Entries tagged with research - Channel 10

MapCruncher: A Virtual Earth Mashup Tool

Sarah Perez — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:12:00 GMT

MapCruncher is a Microsoft Research project which uses the Virtual Earth API to import entire supplemental maps into Virtual Earth. By supplemental maps, they mean any drawn-to-scale maps you can find, be they bicycle maps, transit maps, national park maps, university maps, or antique city maps, just to show a few examples. But not only that, you can use MapCruncher to add your very own, Do-It-Yourself Aerial Photography to Virtual Earth, too. Their Gallery has even more examples of this.

The process of importing your own maps they call "crunching," hence the name "MapCruncher." To use MapCruncher, you just import your map then find 5-10 corresponding landmarks on your map and VE. MapCruncher will then register your map to global coordinate system and generate a set of image tiles based on your map and mash them up with VE's road and aerial imagery.

MapCruncher support both vector formats (PDF, WMF, EMF) and raster formats (JPG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, BMP). To view a mashup, you'll need IE6, IE7, or Firefox version 1.5 or higher.

To download MapCruncher click here unless you need it for a commercial application, in which case you will need to visit this page instead.

Microsoft Research: “Innovations in Data Input and Navigation”

Laura Foy — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:04:00 GMT

18 months ago, House Calls for Healthcare Professionals showed viewers something from Microsoft Research called “Play Anywhere”; a technology that allowed users to manipulate images projected on a table with nothing more than their hands. That technology has since been commercialized and is now called Surface Computing. It’s showing up in retail centers and casinos, and perhaps one day in your home or doctor’s office.

In this edition of House Calls, Dr. Bill Crounse revisits the creative geniuses at Microsoft Research to take a look at InkSeine and Lucidtouch, data input and screen navigation tools that might one day help clinicians and other people around the world work more efficiently.

Beatbots: An experiment in social development and interaction

Laura Foy — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:49:00 GMT

Not only are these dancing robots adorable and fun to play with, but they are also a research tool. The BeatBots team joined forces with Hideki Kozima to study how children, specifically children with autism, interact and communicate. In a world with so much stimuli coming at us non-stop, the beatbots are non-threatening, simpler and easier for kids to relate to.

DonnyBrook: Real Massively Multi-Player Shooter Gaming

Laura Foy — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:45:00 GMT

DonnyBrook is a project that Microsoft Research is working on to make games more epic. Imagine playing an FPS with hundreds of other players- not just 8 or 16. "How can that be possible?", you must be asking! "There would be so much LAG!", you must be saying! Well - Microsoft employs some pretty smart people who truly care about improving the gaming experience. Watch this clip and learn how they did it.

Where am I?

Laura Foy — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:32:00 GMT

To tell you the truth, I prefer to keep my location undisclosed but apparently there is a great demand for human tracking. My co-worker, Nagi Babu Punyamurthula, took it upon himself to create a solution for this need and he called it the "Where Am I Project". After having him explain his application to me, I realized how great this could be for many family and business uses- and not to mention a badass game of hide-n-seek :) Enjoy!

Dr. Bill Crounse and Robertson Research

Laura Foy — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:53:00 GMT

There’s never been a more compelling time for computers in the practice of medicine. There has been an explosion in the amount of information and scientific knowledge that physicians must know in order to practice medicine today. That task becomes even more challenging as genomics and personalized medicine enter the mix of care. In addition, in many developing countries there are severe shortages of qualified healthcare professionals. What medical care there is must often be provided by lesser-trained individuals.

In this special video edition of our on- going House Calls for Healthcare Professionals series, Microsoft's worldwide health director, Bill Crounse, MD, takes a look at computer software called NxOpinion. Using this software, physicians and other caregivers can more accurately assess a patient’s symptoms, arrive at the correct diagnosis, and deliver the safest and most appropriate treatment.

Bios:

Dr. Joel Robertson is the innovator and driving force behind the creation of NxOpinion. With more than 20 years of experience consulting with senior executives, companies and health care facilities to improve their performance and achieve better results, as CEO and Chairman of Robertson Institute, Dr. Robertson currently oversees several medically focused companies in the U.S. and abroad. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Ferris State University and a Doctor of Pharmacology from the University of Michigan.

Del. J. DeHart, M.D. is an infectious disease specialist in private practice. He also serves as Associate Professor of Medicine, College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, where he obtained his medical degree. He serves as Medical Director for NxOpinion, Robertson Research.

