Hey everyone, I just updated my blog with a review of the Microsoft Surface at the Rio.

Thanks to AlexP and Adam for hacking the Surface Table with me.

I think this tiny white dots are IR illumination (LEDs?).

Thanks for the review, really interesting to see how MS is presenting this technology!  Great pictures too!

I think these dots are neither LEDs nor any kind of sensors. I think it’s simply an acrylic with an imprinted dot pattern on the underside. The acrylic is edge-lit to create total internal reflection. Now these points trigger an FTIR effect and scatter the light out of the acrylic. The points are big enough to scatter enough light for DI-recognition, but small enough as not to degrade the projected image. What you’d get from such a setup is an evenly lit surface without the hassle to install IR illuminators.

It is definetly NOT FTIR. FTIR technology produces only Blobs. Surface can actualy see what is on surface. You can’t make program like “Shadow Box” with FTIR.

Well, I said that the recognition was DI, not FTIR. But you could use FTIR to create a very even illumination if you place small dots on the underside of the acrylic, like so: http://www.oldenburglighting.com/mirage/images/technology5.jpg