Imagine being able to place a relay on your desk, and the desk suddenly comes alive, pops-up the settings of the distance zones, shows the loading of the transmission line it is installed on and the apparent impedance seen by the relay, while at the same time your colleague is looking at the COMTRADE file from the latest relay operation.
This and much more will be soon possible with the recently announced Microsoft Surface. "With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology," CEO Steve Ballmer said. It is designed to put people in control of their experiences with technology, making everyday tasks enjoyable and efficient.
Microsoft Surface provides an intuitive user interface that works without a traditional mouse or keyboard, allowing people to interact with content and information on their own or collaboratively with their co-workers, just like in the real world. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that small groups can use at the same time. It also features the ability to recognize physical objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes. When a user simply sets a device on the surface of a table, the system could provide information about the object they are using, the tools that can be used with it, its configuration or maintenance history, the devices it is communicating with and a lot more... The experience could become completely immersive, letting users access information on similar products, the state of the system and the potential need for adjustments or change of setting groups or a virtual test of the relay under the system conditions combined with a pre-defined type of fault at a location you just pointed your finger to on the system one-line diagram. Surface computing, features four key attributes:
- Direct interaction. Users can actually "grab" digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
- 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 responses, including the transfer of digital content
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. What has started as a high-level concept has grown into a prototype and evolved to today's market-ready product that will transform the way people work and live It's a major advancement that moves beyond the traditional user interface to a more natural way of interacting with devices and information and can revolutionize the PAC world as well.
To share your ideas about what we can do with Surface, please send an e-mail to: editor@pacw.org
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