Researchers and academics will explore uses for social interactive technologies at a new $8 million research centre launched today at the University of Melbourne. The university has partnered with Microsoft and the Victorian government to create the world-first Microsoft Centre for Social Natural User Interface Research. The centre joins other Microsoft-funded research facilities at the software giant’s headquarters in Redmond in the US; Cambridge in the UK; Bangalore, India; and Beijing, China. Aspects of national user interface (NUI) technologies that combine voice, gesture recognition, eye gaze, body movements, and touch, are found in smartphone, tablets and devices like Xbox Kinect. Speaking CIO Australia, Dr Frank Vetere, research centre director at Melbourne University, said although NUI technology currently exists in smartphones and other devices, it is not used to mediate social relationships and strengthen social bonds. “What Facebook did to GUIs (graphical user interfaces), we are doing to NUIs,” Vetere said. Dr Vetere and Tony Hey, VP of Microsoft Research Connections, are particularly enthused about NUI capabilities in Xbox Kinect. New sensors in this product have biometric sensors that can identify faces and voices of up to six people, mood and gestural expressions; and can discriminate between individual fingers, and the twists and turns of a person’s arms and legs. The research centre will initially look at the potential of social interactive technologies in four areas: homes, schools, the health sector, and public spaces. “We are looking at the way social dynamics are mediated in the home, how gesture and voice can augment social dynamics,” said Dr Vetere. “The way people might play games or through discussions or any kind of activity in the home where natural interaction can play a role.” Microsoft’s Hey said he was confident that the centre would open the flood gates to innovative social uses of NUI. “The potential for social NUI will only be limited by our imagination,” he said. Around 28 researchers and academics will work at the centre over the next three years. Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Related content BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to power a sustainable enterprise on Microsoft Cloud In this eBook, we’ll follow the journey of Amal Skye, a fictitious woman who is committed to living in a way that preserves the planet for the future —and how businesses like Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft are making that possi By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe