Microsoft Gets Touchy-Feely With new Surface SDK

Microsoft on Tuesday will introduce a new software development kit (SDK) for its Surface multi-touch system. The SDK will be available for download from MSDN and work with Visual Studio 2010.

Surface 2.0 is quite an update to the original table-top multi-touch system. Surface 1.0 was an XGA (1024×768) resolution display running on a Core 2 Duo processor in 2GB of RAM. Surface 2.0 has been bumped up to high definition video (1920×1080) on a faster processor, more RAM and newer GPU.

It also features a new, more polished Windows 7-based GUI. With this SDK, Microsoft is adding the ability to target both Surface displays and touch-enabled Windows 7 systems with a single source code base. Developers can select their target platforms at time of compile and Visual Studio will generate an app for Surface, Windows 7 or both.

Another big change in Surface 2.0 is a new technology called PixelSense. Microsoft worked on this with Samsung and the Korean electronics giant offers this technology in its large-screen sets. PixelSense puts a touch sensor in every single pixel on the screen. So instead of Surface having to track your movements through cameras watching the table, which is basically how 1.0 worked, this version actually feels your input.

With the new version of Surface comes some new hardware, which is a welcomed change. Instead of the old table, which was two feet tall and impractical for hanging it on a wall, Samsung’s displays are just four inches thick, making them ideal for wall mounting.

Microsoft will also announce a premier partner program on Tuesday with partners that have specific areas of expertise. All of this will be disclosed on Surface.com early Tuesday. Finally, a touch-focused development center is going to be added to MSDN.