Speech-to-speech translation promises to help connect our world Among the futuristic gadgets in the classic TV show Star Trek, none seemed more useful than the universal translator, a handheld gizmo that helped foster understanding among intergalactic civilizations. Well, we needn’t travel…
Big Data: these words are on the lips of researchers everywhere these days. But it’s more than a catch phrase—it’s a reality in the burgeoning world of eScience, as investigators strive to make sense of the seemingly endless flow of…
Posted by Rob Knies Many people talk to their plants. But what if those plants were able to talk back?That’s the premise behind Botanicalls, a project to enable communications between plants and people. A sensor network provides the flora the…
Posted by Rob Knies Steve Hodges and his colleagues in the Sensors and Devices group at Microsoft Research Cambridge spend their time pursuing novel sensing technologies and new devices that make it easier for people to interact with computer systems…
Posted by Rob Knies For several years, researchers from Microsoft Research India’s Technology for Emerging Markets (TEM) group have been studying how to design applications for economically poor communities such as those found in India. In particular, Indrani Medhi, a…
Springtime in Paris this year sees the Association for Computing Machinery’s 31st Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) in full swing from April 27 through May 2, welcoming experts and students from more than 60 countries. A large…
Standing on the banks of the Seine, I found myself marveling at the beauty of “April in Paris” (cue the 1930s song). Perhaps it was the scent of the flowers in bloom in the Jardin du Luxembourg or the warmth…
Posted by Eric Horvitz and Munmun De Choudhury At Microsoft Research, we’ve been exploring the use of data analysis and machine learning to gain insights about health and well-being—and to enhance the quality of health care. Our efforts in this…
Posted by Rob Knies The Microsoft Research Machine Learning Summit 2013 concluded with a plenary panel discussion titled Data Challenges and Opportunities in the Next Decade. Chaired by Jeannette Wing, Microsoft vice president and head of Microsoft Research International, the…