Nov 24, 2009
Morning Tech News: Razorfone: Windows 7 & WPF Retail Demo on a Multi-touch Screen, via I Started Something
Razorfone Interactive Retail Experience from Razorfish - Emerging Experiences on Vimeo.
This demo was created by the Emerging Experiences team at Razorfish. Here's the video description from Vimeo:
"Customers are being faced with increasingly complex buying decisions, especially when it comes to technology and services. As a result, increased pressure is being placed on store associates to provide knowledgeable service to customers. Our Emerging Experiences team used this opportunity to develop a solution to demonstrate how an immersive interactive experience can assist customers and store associates with complex buying decisions in a retail setting."
Comment: We've graduated from 2D multi-touch manipulation of photos via pan-zoom-rotate-resize-drag to 3D multi-touch manipulation of "objects".
So? I'm expecting much more.
There is much room for creative growth in this area!
RELATED
Emerging Experiences Blog
I Started Something Blog
Nov 23, 2009
GestureTek & Sprint's Interactive Wall: 3D depth-sensing allows wall interaction with a cell phone.
I missed this one! The video and photos below are of the Sprint Center Interactive Wall, powered by GestureTek's 3D depth-sensing system. The media art was created by Takashi Kawashima,a designer/media artist who lives in San Francisco. He has an MFA in Design| Media Arts from UCLA.
The interactive display can be controlled by a cell phone.
YouTube description/plug:
"GestureTeks 3D depth sensing technology powers an attention-grabbing interactive digital signage system for telecom leader Sprint. The 3D depth sensing interactive display screen, with mobile phone connectivity, tracks peoples body movements, and responds by sending a Sprint promotional message that follows them the entire length of the interactive billboard. The interactive motion-detecting advertising message invites users to create their own personalized interactive wall art on Sprints gesture control screen, by calling Sprint on their mobile phone. GestureTeks 3D tracker is the heart of the system. Installation lead: Mission Electronics. Creative: Goodby Silverstein."
The Instant DJ application looks fun! It allows you to mix the music tracks on the large display with your phone.
Phone Painter: Sprint Center Interactive Wall
Instant DJ
Now Widget
RELATED
Sprint Uses GestureTek 3D Tracking & Control System for New Interactive Digital Signage Campaign
GestureTek Announces 3D Gesture Tracking Initiatives for Sprint and Hitachi; Shares New 3D Patent Information
SOMEWHAT RELATED
GestureFX: Next Generation Pediatrics Business Case (interactive floor for a pediatric clinic's waiting room)
AirPoint Hand-Tracking Unit for Mouse Replacement and "Point to Control" Interactivity
Cross posted on The World Is My Interface blog
The interactive display can be controlled by a cell phone.
YouTube description/plug:
"GestureTeks 3D depth sensing technology powers an attention-grabbing interactive digital signage system for telecom leader Sprint. The 3D depth sensing interactive display screen, with mobile phone connectivity, tracks peoples body movements, and responds by sending a Sprint promotional message that follows them the entire length of the interactive billboard. The interactive motion-detecting advertising message invites users to create their own personalized interactive wall art on Sprints gesture control screen, by calling Sprint on their mobile phone. GestureTeks 3D tracker is the heart of the system. Installation lead: Mission Electronics. Creative: Goodby Silverstein."
The Instant DJ application looks fun! It allows you to mix the music tracks on the large display with your phone.
Phone Painter: Sprint Center Interactive Wall
Instant DJ
Now Widget
RELATED
Sprint Uses GestureTek 3D Tracking & Control System for New Interactive Digital Signage Campaign
GestureTek Announces 3D Gesture Tracking Initiatives for Sprint and Hitachi; Shares New 3D Patent Information
SOMEWHAT RELATED
GestureFX: Next Generation Pediatrics Business Case (interactive floor for a pediatric clinic's waiting room)
AirPoint Hand-Tracking Unit for Mouse Replacement and "Point to Control" Interactivity
Cross posted on The World Is My Interface blog
Morning Tech News: LED "Tatoos"; Sixth Sense Wearable Displays
Since I am usually crunched for time, I thought I'd try posting "morning tech news" on this blog in a brief format, and return to the topic later - hopefully later in the day or at the most, within the week.
