Creating an Interactive and Mobile Future 2012 Microsoft Student Challenge n April 16, 2012, during the 2012 Microsoft Student Challenge, 20 selected student teams presented their innovative ideas for creating more interactive and mobile lifestyles. Ten of the O team projects were based on Microsoft Kinect technology; the other 10 were based on Windows Phone 7. Lolan Song, senior director of Microsoft Research Connections Asia, presented awards to the winners at Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing. What is the Student Challenge? The Microsoft Research Asia annual Microsoft Student Challenge engages 30 Microsoft Technology Clubs, which include more than 10,000 active student members from across mainland China. These students are immersed in exploring ways to combine advanced technology with innovative ideas to add more excitement and convenience to our daily lives. The competition has been extremely popular since its inception in September 2011. For the 2012 challenge, more than 530 teams registered and approximately 350 teams submitted their ideas. These entries were narrowed down to 20 teams for the final phase. In each project category (Kinect and Windows Phone), six teams were awarded prizes: one first prize, two second prizes, and three third prizes, totaling 12 award-winning teams. In describing his extraordinary experience, one member of team “MCMforever” from Beihang University said, “Judges from Microsoft Research Asia really listened to our ideas and gave a lot of valuable advice. Their patience and kindness were a huge source of confidence and inspiration.” Some examples of the winning projects are described below. Intelligent robot automatically avoids obstacles Have you ever dreamed of a day when intelligent robots perform mundane human tasks, like you may have seen in science-fiction movies? Team “RoboStar,” the Kinect category champions from Xi’an Jiaotong University, made this dream a reality with a robot named Krobot that utilizes Kinect’s depth-sensing and skeleton- Krobot intelligent robot avoids obstacles P a g e | 2 mapping technologies. Once initiated by an appointed gesture, the robot is able to trace and maintain distance from individuals as they come and go. “Developing a robot especially for home use in China helps meet the huge pressure of looking after the elderly imposed by family planning,” explains Bofeng Yuan, team “RoboStar” leader. “Our robot precisely recognizes its surroundings based on Kinect’s depth camera, offering a preliminary basis for controlling the robot.” Throw away your remote control A student draws his finger through the air, and the word “hello” is spelled and displayed on a screen in front of him. This was one of the compelling demonstrations from the 2012 Student Challenge. One member of team “DreamNet,” from Sun Yat- Sen University, presented this innovative Kinect- based application, which makes it easy to enter words without the use of a keyboard or remote Free control visual keypad control. “By recognizing and learning a user’s gesture, Kinect generates the appropriate commands. As a result, users are free to use preferred gestures to operate multimedia,” says Jun Guo, team “DreamNet” leader. “Our independently created virtual keyboard plays a key role in this process and its square shape makes it even faster and more convenient to use.” The application also supports a zoom feature. With this unique function, partial contents are enlarged, compensating for the disadvantages of long-distance interaction. Use your phone to inquire about your favorite books A competition favorite, Bookit, designed and developed by team “Imagy,” from Xidian University, attracted a great deal of attention. “Every time I go to our library just to find my books have been checked out, I get tired and give up. Why isn’t there an application that we can use to inquire about our books over the phone, saving a lot of time and effort?” wonders Jianghang Zhang, team “Imagy” leader. “If you have a Windows Phone and install our Bookit application, then you can select your school and your desired books, and the results will be displayed right away. Book titles, authors, keywords and even International Standard Book Number (ISBN) scanning Bookit application for are all supported, offering users the convenience of multiple ways to find Windows Phone the desired book. Our ultimate goal is to cover all universities and public P a g e | 3 libraries across China.” In addition, users are provided with user-generated book reviews along with their requested information. I see, I know Have you ever been hopelessly lost in a maze of buildings, unable to find your way? Or have you manually typed the place you’d like to go into your smartphone only to discover that you’re still lost? Try “I know.” “With built-in cameras, the only thing users need to do is to start the ‘I know’ application and begin to shoot scenes they want to know. Labels with useful information will promptly appear, and can be easily clicked for further detailed information,” explains Rui Ning, team “AdderVipers” member from Peking University. There’s no doubt that this location-based service for Windows Phone is more readily understandable and suited for practical use than simply using a map. Using the Windows Phone built-in camera to identify locations This team was not only technologically astute, but also good at sales and marketing. When talking about their promotional plan and the application’s benefits, they mentioned several potential uses for the application, including increasing search traffic, promoting nearby products and services, and pushing targeted advertisements. Encouraging interactivity and mobility “This competition offers a fusion and collision of smart ideas, greatly broadening students’ vision and encouraging imagination. It creates a great opportunity for students to showcase their ideas and work, and to gain hands-on experience with technology’s amazing power to change the world,” notes Lolan Song. “It is also Student participants in the an in-depth promotion of Kinect and Windows 2012 Microsoft Student Challenge Phone 7 technology innovation, which has already enriched applications and broadened utility in areas such as preserving cultural heritage, improving health care and abetting public discussion. The result is a significant contribution toward a more interactive and mobile future.” .