M.U.R. Naidu, M.D. is the Dean of the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, India, which is dedicated to providing medical care, educational and research facilities in the field of medical science. Dr. Naidu set up the clinical pharmacology research center at NIMS and is actively involved in research and education for the government of India with multiple publications. He has served as the coordinator of research and testing for NxOpinion, coordinating testing in rural health care workers as well as helping to improve usability and culture and language sensitivity issues.

D. Prasada Rao, M.D. is a cardiothoracic surgeon who serves as a Director at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India. He is also on the Rural Health Initiate Board for the Government of India and on the Board of Ayorgi Sri, which is their new Medicaid system. He is considered one of the highest ranking physicians in India.

Microsoft Research demos multi-touch laptop prototype

JD Lewin — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:05:00 GMT

Hot on the heels of the Microsoft Surface computer comes the Cambridge kids from Microsoft Research with their latest creation. Steve Hodges’ Dell laptop now sports multi-touch input, courtesy of a small collection of infrared sensors attached to the rear of the display. The video in Long Zheng’s post shows the usual pinching and sliding, along with some input from a traditional remote control.

It's Mash-Up time here at Microsoft and this time it's all about the ladies.

Laura Foy — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:59:00 GMT

Another Mash-Up day where creative minds merge with technical minds and hopefully we all benefit from the pairing. If you DON'T know what a mash-up is then definitely watch this clip to find out- you might want to start attending an event like this near you. And if you DO know what a mash-up is, then you'll definitely want to watch this clip to see what our creative minds are up to and how a Women's mash-up day is different from your run of the mill mash-up. Basically, just watch this.

Directed Sound: The Personal Audio Space

Laura Foy — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:22:00 GMT

We all need our personal space, and now MS Research is working on a way to give us our personal AUDIO space. I chatted with Jasha Droppo at TechFest '07 and he gave me the lowdown on how this speaker of the future works including the creation of constructive and destructive interference and high-end signal processing. It's pretty intense, and hopefully will be in our hands soon because I know a few people who could certainly use some dynamic noise reduction :)

Also-- check out another version of this technology in an earlier report I did.

TechFest '07: PlayAnywhere meets PlayTogether!

Laura Foy — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:39:00 GMT

A few months ago Dr. Bill Crounse and I reported to you about PlayAnywhere. Well Microsoft research does not rest on its laurels, let me assure you. They've been hard at work incorporating multiple PlayAnywhere machines together for an experience they call PlayTogether. And beyond that thay have taken their projection technology from 2D to 3D and show it off with these badass video game trucks climbing over real life obstacles. THIS is interactive gaming.

Microsoft TechFest 2007 Wrap-up

JD Lewin — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 00:07:00 GMT

Microsoft’s Conference Center has been buzzing this week and we’re going to bring you up to speed for all of your weekend dinner party banter. The boffins from MS Research were on campus to peel back the curtain on all of their latest and greatest and they came nowhere near disappointing. Tuesday the show was also open to public press for the first time in the event’s 15 year history.

Rory Blyth published his videos to Channel 9, the first featuring DynaVis and FastDash and the second focusing on technology on the wall. Both videos give you a great idea of the vibe in the room, as well as Rory’s unique style if you haven’t ever sampled it.

Scott Beale of Laughing Squid shot gorgeous photos (as usual), featuring Lego workfolk, Windows Vista soda, and of course kittens. Brady Forrest came down from O’Reilly and was smitten by Asirra (a crowdsource service that helps cats and dogs find new homes) and how some Microsoft Researchers are able to move gigapixel images across the web with their HDView technology. Scoble experienced TechFest by viewing everything through the LCD on his PodTech camera. He also determined that using Twitter to publish updates of Rick Rashid’s keynote, available in webcast and transcript forms, was the right tool for the job--a decision probably best described as, “permalinks schmermalinks.”

Bre Pettis was reporting for Make Magazine and talked to MSR boffins about Personal Audio Spaces (think grooving to Sketches of Spain where you’re sitting, but the person next to you is rocking to Now Here Is Nowhere). And of course Engadget’s Ryan Block was there to photograph his fingers on everything.

All told it was quite a whirlwind tour. We here at the 10 HQ have certainly got ourselves a new list of people and projects to follow as we hunt for the cool inside of Microsoft, in this Year of our Bond.

Photo credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid.

Office RoundTable part three: LiveMeeting 2007 and final RoundTable hardware

JD Lewin — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:35:16 GMT

About a week after we aired our first pieces about Office RoundTable, the phone rang here at the 10 HQ. Our new best friend Rajiv Kapoor from the Microsoft Unified Communications group called out of the clear blue to say he'd love to show off the finished RoundTable alongside LiveMeeting 2007. Naturally we grabbed the camera and ran across campus.