If you are familiar with this blog, what I consider "news" is sometimes new to me. It might be something that crossed my path a while ago and never posted. It might be something that I missed. It doesn't even have to be "news", if it is something that is unique, catches my fancy, or is something that I think is an important innovation that should be followed and shared.
Today's news I caught from Wired, which linked to an article in MIT's Technology Review, "Implantable Silicon-Silk Electronics: Biodegradable circuits could enable better neural interfaces and LED tatoos", written by Katherine Bourzac.
"By building thin, flexible silicon electronics on silk substrates, researchers have made electronics that almost completely dissolve inside the body. So far the research group has demonstrated arrays of transistors made on thin films of silk. While electronics must usually be encased to protect them from the body, these electronics don't need protection, and the silk means the electronics conform to biological tissue. The silk melts away over time and the thin silicon circuits left behind don't cause irritation because they are just nanometers thick."
RELATED
WIRED's Gadget Lab: The Illustrated Man: How LED Tattos Could Make Your Skin a Screen Charlie Sorrel 11/20/09
"The silk substrate onto which the chips are mounted eventually dissolves away inside the body, leaving just the electronics behind. The silicon chips are around the length of a small grain of rice — about 1 millimeter, and just 250 nanometers thick. The sheet of silk will keep them in place, molding to the shape of the skin when saline solution is added.
-Surfdaddy Orca, hplusmagaizine 11/17/09
"Brian Litt, associate professor of neurology and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, is working with researchers from Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois and Tufts University to develop medical applications for the new transistors. Their silk-silicon LEDs can act as photonic tattoos that can show blood-sugar readings, as well as arrays of conformable electrodes that might interface with the nervous system."
Litt Lab : Translational NeuroEngineering
(Brian Litt's lab.)
SOMEWHAT RELATED
I've been thinking about flexible touch-screen applications, and it never occurred to me that the concept might be something that would transfer to human skin! Here are a few of my posts related to this topic:
Last night I dreamt about haptic touch-screen overlays...
Rhizome 2009: A Lovely Interactive Multi-touch App on a Flexible Lycra Screen
Impress: A cool flexible interface project by Silke Hilsing
More about this "somewhat related topic" to come:
Latest SixthSense demo features paper "laptop" camera gestures
Nilay Patel, Engadget 11/18/09
Adding a "SixthSense" to your Cellphone
Vikas Bajaj, Bits, New York Times 11/6/09
Pattie Maes TED Talk: Sixth Sense- Mobile Wearable Interface and Gesture Interaction (for the price of a cell phone!) - my post from 3/2009
If you are familiar with this blog, what I consider "news" is sometimes new to me. It might be something that crossed my path a while ago and never posted. It might be something that I missed. It doesn't even have to be "news", if it is something that is unique, catches my fancy, or is something that I think is an important innovation that should be followed and shared.
Today's news I caught from Wired, which linked to an article in MIT's Technology Review, "Implantable Silicon-Silk Electronics: Biodegradable circuits could enable better neural interfaces and LED tatoos", written by Katherine Bourzac.
"By building thin, flexible silicon electronics on silk substrates, researchers have made electronics that almost completely dissolve inside the body. So far the research group has demonstrated arrays of transistors made on thin films of silk. While electronics must usually be encased to protect them from the body, these electronics don't need protection, and the silk means the electronics conform to biological tissue. The silk melts away over time and the thin silicon circuits left behind don't cause irritation because they are just nanometers thick."
RELATED
WIRED's Gadget Lab: The Illustrated Man: How LED Tattos Could Make Your Skin a Screen Charlie Sorrel 11/20/09
"The silk substrate onto which the chips are mounted eventually dissolves away inside the body, leaving just the electronics behind. The silicon chips are around the length of a small grain of rice — about 1 millimeter, and just 250 nanometers thick. The sheet of silk will keep them in place, molding to the shape of the skin when saline solution is added.
