computer science

Perceptive Pixel

Perceptive Pixel is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Perceptive Pixel rather than just read about it. In short: Perceptive Pixel was a developer and producer of multi-touch interfaces. It was purchased by Microsoft in 2012.

Key takeaways

Perceptive Pixel belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Perceptive Pixel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Perceptive Pixel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Perceptive Pixel was a developer and producer of multi-touch interfaces. It was purchased by Microsoft in 2012. Its technology is now used in fields including broadcast, defense, geo-intelligence, energy exploration, industrial design and medical imaging.

Background The company begain in 2006 as Perceptive Pixel, Inc., headquartered in New York City and maintaining offices in Mountain View, Portland, and Washington, D.C. Prior to the company's establishment, founder Jeff Han publicly demonstrated multitouch hardware and software technology at a TED conference in February 2006. The company was founded later in the same year. Subsequently, it shipped its first Multi-Touch Workstation and larger Multi-Touch Collaboration Wall in 2007. The latter gained widespread recognition for transforming the way CNN covered the 2008 US Presidential elections. In 2009, the Smithsonian awarded Perceptive Pixel the National Design Award in the inaugural category of Interaction Design. Throughout its history as a startup company, Perceptive Pixel had focused on ultra-high-end touch displays that were sold to large businesses in key niches.

Microsoft acquisition On July 9, 2012, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that they would acquire Perceptive Pixel Inc. in a transaction that closed three weeks later on July 31. At that year's WPC conference, Ballmer stated the company hoped to use its newly acquired technology to enhance its Windows 8 operating system. Han also stated that the sale could allow their products to be more broadly available. On January 21, 2015, Microsoft announced the Surface Hub during its Windows 10 launch. The new product was described as a next-generation device under the Surface brand and was developed by members of the Perceptive Pixel team.

References

External links Perceptive Pixel

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Perceptive Pixel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Perceptive Pixel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Perceptive Pixel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Perceptive Pixel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Perceptive Pixel

In research: Perceptive Pixel appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Perceptive Pixel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Perceptive Pixel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2006 establishments in New York City, 2012 disestablishments in New York (state), 2012 mergers and acquisitions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Perceptive Pixel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Perceptive Pixel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Perceptive Pixel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Perceptive Pixel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Perceptive Pixel in simple terms?

Perceptive Pixel was a developer and producer of multi-touch interfaces. It was purchased by Microsoft in 2012.

Why does Perceptive Pixel matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Perceptive Pixel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Perceptive Pixel.