"Microsoft is Imagining a NUI Future". You can, too!

Microsoft is Imagining a NUI Future
Steve Clayton, Next at Microsoft Blog, 1/26/11


"Our research shows that the vast majority of people polled in both developed and emerging markets see great potential for NUI applications beyond entertainment. This is especially true in China and India, where 9 out of 10 respondents indicate they are likely to use NUI technology across a range of lifestyle areas – from work, education and healthcare, to social connections, entertainment and the environment. We believe that taking technology to the next billion can be aided by NUI – making technology more accessible and more intuitive to a wider audience". - Steve Clayton, Microsoft


The people at Microsoft don't own the concept!  I'm a member of the NUI Group (May, 2007) and SparkOn.  Both are on-line communities where you can find people who live and breathe NUI, learn about their work, and even share designs and code. If you are intrigued by NUI - as a designer, developer, or user, please join us.

Note: 
I've been an evangelist and cheerleader for the NUI cause for many years.  If you search this blog for "post-WIMP", "NUI", "multi-touch", "gesture", "off-the-desktop", "natural user interaction", "natural user interface", or even "DOOH", you'll be provided with an overwhelming number of posts that include videos, photographs, and links to NUI-related resources, including scholarly articles.  There is a small-but-growing number of people from many disciplines, quietly working on NUI-related projects.

RELATED
Microsoft Plans a Natural Interface Future Full of Gestures, Touchscreens, and Haptics
Kit Eaton, Fast Company, 1/26/112
Rethinking Computing (video)
Craig Mundie, Microsoft
Interactive Touch-Screen Technology, Participatory Design, and "Getting It" - Revised
Touch Screen Interaction in Public Spaces:  Room for Improvement, if "every surface is to be a computer".

Quick Link: Bill Gerba's Updated Graphic of the Digital Signage Ecosystem, 2011

This might interest readers who are interested in digital signage and DOOH (Digital Out-of Home):


Bill Gerba is the author of Wirespring's Digital Signage Insider blog and his articles are worth taking the time to read.  I especially like the way he's conceptualized the world of digital signage.  He includes a graphic from 2008 and rolls out an updated version that shows how things have changed in the industry over the past few years. 


Visualizing How to Add Value to the Digital Signage Ecosystem
Bill Gerba, The Digital Insider, 1/21/11




As I read Bill's post, it occurred to me that the changes represented in the 2011 graphic are similar to those occurring in other technology-related areas.  Things are changing rapidly and it is not always easy to conceptualize things on the fly.  It is helpful to understand complexity through an ecosystems model, in my opinion.

Technology Out and About: DOOH at the Porche Design Shop in St. Martin (Video)

Video Window, Porche Design, St. Martin from Lynn Marentette on Vimeo.

I came across this video display at a Porche Design shop in St. Martin. The video was well-done, but the display was difficult to see from a distance. The saleswoman wasn't sure who produced the content.

I thought that it would be more interesting if the content was interactive- something for do while my husband shopped!

A few links: GizmoWatch's 10 Interactive User Interfaces for the Future, CNN's Eatocracy, EVA 2010 and More!

Here's a quick link to a recent Gizmowatch post, Ten Interactive User Interfaces for the Future.  Bharat, the authro, reviews a variety of interfaces, input methods, and interaction techniques, such as Skinput, a water-based touch screen, a muscle-computer interface, air gestures, brain-computer systems, and even a mud-tub interface.


I was fortunate to see some of these interaction techniques and interfaces when I attended CHI 2010 this past April, and plan to share some of my photos and video clips from the conference on this blog soon.


Totally Unrelated


Online connection for foodies
Eatocracy is a new website within the CNN pages that provides news- and more- about all things related to food. The categories on the site include "main", "news", "bite", "sip", "make", "think", and "buzz".  The best part, in my opinion, is the heirloom recipe collection index, where people can upload and share family recipies and the stories behind them.

Here is the description of Eatocracy from the website:

Eatocracy  "is your online home for smart, passionate conversation and information about food news, politics, culture. We'll highlight regional and family recipes, dive into restaurants and food shopping, chat with celebrity and local chefs, and show you what's for dinner around the world tonight. Grab a place at the table and read with your mouth full."

Enjoy!

(The above is a repost from The World is My Interactive Interface)

Coming Soon

--More about 3D TV and Interactive TV

--Highlights from CHI 2010 (better late than never!)

--My experiments- SMARTTable, a game, interactive timeline prototype pictures...