These displays could be hooked up to any kind of electronic device, also inside the body. Medical uses are being explored, from blood-sugar sensors that show their readouts on the skin itself to neurodevices that tie into the body’s nervous system — hooking chips to particular nerves to control a prosthetic hand, for example."
Tatoo You: Silicon LED's can act as photonic tattoos that can show blood sugar readings-Surfdaddy Orca, hplusmagaizine 11/17/09
"Brian Litt, associate professor of neurology and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, is working with researchers from Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois and Tufts University to develop medical applications for the new transistors. Their silk-silicon LEDs can act as photonic tattoos that can show blood-sugar readings, as well as arrays of conformable electrodes that might interface with the nervous system."
Litt Lab : Translational NeuroEngineering
(Brian Litt's lab.)
SOMEWHAT RELATED
I've been thinking about flexible touch-screen applications, and it never occurred to me that the concept might be something that would transfer to human skin! Here are a few of my posts related to this topic:
Last night I dreamt about haptic touch-screen overlays...
Rhizome 2009: A Lovely Interactive Multi-touch App on a Flexible Lycra Screen
Impress: A cool flexible interface project by Silke Hilsing
More about this "somewhat related topic" to come:
Latest SixthSense demo features paper "laptop" camera gestures
Nilay Patel, Engadget 11/18/09
Adding a "SixthSense" to your Cellphone
Vikas Bajaj, Bits, New York Times 11/6/09
Pattie Maes TED Talk: Sixth Sense- Mobile Wearable Interface and Gesture Interaction (for the price of a cell phone!) - my post from 3/2009
Nov 21, 2009
Want to make some multi-touch? Try PyMT- Python Multitouch. Featured in Make. (via Sharath Patali)
Sharath Patali, a member of the NUI-Group, has been working with Python Multitouch, otherwise known as PyMT, to create multi-touch applications. He shared a link to a recent post in Make, featuring PyMT. Sharath is the author of the UI Addict blog, and is currently doing his internship at NUITEQ (Natural User Interface Technologies).
I've been told that the beauty of PyMT is that it makes it "easy" to create multi-touch prototype applications using very few lines of code, which is great for trying out different ideas in a short period of time. It helps if you already know Python!
PyMT - A post-WIMP Multi-Touch UI Toolkit from Thomas Hansen on Vimeo.
"PyMT is a python module for developing multi-touch enabled media rich applications. Currently the aim is to allow for quick and easy interaction design and rapid prototype development. PyMT is written in Python, based on pyglet toolkit."
PyMT Programming Guide
PyMT Website
Note:
Christopher, author of The Space Station blog, is a member of the NUI-Group, and is building his own multi-touch table running his PyMT-based applications. Christopher is a student in Koblenz, Germany, studying computational visualistics, known as information visualization in the US.
I've been told that the beauty of PyMT is that it makes it "easy" to create multi-touch prototype applications using very few lines of code, which is great for trying out different ideas in a short period of time. It helps if you already know Python!
PyMT - A post-WIMP Multi-Touch UI Toolkit from Thomas Hansen on Vimeo.
"PyMT is a python module for developing multi-touch enabled media rich applications. Currently the aim is to allow for quick and easy interaction design and rapid prototype development. PyMT is written in Python, based on pyglet toolkit."
PyMT Programming Guide
PyMT Website
Note:
Christopher, author of The Space Station blog, is a member of the NUI-Group, and is building his own multi-touch table running his PyMT-based applications. Christopher is a student in Koblenz, Germany, studying computational visualistics, known as information visualization in the US.
"Image Reveal" application for the SMART Table, by Vectorform.
The SMART Table from Smart Technologies now features the Image Reveal application, created by Vectorform, that supports multi-touch, multi-user collaborative learning activities for children. The Image Reveal is the first third-party application published for the SMART Table, and is available for free from the SMART website.
