14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Research has presented what is being called a 3D browser concept that can project a select choice of websites right on the walls of your room.
Called SurroundWeb, the new project can adapt the layout of websites to objects in your room and display the content on areas that fit the original design, a paper published by Microsoft reveals.
Microsoft Research claims that SurroundWeb (PDF viewer needed) has been designed in such a way that consumers would be able to configure and use it with ease, without spending too much to set it up. The browser automatically scans the room for areas suitable for displaying the websites and can project content at frames of at least 30 frames per second.
“SurroundWeb enables least privilege for these immersive web pages by introducing two new abstractions: first, a Room Skeleton that enables least privilege for room rendering, unlike previous approaches that focus on inputs alone. Second, a Detection Sandbox that allows web pages to register content to show if an object is detected, but prevents the web server from knowing if the object is present,” Microsoft explained.
Of course, technology based on Kinect allows SurroundWeb to interact with the user directly via gesture and voice, while also providing notifications and alerts whenever they’re needed.
“For example, an experience running in the kitchen could detect boiling water on a stove and warn the user with an alert projected near her head,” the company explained.