--A post about Lieven van Velthoven's interesting Post-WIMP explorations - here are some links that he recently sent me:

• 3D birthday invitation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNOP5aIoS9o
• Virtual overgrowth in the real world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuJPoUpBIKU
• Make race tracks for virtual cars with any real stuff you can find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1K3og8qLcA
• Smoke Pong: Pong, ONLY for smokers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwrsVo5p2_E
• Webcam Airmouse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57kTrKJHOjM 
• MusicalNodes: the visual music library: www.musicalnodes.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czQdhfA__UY (will be published at EVA2010)

As I took a peek at Lieven's video links, I noticed an interesting video mash-up Lieven created from the open-source code from the RadioHead's House of Cards music video and his One Million Particles app. I'll post them soon.

I'll try to get video, pictures, and commentary about EVA 2010.  EVA stands for Electronic Visualization and the Arts. "Electronic Information, the Visual Arts, and Beyond.

FYI

I'm in the process of sorting through and re-organizing my blogs, which have been around for over four years!  During this time, my blogs have attracted a growing number of readers. Because of this, I'd like to make things a bit user-centered.  So expect to see little changes here and there.  I promise I'll give my readers warnings in advance if I make any serious changes! 

If you are new to this blog, you should know that my blogs started out as on-line filing cabinets, open to the world.  Although there is a bit of overlap of material and some cross-posting between the blogs, they are arranged to serve as a paper-less way of keeping track of things that I've learned through my coursework, conference attendance, readings, and research. Since emerging technologies are high on my list of interests, I also use my blogs to share interesting things that cross my path.    

  

I changed the name of my World Is My Interface blog to The World Is My Interactive Interface.   "Off-the-desktop natural user interfaces, interaction, and user experience" are the main topics of the blog.  It sometimes includes information about ubiquitous computing and DOOH, otherwise known as Digital Out Of Home.

I plan to tinker with my TechPsych blog later on. It focuses on topics that are useful to psychologists, educators, special education teachers, speech and language therapists, health and wellness professionals, and parents.

Feel free to leave comments, as I welcome your input.

Digital Out of Home (DOOH): Screens Large and Small at the Mall (and some touch interactive Coke machines!)

I was at the Southpark Mall in Charlotte yesterday and noticed that screens of all sizes were everywhere I went. I happened to have my little HD video camera with me and thought I'd share what came across my path.

Most of what I saw wasn't too innovative or interactive. Many of the smaller video displays were located on the market karts in the main traffic areas of the mall. Scattered about the mall are cozy living-room like areas, with comfy couches, WiFi access, and in on spot, a few large-screen HD televisions, perfect for watching sports or the news while other members of your social/family network do some serious shopping. I especially liked the infomercial about North Carolina's beaches around Wilmington.

I wasn't too excited about the information display about the mall, which provides what looks like a version of the Southpark Mall website, shown at :44 on the first video clip.  Located about 20 feet from a static mall directory, not a single soul looked at the screen or used the keyboard and mouse to find out more about what the stores in the mall had to offer.  The static directory, on the other hand, had groups of people looking at it all of the time as I observed.  (I added screen-shots and pictures of the keyboard-and-mouse display near the end of this post.)

At the end of the first video clip, you'll see a new interactive touch-screen Coke vending machine, but the one featured at the end of the first video is out of order.

Not to worry. I stopped to rest in another area of the mall, and in right in my line of sight was another Coke machine, just as a young man was trying to figure out how to get a Coke out of the machine. It took him 93 seconds. That might not seem like too long, but if you watch the second video, you'll see that it was almost painful to watch.

As the young man finished purchasing his soda, a family with two young children were nearby and figured out that the display wasn't just for ads. The second video clip has a few shots of the younger child playing with the touch screen, and later on, his dad.  The little guy probably would have played with the touchable spinning Coke bottle for a long time! The dad commented, "They should have something like this for the home!", and mentioned that his kids liked the SMARTboards at school.

In my opinion, the interactive Coke Machine didn't know what it wanted to be.  An eye-catching, attention grabbing infomercial?   A useful interactive information display?   A fun toy to touch and play?  A system to make it difficult to quickly reach your goal of getting your thirst quenched, better to get the ads into your brain?


Marketers, designers, and developers, listen to this:


A lot of people still do not know about larger interactive touch screens. Even if they have an iPhone!
I told the parents about touch-enabled all-in-one PC's, touch-screen netbook/laptops, and the rumor that Apple might come out with a touch-screen tablet. They'd never heard of such things. This mall is very upscale, and the families that come to shop there have money.  They still can buy shoes at Nordstrom and drink specialty coffees, and of course, crowd around in the Apple Store.

The Videos


Note:  The participants in the following two videos gave permission for me to video. The videos were not staged.

