You may have heard it said that we’re living in the future. Thanks to the increasing pace of innovation, we have technology at our fingertips that was the stuff of science fiction just a few short years ago. Now, Microsoft Research has unveiled a remarkable new technology called Illumishare. Illumishare allows users to interact with physical objects remotely. Here’s the official description:

Seen first at Microsoft TechForum 2012, IllumiShare enables remote people to share any physical or digital object on any surface. It is a low-cost, peripheral device that looks like a desk lamp, and just like a lamp lights up a surface at which it is pointed, IllumiShare shares a surface. To do this, IllumiShare uses a camera-projector pair where the camera captures video of the local workspace and sends it to the remote space and the projector projects video of the remote workspace onto the local space. With IllumiShare, people can sketch together using real ink and paper, remote meeting attendees can interact with conference room whiteboards, and children can have remote play dates in which they play with real toys.

The description makes Illumishare sound pretty cool, but it doesn’t quite do it justice. Fortunately, there’s also a video to go along with it. Check it out below, then let us know what you think in the comments.