Sony is about to take on the Microsoft Surface with a new offering of their own that is due out in June. The atracTable, first seen and demoed at Vision 2009 in Stuttgart last year, will be released at the beginning of June according to the company behind it. "The Swiss Company Atracsys, specialist of Multi-touch interaction and creator of the 60-inch Multi-Touch tangible atracTable in 2008 has just sold its technology to Sony, which is going to indutrialize a 35-inch atracTable in order to compete against the Microsoft Surface" the company has told Pocket-lint. Atracsys, who have already finished the prototype say the model will have "a full HD screen and a high contrast." Like the Microsoft Surface, the interactive tablet will let users place devices, like a mobile phone or coffee cup on the device for it to then interact with most likely in shops and museums. The system has been developed between Sony ISS and Atracsys, a Swiss optical tracking company. The interface can analyse body movements and act on any gesture or change in position, including your body, arm, hand or finger. More intriguingly, Sony reckons that it's sensitive enough to work out a user's age, sex and "emotion" - recognising happiness, anger, surprise, sadness and neutrality. The device comprises two Sony ISS XCD-V60 cameras that build a 3D image. Those cameras can then be used to control a cursor, avatar or robot. Back in November, Atracsys' CEO, Gaetan Marti, says that the unit "can be used in virtually any scenario, be it gaming, industrial, medical or retail". Source: Pocket Lint