Tag: Microsoft Surface

Toyota Scion “Microsoft Surface Experience”

You walk up to a Microsoft Surface table at a Scion auto show stand and pick up one of the collectible cards. You place it on the table and the surface immediately reacts. Photos, video content, regional sales information, and localized events appear around the card. You flip the card over and it triggers a musical element. Beats, bass, or vocals. When all eight cards are on the table at the same time, the full song plays and the table turns into a simple, social remix station.

Auto shows as a lab for new interfaces

Auto shows are known for hands-on demonstrations of “today’s” cutting-edge technology. I experienced several of these first-hand at the 2011 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, and the pattern is consistent. The brands that win attention make exploration physical and obvious.

The activation. Scion meets Microsoft Surface

If you visit upcoming auto shows late this year or in 2012, you can run into the Scion Surface Experience, built on Microsoft Surface tables. Toyota’s agency Juxt Interactive designs the experience to let visitors explore Scion’s product, racing, and cultural affiliations in an unexpected way.

How it works. Eight cards, two sides

The interaction is built around a deck of eight collectible cards:

  • Place a card on the Surface and the table reveals photos, video content, regional sales information, and localized events.
  • Flip the card over and it triggers one element of a song, such as beats, bass, or vocals.
  • Place all eight cards on the Surface at once and the full song plays.

Once the full track is unlocked, guests can remix the song in their own way. It reinforces the self-expression that sits at the core of the Scion brand story.

The take-home loop. Physical tokens for digital content

The cards do not end when the stand visit ends. Guests can take their cards home and use them to download digital content connected to the auto show experience.

Why this works. Exploration first, messaging second

This is a clean example of experiential design where the interface creates the interest. The collectible cards make the first step easy, the Surface makes the response immediate, and the “complete the set” mechanic rewards curiosity. Product content becomes something you discover, and the music layer gives people a reason to collaborate and play.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Toyota Scion Microsoft Surface Experience?
An auto show installation that uses Microsoft Surface tables and eight collectible cards to explore Scion content and trigger a music remix experience.

What happens when a card is placed on the table?
The Surface reveals photos, video content, regional sales information, and localized events tied to the stand experience.

What happens when the card is flipped?
It triggers a part of a song, such as beats, bass, or vocals.

Why are there eight cards?
Placing all eight cards on the Surface at the same time unlocks the full song, and turns the table into a simple remix station.

What is the lasting value beyond the booth moment?
Visitors can take the cards home and use them to download digital content related to the auto show experience.

Gesture Sharing using Microsoft Surface

You place two iPhones and an iPad around a Microsoft Surface table. With a single gesture, a photo slides off one device, travels across the tabletop, and drops into another device. The transfer is instant, and the UI makes it feel like content is physically moving between screens.

Amnesia Razorfish is back in the news with the launch of Amnesia Connect. It is software that enables instant, seamless sharing and transfer of content, including photos, music, and embedded apps, between multiple handheld devices using a Microsoft Surface table and a single gesture.

How the “single gesture” illusion works

In the moment, the Surface table connects devices over WiFi and shares in real time. The table tracks each object’s position, so the visual effect stays locked to the device placement. Content appears to move in and out of the iPad and iPhone exactly where they sit on the table.

What is supported right now, and what comes next

The software works with Apple iOS devices, and it is being developed to work with Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry smartphones. The concept scales anywhere multiple devices need to share quickly without cables, menus, or friction.

Why brands care about gesture-based sharing

As smartphones become omnipresent, this kind of interaction opens a different design space for brand experiences. It makes sharing visible, social, and fast. Instead of asking people to “send” something, you let them move it, together, in plain sight.

A few fast answers before you act

What is gesture sharing in a multi-device experience?

Gesture sharing is when users move content between devices through physical gestures, like swiping an item from one screen to another, rather than using menus, Bluetooth pairing, or file dialogs.

How does a Microsoft Surface table enable this?

The table tracks where devices sit and aligns the interface to that physical layout. It also supports real-time connectivity so content can transfer while the visuals stay spatially consistent.

What makes this feel “seamless” to users?

The key is removing steps. No selecting recipients, no attaching files, no waiting screens. The motion itself becomes the transfer, and the UI reinforces that mental model.

Where can brands apply this pattern?

Anywhere shared exploration matters. Retail demonstrations, event installations, collaborative product discovery, and multi-screen storytelling all benefit when “sharing” becomes a visible group interaction.