Tag Map Magnifier for Microsoft Surface

This video demonstrates a new proof-of-concept developed by the Applications Prototype Lab in Redlands, California for the Microsoft Surface.

The application was developed using ESRI’s ArcGIS API for WPF and utilizes Surface-specific tags to act as virtual map magnifiers.  Tags are made up of a collection of domino-like black dots and are uniquely identified by the Surface device.  Developers can retrieve the tag position, identifier code and orientation.

The lab used the tags to add additional Map UIElements to the display.  As the user manipulates the tag, the magnifier map is repositioned and its map extent updated.  The map insets initially have same scale as the base map, a small scrollbar is provided to allow the user to magnify the map (or “zoom in”).

Because tags are uniquely identified, if a user removes a tag and then places it back on the table, we are able to restore previous settings such as the map magnifier’s size and relative scale.