10/GUI: Another Twist to Multi-touch Interface and Interaction

10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo.

I came across a link to this video via Experientia's Putting People First blog post about MG Siegler's TechCrunch post, 10/GUI: One Very Slick Desktop Multi-Touch Concept (Video).  This video was created by R. Clayton Miller, and the video above is a concept video, food for further thought and discussion.

I've written about the need for more appropriate form factors in the past, and the idea that Miller proposes is quite intriguing, since I've toyed with the idea of using something like a flexible mouse pad as an adaptive interface for students who have problems with fine-motor control, limiting their ability to use a mouse, keyboard, or even some of the adaptive switches that are available.

(It is interesting to note that Siegler's blog post was written on 10/13/09, and as I write this post on 10/15/09, it has 92 comments and 460 tweets. My guess this is a hot topic, especially now that HP has released new versions of the all-in-one HP TouchSmart PC).

Siegler discusses Michael Arrington's 10/12/09 post, Why Desktop Touch Screens Don't Really Work Well For Humans. Arrington's post discusses the reasons why he's not happy with the TouchSmart, because the desktop on which most people use it requires them to keep their hands up on the screen, above the heart, which can be fatiguing.

I have an HP TouchSmart, and I switch back and forth, depending on what I'm doing.  I didn't think of this before, but I have a very adjustable chair that I raise up when I use my hands on the touch screen. Without thinking, I've made the appropriate adjustment.  Not everyone has the luxury of a fancy adjustable deskchair!

From what I can tell, Miller is focused on how multi-touch technology can support the work or pleasure of just one person, which is still how many people interact with their computers.  What is needed is more thought about ways this technology could support two or more people working together.  My HP TouchSmart works well with two people, even when when running single-touch programs. But it is better when it runs duo-touch enabled programs!

Near Interaction Multi-touch Tables and Displays: London College of Fashion & More

Near Interaction is a company based in Lisbon, Portugal, and London, England. They are a team of interaction and media designers, focsuing on interactive physical and digital installations. Here is a sample of their work:
























Information about the Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 from NearInteraction's Vimeo site:
"The London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 displays six multi-touch tables with integrated object recognition to unveil the 570 student portfolios. From a wide choice displayed on the three walls, visitors can make a selection of their preferred cards. Activating once a card is placed on the tables, visitors can move, zoom and rotate by touching the surface of the table a variety of portfolio images representing the chosen student...London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 was designed and produced by NearInteraction in association with Paul Albert and John Nussey."

London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009

NearInteraction at the London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 from nearinteraction on Vimeo.


Tangible Multi-touch Connectivity

Tangible Multi-touch Connectivity from nearinteraction on Vimeo.

"As part of Future Labs - Visual Experiences of the Future at FPC, Tangible Multi-touch Connectivity explores the multi-touch gestural concepts of touch to activate, pinch to enlarge and scroll to select within a multi-user environment, combined with the interaction concepts of user-identity, networks, and behavioural lifespan through a metaphorical game."

NearInteraction Playtecture: Physical + Digital + Kids + Play

NearInteraction at Habitar Portugal | Playtecture from nearinteraction on Vimeo.

Interesting, evolving work!

Accenture's Interactive Wall for the Louvre Exhibit at the High Museum

I just came across Lauren Hayne's blog about her experience developing the Accenture Interactive Wall for the Louvre exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta during the first part of 2009.  Lauren is an analyst at Accenture.

FYI

Louvre Atlanta uses Accenture's Interactive Technology to Explore Changing Nature of Masterpieces

Interactive Wall Technology: Seeing the Big Picture

Louvre Atlanta Case Study(pdf)

Interactive Technology Fact Sheet (pdf)

More Multi-touch: Dell's Latitude XT tablet now comes with a multi-touch upgrade!

This is exciting news for multi-touch enthusiasts. Dell's Latitude XT tablet now offers a free multi-touch upgrade, according to a recent Engadget post, written by Paul Miller. Here is some information from Dell's website:

Dell Propels Laptop Innovation with First Multi-touch Convertable Tablet, Larger Solid State Drive

A word of caution about the following video demonstrating the mutli-touch capabilities of Dell's Lattitude XT. The guys presenting aren't related to Jeff Hans. You won't see the "Wow" factor that creative multi-touch applications can provide.




Photo from NotebookReview.com:


"The new capabilities include:

Scroll – by placing two fingers on the screen and moving them horizontally or vertically customers can easily navigate in web browsers and productivity applications. Zoom – by touching the screen with two fingers and moving them together customers can zoom various content in and out, such as pictures or Web pages. Programmable double-tap – customers can program a command, such as launching a Web browser or turning the screen off to save power, that will respond to two taps with two fingers." From an earlier post on the Dell website: "The Latitude XT is designed with the future in mind with the capability to support multi-touch. As the technology matures, the system can serve as a premiere development platform for applications that can take advantage of multi-touch." “By integrating our DuoSense technology into the Latitude XT, Dell creates the ultimate machine destined to lead the tablet PC market,” said Amihai Ben-David, CEO of N-trig. “Customers using the new Latitude XT will find that the zero pressure touch combined with the accurate stylus changes the usability of tablet PCs. Once they try it, they won’t want to go back.” The multi-touch gesture upgrade should be available by Tuesday, July 15th, 2008, at http://support.dell.com. No need to wait until Microsoft unleashes Windows 7, right? I think we'll need developers to create cool interactive websites that are fully optimized for multi-touch interaction, don't you? I have a few ideas for online games and more. Multi-touch technology certainly has a place in education. I would love to use this with some of the students with autism that I work with. (A donation towards my multi-touch technology fund would be greatly appreciated.)

About: Interaction Design (off the desktop)

Interaction design is a relatively new field that combines concepts related to human-computer interaction (HCI), mobile, pervasive, and ubiquitous computing (ubicomp), interface design, service design, user-experience design, interactive media design, and more.

According to Dan Saffer, an interaction designer at Adaptive Path, and author of Interaction Design: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices, interaction design is "about people: how people connect with other people through the products and services they use." If you are interested in learning more about designing for interaction, Saffer's book is a great starting point.

Saffer has recently established a wikki about interactive gestures, a site for the "dissemination of gestural interface information such as found on the iPhone and Wii." This is an important resource for those of us who are interested in developing useful interactive applications for emerging technologies.

(Related information can also be found on this blog.)