The Bill Kelly Show broadcasts live from Mohawk tomorrow

Leave your mouse and keyboard behind and swing by the Mohawk Applied Research Centre in A106 to check out the Surface, a multi-touch, multi-user computer that will change the way you see computers.

Fun and easy to use, the coffee-table design allows multiple users to interact with the Surface at the same time. The machine uses five infrared cameras to detect a user’s touch, allowing them to grab digital content with their hands and move it around with simple gestures. It can also interact with objects placed on it, like mobile phones or cameras.

Surface designer Microsoft says the device will lead the way towards a more social way of using computers and fundamentally change the way people interact with digital content. It also has tremendous potential for business, improving communication and making the sharing of information and services more efficient.

Mohawk students will be part of the excitement, developing software and applications for use on the machine. And it’s not just the technically inclined who will work on the Surface. Students in the arts and creative media are encouraged to check it out as there’s a need for people who can create compelling graphics for the applications.

The permanent home for Surface will be the new IDEAworks Innovation Lab at the Mohawk Centre for Entrepreneurship, Learning and Innovation.