Second-generation Surface "two to three years" away

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 16 Mar 2009 at 10:58

Microsoft has confirmed the second generation of its Surface table, dubbed Second Light, will hit the market in "two to three years".

The information was related at the South by SouthWest Festival by Joe Olsen, a developer whose company makes applications for the Surface table.

The table is being developed at Microsoft's labs in Cambridge, and features a second projector which projects an image through the table itself onto any translucent material held above the Surface screen.

This layer displays a different image to what you see on the table's display, allowing company's to overlay satellite imagery over a street map, for example. Microsoft has previously described the technology as a "magic lens".

The second generation Surface will also differ from its predecessor by featuring a 3D interface capable of picking up gestures above the table's surface. This is similar in nature to Mitsubishi's recently demonstrated 3D display.

Right now, the company are still thought to be in development phase. The two to three year gap would also make sense given that the original Surface table only arrived in the UK last month.