New system is designed to offer users a 360-degree view and touch-screen access


(Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. is thinking outside the box when it comes to futuristic computer designs - literally.

The company today is showing off a prototype of its Sphere computer at Microsoft's Research Faculty Summit in Redmond, Wash. The Sphere, which is a research prototype and not a finished product, is a multi-user, touch-sensitive display. An orb replaces a traditional flat-screen monitor.

Hrvoje Benko, a human-computer interaction researcher with Microsoft Research, wrote in his blog that the system combines touch capabilities with a projector and an infrared camera. The projector sends images to the inside of the sphere, and can also sense when something touches the outside of the sphere. It's designed to offer a 360-degree view and touch access.

Applications that have been built for the Sphere include a picture and video browser, along with interactive globe visualization, finger painting, and omni-directional video-conferencing applications, according to Benko.

Microsoft would not comment on the project today.................


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