Most of us can only dream of having the perfect personal assistant, one who is always there when needed, anticipating our every request and unobtrusively organizing our lives. Cortana, the new digital personal assistant powered by Bing that comes with Windows Phone 8.1, brings users…
As part of its commitment to basic research, Microsoft invests in creating joint research centers around the world. These collaborative engagements typically involve multi-year research programs across a broad range of projects that push the boundaries of computer science. In the last week, Microsoft Research…
Visiting Eric Horvitz at Microsoft Research headquarters in Redmond, Wash., is a full-service experience. At the building’s first-floor bank of elevators, situated on a busy corridor, a “smart elevator” opens its doors, sensing that you need a ride. When you arrive on the third floor,…
Gaurav Sharma appeared relaxed but focused in his purple hoodie on January 16, 2014. Less than 20 seconds later, Sharma, a 15-year-old from Lakeside High School in Seattle, found himself the owner of a Guinness World Record® for fastest text message using a touch-screen mobile…
The moment mobile-phone manufacturers added cameras to their devices, they stopped being just mobile phones. Not only have lightweight phone cameras made casual photography easy and spontaneous, they also have changed the way we record our lives. Now, with help from Microsoft Research, the Office…
If any city can be called opinionated, it would be New York City, so it’s somehow inevitable that HereHere is making its debut in the Big Apple. It’s Friday in Manhattan, and despite reports of several broken parking meters on its streets, the Upper West…
Today, February 5, 2014, marked the kickoff workshop for the Swiss Joint Research Center (Swiss JRC), a collaborative research engagement between Microsoft Research and the two universities that make up the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology: ETH Zürich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, which serves German-speaking…
ZOOM OUT. A vibrant city on the water, surrounded by mountains, teeming with life. ZOOM IN. Do I spy, with a 600mm lens, a “Thriller” flash mob under the Space Needle? Wait, and what’s over there? Do I spy an opera singer serenading Elliott Bay…
Posted by Rob Knies Pardon Zhengyou Zhang if he retains a certain fondness for the year just past. In early December 2013, Zhang, a research manager and principal researcher for Microsoft Research, was named a recipient of the inaugural Helmholtz Prize, a test-of-time award…
“Makes HDTV look low-res.” “Wow, how did they make this?” “Hyper-detailed and actually looks 3-D.” These are just some of the words reviewers have used to describe the new Photosynth. A technical preview, launched December 10, enables photography enthusiasts to create even more realistic 3-D…
Posted by Rob Knies Making a business presentation can be daunting. Interaction with the audience might require you to change the flow of your presentation by jumping to a different section in your PowerPoint presentation. Or you might want to show supporting evidence in an…
Cyrus Bamji had encountered a challenge. Luckily for him, Microsoft Research had just the solution. Bamji, Microsoft partner hardware architect for Microsoft’s Silicon Valley-based Architecture and Silicon Management group, and members of his team were trying to incorporate a time-of-flight camera into Xbox One, the…
