to market, is one of the principals behind LightSpace. Wilson and other researchers are set to demonstrate the new project the week of October 3 at the
ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology in New York City. (Microsoft showed off LightSpace internally at its TechFest research fair on campus in March.)
LightSpace uses multiple depth cameras and projectors to allow users to transfer objects between touch surfaces. The cameras make it appear that users are carrying projected objects in their hands and then “dropping” them onto walls, where they can be manipulated using multitouch gestures similar to those used with the Microsoft Surface tabletop.
There is a connection between LightSpace and Microsoft’s
Kinect game-sensor technology. Microsoft researchers envision Kinect helping to make depth cameras cheaper and more popular.
