New Passive and Active Tags for the Microsoft Surface

AbstractTechnologies for identifying physical objects in fashions recognizable by computers play a pivotal role in today's society. Tags used for identification are available in many different types, with new technologies leading the movement for more digital tags. The Microsoft Surface is one such technology. Using an infrared camera, it is able to sense all objects placed on its surface, both tagged and untagged. Specialized tags made for the Surface are able to hold up to 128 bits of data. These tags can be used to recognize objects, initiate a command, or even start an application. The objective of this research project is to find new ways to pass information using this unique tag technology, both actively and passively. We have investigated three new tagging strategies this summer: laser-etching tags into structural materials like wood; printing tags with invisible ink; and creating active tags using special arrays of infrared LEDs."

Motivation/Microsoft Surface

•Microsoft has created a new method of human-computer interaction with its Surface. The large multi-touch surface, with its ability to sense both human and physical objects, allows information to be manipulated in many different ways.

Acknowledgements•I would like to thank the OSI REU for giving me the opportunity to participate in research this summer. •I would also like to thank all members of Tangviz-core.

Passive Tags•Passive describes tags that do not require a power source.1

•The Microsoft Surface is designed to detect specific tags printed on dark, infrared absorbing paper with light, infrared reflecting dots. We have experimented with printing tags on less conventional materials.•Our first iteration was done in wood. By etching the dots out of the wood, the surface was able to recognize the tag. We were able to use the wooden tag in a project called the Nepali Wish Box. •Acrylic was another material used to create byte tags. The dots were etched in the same way as the wood, producing the same results.

Active Tags•Active describes tags that require a battery or local power source.1

•Active tags have the ability to be controlled digitally, creating room for more versatility. •We are interested in creating active tags using infrared LEDs. Passive tags work by reflecting and absorbing the infrared light emitted from the Surface. Our active tags will operate using controllable infrared LEDs, giving the user the ability to change tags by having individual LEDs either on or off.•The LEDs will be controlled by a Blade, pictured, pictured to the right.

Future Work•We will continue to experiment with different materials and new ways to create Microsoft Surface Tags.•We will work to create Microsoft Surface Tags using infrared and ultraviolet ink. These tags will remain invisible to the human eye, but will be recognizable by the Surface. This will allow the tagged object to retain its aesthetic features while also being Surface compatible.• The infrared LED tags are still a work in progress, but the groundwork has been laid for an exciting new way to pass information the Microsoft Surface.

References1. Want, R., Russell, D. Ubiquitous Electronic Tagging, IEEE Concurrency, 1999.2. http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/02/10/hands-on-dd-on-the-microsoft-surface/

(above) Photos of the Microsoft Surface

Christian Washington, Brygg Ullmer, Michael DeLatin, Chris Branton, Cornelius Toole , Jr.Louisiana State University

Department of Computer Science andCenter for Computation and Technology

A Surface byte tag, which can hold up to 8 bits of data, and a surface identity tag, which can hold up to 128 bits of data (above left). A Dungeons & Dragons game piece tagged with a byte tag (above right), used on a Surface based game (below).2

(above) Wooden tag used on a project called the Nepali Wish Box.

First iteration of the infrared LED tag, made with wood. Three dots are etched out of the wood, while the other four are replaced with blue infrared LEDs. Powered by a 5 volt battery, the LEDs give off a purple glow when viewed through a camera (above left). Photos of various blades, which can be used to power the infrared tag, also allowing for control over individual LEDs (above right).

(above) A surface byte tag is programmed to launch a video about sea turtles. Using the Surface’s multi-touch

capabilities, the user is able to resize and move the video