Office RoundTable part two: Panoramic video conferencing

JD Lewin — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 17:39:52 GMT

Picking up where download the panoramic video.

Office RoundTable part one: The making of a great videoconference device

JD Lewin — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:59:09 GMT

One of the benefits of working on a small team is the low frequency of conference calls. Being on a 'call' as they're not-so-affectionately known typically means speaking once every fifteen minutes while sifting through email or catching up on that hilarious web comic.

The Office RoundTable stands to change the disconnected nature of the virtual meeting. Ross Cutler and his team inside Microsoft Research have built the ultimate videoconference device, and he's given us a look at how it came to be.

Stem cells: clumps, broth, and chick emryos

Laura Foy — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:00:00 GMT

In the conclusion of our foray into the universe of stem cell research, we take a closer look at what grows out of stem cells. Dr. Murry's team brought us under the microscope to get a closer look at how different types of stem cells develop into particular components of our favorite rodents.

We also get a close look at what sort of mad science can be done with chick embryos. Our sunny side up order in the Microsoft Cafe 16 won't ever look the same again.

Links: Dr. Chuck Murry, Microsoft Cafe 16, Stem Cells - Part 1

Stem cells: Everything you ever wanted to know, but with rodents

Laura Foy — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 21:30:00 GMT

In what has quickly become as hotly contested an issue as abortion, stem cell research is an area where it never hurts to go over the facts. Dr. Chuck Murry from UW Medicine handed out the latex gloves and layed out the stem cell crash course.

We here at 10 are always looking for ways to enhance your dinner table conversation, and after this two part series (they said it couldn't be done) you'll be able to impress your dining companions by appearing as though you looked at something other than the RSS tsunami today.

Links: Dr. Chuck Murry, Stem Cell Research, UW Medicine

Microsoft Humanitarian Systems!

Tina Wood — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 19:04:40 GMT

When you think of natural disaster, software programs rarely come to mind. But Ted Okada and Robert Kirkpatrick of Microsoft’s Humanitarian Systems know from experience that where there's a crisis, software can be a life-saver. On the front lines of war, earthquakes and floods Ted and Robert develop software applications that aid rescue efforts, assist medical workers, expedites counting and locating displaced people and helps disperse badly needed resources.

We'll meet Ted Okada and discuss the work of the Humanitarian Systems Initiative and he'll demonstrate how he’s builds an application and how it helps in the recovery of a disaster struck area.

Links: Microsoft Moves to Groove

A peek inside Microsoft Research reveals Tom Cruise's technology today!

Laura Foy — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:00:00 GMT

We dropped in at Microsoft Research (MSR) to get a look at the potential for today’s technologies long before they ever evolve into products. Andy Wilson’s Play Anywhere prototype uses a clever combination of a projector, a camera, and a computer to develop what is probably the most intuitive human interface for digital information yet (Minority Report anyone?). Andy showed us the Coffee Compass, which could certainly become a popular in-car hack.

Links: Research

Productivity tools that watch you work, learn your habits, and write your autobiography all at once.

Laura Foy — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 04:00:00 GMT

Eric Horvitz spends his time at MSR developing advanced ideas for time and resource management. His work automates the prioritization of tasks by monitoring the formatting of emails (and eventually the voice-print of voice-mails). His software even uses his digital camera to watch how he moves in his office, so his machine can learn by literally watching him work! His Life Browser tools give us a peek at the sort of software that might give all of us our own [virtual] executive assistant.

Links: Bill's health blog, Eric Horvitz

Photos tagged and organized to create the searchable Urban Archives...your city, yo

Laura Foy — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 14:00:00 GMT

Sometimes Rand McNally just doesn't get the job done. If you've ever tried to read the street number on a building from a moving car in Seattle traffic, you know what we mean. Well a couple of UW grad students are building something that could make finding your way in a big city easier. Urban Archives is trying to record historical information about a city--think of it as real-time archeology. While it's primarily there for art history types, the mapping mashup possibilities are endless.

Links: U Dub, Urban Archives

AURA, scanning with your phone

Adam Kinney — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:00:00 GMT

Laura shows Tina how a new program called Aura uses your camera phone to scan products.

Then the whole crew shows up on stage to provide a bit of entertainment, written by you, the wonderful commenters on 10.

Links: AURA