Innovation, it seems, is alive and well at Microsoft. In the last few hours, we’ve taken a look at two projects from Microsoft Research – make sure you check out both Illumishare and the Holoflector; now, Microsoft’s Applied Sciences Group has shared a video of another project that combines Kinect technology with a transparent OLED screen, to create a transparent 3D desktop interface.
As you can see in the video above, the unique form factor of the test device enables the transparent OLED to act as a ‘window’ through which you can see your hands, and use them to manipulate virtual elements that appear on the display. As a result, the interface appears to have ‘real’ depth, with your hands being able to virtually interact on three axes with components visible through the display.
While the demo is clearly fairly limited in its scope, it’s not difficult to imagine how it might be developed into more sophisticated applications, such as engineering and industrial design, complex archiving, or even virtual training scenarios.
You can find out more about the Applied Sciences Group, and the projects that they’re working at Microsoft.com.