14 DAY TRIAL // One of the things that Microsoft has managed to do with the Surface series is inventing new product categories, as is the case of the 2-in-1 that everyone seems to love these days.
And after launching the Surface Studio and trying to invent a new category, Microsoft might be aiming to do the same thing in the future with what could be a device that makes it possible to work on a table.
A patent that was recently spotted by MSPU envisions an affordable system that integrates a PC and a projector with all the necessary sensors to provide a working environment on a regular table. While this would be specifically aimed at the enterprise, where collaboration is essential, working on a large table with the power of Windows 10 seems to be the main purpose of this new patent intuitively called “Interactive integrated display and processing device.”
The whole thing is based on a very simple approach: what it does is to project a working space on a table and then let you interact with the projected UI using gestures.
Sensors and built-in cameras
This is possible with Windows 10 and built-in sensors, such as cameras and infrared sensors that recognize your gestures, which are then processed by the projector and the connected system.
“An interactive service, provided using the device or a network connected host, enables users of companion processing devices to interact in the display area of the integrated processing and projection device using the companion devices, via an interface in the display provide by the projector. Users without companion devices can interact with users of companion devices using an interface provided in the display area,” the patent notes.
What’s important to know is that this patent isn’t new, which could be a sign that we’re closer to this technology that we might be tempted to believe. And yet, since it’s just a patent, there’s also a good chance that it never makes it to production, although it goes without saying that such a technology would make sense given all the investments that Microsoft is making lately in innovative products.
Also, the patent was developed with help from Microsoft’s Education unit, and this might be an indication that such a tech would be primarily aimed at schools.