Natural gesture-based Windows solutions make it fun for shoppers to explore and compare what stores have to offer.
New York City, NY. — January 12, 2009 — Microsoft and Touch TV Networks together unveiled a multi-touch, natural-gesture-based platform today at National Retail Federation(NRF) 98th Annual Convention and Expo, Retail’s Big Show. The platform, based on Microsoft Windows, enables developers to create rich and connected customer experiences for retailers and CPG companies. The solution, named Touch TV by Touch TV Networks, allows shoppers to use their hands to sweep, drag and drop, pinch and zoom items on a store catalogue displayed on a 47” LCD screen. The rich content built on Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides an attractive interface to engage consumers as they explore information at their fingertips.
Touch TV features a multi-touch LCD screen that can come with various sizes. An integrated computer is included to support internet connectivity and peripherals such as printers, card-readers, and NFC (Near Field Communication) devices. The solution demonstrated at NRF Convention and Expo provides the following functionalities:
• A full product catalogue organized into categories and subcategories shoppers can browse with fingers;
• A virtual keyboard with search capability to locate products customers are looking for;
• A side-by-side product comparison tool where customers can zoom in to get a detailed specification of a product and compare it with another product;
• A digital circular booklet where customers can flip the pages with their fingers just as they do in the real world.
• Ability to provide price lookup and other core self-service functions.
“This platform provides very rich and connected consumer experiences based upon forthcoming Windows 7,” said Tim Gruver, Global Director of Technology for Microsoft’s Distribution and Services Business in the Enterprise Partner Group. “It helps retailers reach, tie, and attract customers in with very appealing content at a low cost TCO via a robust platform.”
“We are very glad to provide hardware and software solutions based on Microsoft Windows and WPF development platforms,” commented Jun Li, Vice President of Business Development from Touch TV Networks, “we believe we are at a tipping point natural gesture-based human-computer interface (HCI) is becoming mainstream in public spaces where the keyboard and mouse paradigm is just not desirable.”
More information about the Touch TV solution is available at
http://www.touchtvnetworks.com/.
About Touch TV Networks
Touch TV Networks, an Issaquah, WA-based company specialized in multi-touch software and hardware platform and solutions, is a pioneer of large format multi-touch kiosks for retail stores, museums, and digital signage industry. Touch TV Networks also develops a multi-touch SDK that developers can use to build engaging multi-touch applications for both Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 platforms. The Retail Store Solution we delivered for Microsoft is ideal for self-assisted and associate-assisted information discovery, cross-sell, and up-sell. It provides a two-way in-store communication channel between retailers and their customers that allows retailers to deliver dynamic and relevant content and promotions. For more information on Touch TV Networks, please visit http://www.touchtvnetworks.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.