Microsoft Research Lets you Pinch the Sky

A new CNN video shows off a demo of an interesting Microsoft Research project: “Pinch-the-Sky.” The Pinch-the-Sky Dome is a large installation that combines an omni-directional camera in the center of a dome, along with a projector and astronomical data from World Wide Telescope. The end result is a 360 degree image that can be navigated and manipulated using common freehand gestures like pinching, for example (hence the name).

In the demo, a presenter pinches Jupiter to rotate the planet, pinches to expand and contract a galaxy and more.

The project also supports voice commands to navigate from one celestial body to the next.

For those interested in learning more about the research, there’s a whitepaper available here.

(via the ISV Developer Community)