"Vectorform was eager to collaborate with SMART to create an early learning application for the SMART Table, which it feels is a groundbreaking technology product. Image Reveal enables young users to collaborate and answer a series of multiple choice questions in a chosen subject area. Each correct answer uncovers part of a hidden image until it is fully visible. Alternatively, students can guess what the hidden image is at any time to win the game. Using the SMART Table Toolkit, teachers can customize content, including subject area, hidden image, questions and answers, and use images to tailor questions and answers for pre-literate learners." -SMART Tech Press Release
SMART Table Introductory Video:
It is good news to see that SMART Technologies is providing new applications for the SMART Table. There is much room for growth in this field. However, the applications still have the look and feel of electronic workbooks, with a few interactive media bells and whistles tossed in to ensure that the system appeals to young learners. I wonder if the application supports teaching the skills needed for children to successfully work together, such turn-taking, negotiating with other children in a group situation, or settling differences of opinion.
Classrooms in elementary schools now contain a growing number of students who have autism spectrum disorders, as well as other disabilities that interfere with social interaction. For this reason, it would be important to learn if SMART Table applications follow the guidelines for Universal Design for Learning(UDL).
"Vectorform was eager to collaborate with SMART to create an early learning application for the SMART Table, which it feels is a groundbreaking technology product. Image Reveal enables young users to collaborate and answer a series of multiple choice questions in a chosen subject area. Each correct answer uncovers part of a hidden image until it is fully visible. Alternatively, students can guess what the hidden image is at any time to win the game. Using the SMART Table Toolkit, teachers can customize content, including subject area, hidden image, questions and answers, and use images to tailor questions and answers for pre-literate learners." -SMART Tech Press Release
SMART Table Introductory Video:
It is good news to see that SMART Technologies is providing new applications for the SMART Table. There is much room for growth in this field. However, the applications still have the look and feel of electronic workbooks, with a few interactive media bells and whistles tossed in to ensure that the system appeals to young learners. I wonder if the application supports teaching the skills needed for children to successfully work together, such turn-taking, negotiating with other children in a group situation, or settling differences of opinion.
Classrooms in elementary schools now contain a growing number of students who have autism spectrum disorders, as well as other disabilities that interfere with social interaction. For this reason, it would be important to learn if SMART Table applications follow the guidelines for Universal Design for Learning(UDL).
RELATED
Cross-posted in Tech Psych
Video: DROID & Interactive Display in Times Square; Droid Voice-activated Search
The video below shows people in NYC's Times Square using their Verizon Droid phones to interact with the Verizon Wireless digital signage billboard:
The Droid offers a voice-activated search feature. Users can ask a question, and the search engine, powered by Google, will provide the search results from the web or from items stored on the phone. One feature I like is that it provides turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps, as well as other helpful geographic information. This would be a great tool for city dwellers and visitors alike.
The video below is a demonstration of how the Google Maps Navigation feature works on Android-based phones:
RELATED
Verizon, Motorola Unveil the Droid
Marguerite Reardon 10/29/09 CNN Tech
Verizon Droid Gets New Google Innovation: Real-Time Internet-Linked Navigation
Michael Hickins, BNET
Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0
Google Mobile Blog
DRIOD by Motorola Fact Sheet
Cross posted-The World Is My Interface
The Droid offers a voice-activated search feature. Users can ask a question, and the search engine, powered by Google, will provide the search results from the web or from items stored on the phone. One feature I like is that it provides turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps, as well as other helpful geographic information. This would be a great tool for city dwellers and visitors alike.
The video below is a demonstration of how the Google Maps Navigation feature works on Android-based phones:
RELATED
Verizon, Motorola Unveil the Droid
Marguerite Reardon 10/29/09 CNN Tech
Verizon Droid Gets New Google Innovation: Real-Time Internet-Linked Navigation
Michael Hickins, BNET
Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0
Google Mobile Blog
DRIOD by Motorola Fact Sheet
Cross posted-The World Is My Interface
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