Microsoft shows off a futuristic display

BIG R&D SPENDER Microsoft thinks it has a winning display technology with a project in its applied science labs.

The Vole has already developed its tabletop Surface display and obviously wants to develop smart displays further.

"In the future, display technology will move towards being an interactive window on the digital world, where the display will know who and where the user is, present content that is context aware, and allow natural interactions with the display surface."

Microsoft has shown off a prototype it calls Wedge, which uses imaging light guide technology that enables cameras and light sources to be multiplexed in a display. It also supports simultaneous capture of gestures on or above the surface. In other words, it's capable of not just flat surface gesture control but full-on Minority Report 3D gesture navigation and interaction.

Microsoft has applied the techniques to OLED technology and, using similar principles, thinks it will be able to deliver a multiple perspective 3D view from one LCD flat panel. After a few years of further development, that is. µ