A project from Microsoft Research shows how it is possible, using a simple webcam and some specially developed gesture recognition software, to control a computer using single and multiple gestures. Could be almost considered as similar to on-screen multitouch functionality, but the remoteness from the screen may prove a limiting factor.
This item is taken from the original Podtech MS Research video The Gestures of Microsoft Research, A Walking Tour which is worth watching (but is 50 minutes long).
Even earlier research, along similar lines, is described at the Theoretical Physics group from the University of Zaragoza in the following article A EyeToy/WebCam Mouse in Visual Basic http://dftuz.unizar.es/~rivero/alumnos/vmouse.html
Talking about Gigapixel Images, it looks like there is a new feature in Google Earth that incorporates photos into the Earth Environment.
You can try it for yourself by switching on the “Gigapxl Photos” layer beneath the “Featured Content” layer. This will show placemarks for the available locations with gigapixel images.
There’s a sample video showing the feature in action
and an accompanying article on the Google Earth Blog here
One of the more interesting applications using Silverlight to appear recently.
Tafiti, which means “do research” in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight and Live Search to explore the intersection of richer experiences on the Web and the increasing specialization of search.
If you already have Silverlight installed (or don’t mind installing it) find out more at