A Young Guy and an Interactive Coke Machine


A Kid and an Interactive Coke Machine


RELATED
Below is a picture of the web-connected directory at the Southpark Mall from about a year ago.  No-one used it then, and at the time, the display was not working.  If you look closely, you'll see the keyboard and mouse set up.  Although this display contains a lot of information about the mall, via the web, it does not meet the needs of most shoppers, who travel in pairs, groups, families, and extended families during the holiday season. 

Below are two screen shots of the SouthPark website, which can be accessed by using the keyboard and mouse on the information display, as I previously mentioned.

In my opinion, there is enough screen space on the touch-screen Coke machine to provide interactive information about the mall.  Ripping content from the mall's website won't do, since it is text-based, boring, and oh-so WIMP-y!

Better yet, the mall should transform the large static directories into something useful, keeping in mind that most of the time it will need to support two or more people deciding where to go and what to do while they are at the mall.  Beam a mini-map of the mall to the shoppers to use on their iPhones/Smart phones, and give them a shopping advisor app while you are at it.

Psssst....
There are too many talking head screens in the mall.  Make them interactive, add some value, and see what might happen, especially if you want to target reluctant shoppers like myself.

For fun:
I Want the Giant iPhone! (Short Glimpse of the Apple Store)


RELATED
Coca-Cola Testing Interactive Vending Machines Patricia Odell, Promo, 4/2/09:

"Shoppers will come upon the units in high traffic locations and can use the large format touch screen displays to interact with and buy Coca-Cola products. People will also be learning about specials and promotions available at the mall and will be able to purchase the beverages using Simon Giftcards.
 

"The flat screen is set in the vending machine doors and is divided into three sections. The machines feature functionality similar to an iPhone. For example, the mid section of the screen is where people can buy drinks. Clicking on a product lets the shopper rotate the bottle to see the label. The top and bottom sections of the screen are used for running commercials for Coke and other Coca-Cola brands and for Simon Mall promos...This is just preliminary to see how the functionality goes," Coca-Cola spokesperson Ray Crockett said. Next-gen models of the machines will offer mobile phone downloads in the form of music files, ringtones and wallpaper, along with cashless payment and more, Coca-Cola said...The machines were first Introduced at the Summer Olympics last year in Beijing and one the Simon dTour...The new machines incorporate sight, sound and motion video to take the vending experience from transaction to true interaction,” Anthony Phillips, global brand manager at Coca-Cola said in a release. “We wanted the machines to be eye-catching in a way that would turn heads and command attention.” The new venders were developed by The Coca-Cola Co. in partnership with Samsung and interactive marketing agency Sapient".

Sapient Interactive Services
Sapient Interactive Mobile Group

Update:  Some links to Bill Gerba's blog posts:

Digital Signage Screen Placement: Modeling Consumer Behavior http://bit.ly/4oXPWM
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Angle, Height and Text Size http://bit.ly/7hG6NZ
Making great digital signage content: A quick reference guide http://bit.ly/74rNL5

Links to posts about Singularity University, Designing for the Internet of Things, etc.

Here are a variety of links from the The World Is My Interface blog:

Singularity University? What about a Singularity Community College, with a mobile/distance learning option?

David Orban's Internet of Things & Spime Design presentation at the Singularity University 2009

The IBM Web or Internet of Things: "A Smarter Planet"

News about Smart Grids and Smart Kitchens

LTE vs WiMax: Trying my best to understand emerging technologies....

Pervasive Computing, DOOH, Intelligent Buildings, Programmable Nano-based Sensors, Privacy & Security, & Ethics...hmmm

Still a dream: Ubiquitous Women in Technology

I learned that Twitter was hacked, just after I blogged about privacy & security & emerging technologies..

After reading a few things about emerging technologies and concerns about privacy and security, I posted the following to my Technology-Supported Human-World Interaction blog.

Pervasive Computing, DOOH, Intelligent Buildings, Programmable Nano Sensors, Privacy & Security & Ethics.. hmmm

Right after that, I learned that Twitter was hacked. Here is the TechCrunch article:

In Our Inbox: Hundreds Of Confidential Twitter Documents

"Here’s a dilemma: The guy (”Hacker Croll”) who claims to have accessed hundreds of confidential corporate and personal documents of Twitter and Twitter employees, is releasing those documents publicly and sent them to us earlier today. The zip file contained 310 documents, ranging from executive meeting notes, partner agreements and financial projections to the meal preferences, calendars and phone logs of various Twitter employee".

I think issues related to privacy, security, ethics, and emerging/social technologies need to be discussed more extensively among academicians, industry leaders, students, and the general public. We don't know what we don't know.