Ayman Helweh
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 Microsoft One Upping Apple? Microsoft’s response to Apple’s innovative multi-touch and built-in accelerometers is a unique force-sensing technology that enables gestures to twist on-screen imagery. Users can flip a page in a document or switch between applications by applying force to their portable device. The motivation behind this research is the increasing demand for devices having larger screens with fewer physical buttons. The design has four sensors that are embedded into the casing, such that the device itself does not have to be made out of flexible material. James Scott, Lorna Brown and Mike Molloy have been developing this technology at Microsoft’s Cambridge lab.  To research the tech, the scientists made a prototype using a Samsung UMPC and gave visual and audio feedback to the user when applying force.
The scientists wrote: "The current prototype provides a click sound when enough force is applied to reach the end of the animation and lock in the new view.
"We plan to incorporate richer audio cues in future, eg cues which also match the physical action taken such as a crumpling sound or page-flicking sound."
The scientists noted: "Compared to shaking or tilting the device or using a touch screen, force sensing allows the screen to be kept at the most natural viewing angle and un-obscured."
(bbc)References: ftp.research.microsoft, bbc 2 Comments: on Force Sensing Technology |
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