When will we see the fundamental User Interface for Mobile devices change? I do not consider touch screens a major UI breakthrough given they have been around since the 1980's. Fundamentally, we have had the same windows/pointer based interface for the past 30 years! So are we ready for a change?
There are some string signals on the horizon. The major push is coming from several research labs developing gesture-based interfaces. These include 6th sense out of MIT's Media Lab, Sony's EyeToy, Natal from Microsoft (gesture-based interface for Xbox), and a new approach from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany (http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25380/?nlid=3025&a=f) It is encouraging to see this many viable approaches to a new UI, even with some of these entering through the gaming market (first instigated by Nintendo with Wii).
The promise is that we will soon do away with keyboards, touchpads, and even monitors in favor of using our surroundings to be the interface. This should encourage more immersive applications which our limited today by the constraints of having to type and face a screen. One more stpe towards untethering us and unlocking the full power of Digital Swarms.
There are some string signals on the horizon. The major push is coming from several research labs developing gesture-based interfaces. These include 6th sense out of MIT's Media Lab, Sony's EyeToy, Natal from Microsoft (gesture-based interface for Xbox), and a new approach from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany (http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25380/?nlid=3025&a=f) It is encouraging to see this many viable approaches to a new UI, even with some of these entering through the gaming market (first instigated by Nintendo with Wii).
The promise is that we will soon do away with keyboards, touchpads, and even monitors in favor of using our surroundings to be the interface. This should encourage more immersive applications which our limited today by the constraints of having to type and face a screen. One more stpe towards untethering us and unlocking the full power of Digital Swarms.
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