There's been quite a buzz on Cogapp's internal blog (initiated mostly by Joe Baskerville, our Head of New Technology) surrounding developments in "surface computing" - ways to make everyday surfaces like walls and tables interactive, designed to replace the traditional keyboard and mouse. Following in the footsteps of Microsoft Surface, unveiled last May, comes the Smart Table, "the world's first multi-touch, multi-user table for primary education".  It consists of an intuitive hands-on interface intended to engage "even the youngest child" in games and learning activities.  Most importantly, the system is built specifically to encourage collaboration and interaction between players, "so children learn to come to a consensus as they explore".  The system is not supposed to replace learning with a "real" teacher, though; perhaps in the classrooms of the future, devices like this will be used in tandem with traditional teaching to consolidate pupils' understanding through interactivity? A perhaps less noble application for the same technology comes in the form of a research project to create level-sensing "drinkware" for Microsoft Surface.

By incorporating prisms in the glass, the surface can detect how full a glass is - helpful information for bar staff hoping to offer refills at just the right moment when the customer is most likely to want one.  Whatever you think of the value of this particular application, it's always intriguing to see early examples of how the latest technology could be exploited in a commercial setting. Another inventive experiment in the world of surface computing involves the use of microphones to create very large yet inexpensive finger-input surfaces on walls and tables.

To put it very simply, a basic microphone or stethoscope is installed on any surface to pick up the high-frequency sounds of a fingernail scratching it.  The unique sound pattern created by certain gestures is analysed and interpreted by a computer.  This allows the user to control things like audio output, for example to rewind a track or alter its volume, simply by performing straightforward gestures on surfaces in their home. This video demonstrates a prototype system for controlling elements on the the screen without the need for a surface of any description.

The user simply makes hand gestures which are picked up by a basic camera and processed to allow manipulation of the desktop, a bit like the methods depicted in films like "Minority Report".  This kind of thing represents yet another step away from the keyboard/mouse interface, with the promise of a more fluid, natural way to navigate your system. The possible applications suggested in some of these videos (like remotely-conducted surgery!) may seem a long way off, but although much of this technology is still in its infancy, it represents the exciting possibility of a whole new way of interacting with the tools around us.  It's been said that surface computing closely resembles the familiar hands-on experience of object manipulation.  If these examples are anything to go by, we seem to be moving towards a more unmediated experience of technology where the line between computers and the rest of our immediate environment becomes ever more blurred.