Sure, I think we'll always have tiny screens when we choose to use them. The walls return to being walls and the windows return to being windows. It's also worth pointing out that although these interfaces can be very large - taking up an entire wall instead of just the space on a laptop screen - they also vanish when you're not using them. The people we interact with will be life size. Instead of being narrowly focused on tiny screens, ignoring and blocking out everything around us, we'll be able to use interfaces that will (when we choose) be in the environment generally - interfaces that are more shareable and therefore social. What's thrilling is the idea and - more to the point - the change in behavior that it engenders. It will take place through projectors, through pixel-based surfaces, through augmented reality and through a combination of these technologies. What's exciting about this idea is that it's a general concept, not a technology or even a broad approach to technology. ![]() At this point, the advancements in technology are less about capability and more about making it cheap enough to ship.Įven the automotive industry expects car windows to become interactive. If all that sounds futuristic, recall that Samsung demonstrated working prototypes at CES three years ago. Beyond expecting walls and windows to become displays, Samsung envisions objects like coffee cups and kitchen cutting boards becoming interactive touch displays. Of course, Microsoft isn't the only company working on this general class of display technology - not by a long shot. The concept may look futuristic and far-fetched in Microsoft's videos, but the technology to bring it into existence is already being developed. One very strong theme of these videos is what you might call smart glass technology, where a regular window becomes an interactive, HD touch display on command. The third example can be found in Microsof's occasional vision videos, which represent the company's expectations about how people will interact with computers in the next five to 10 years. Virtual, computer-generated objects appear to sit on tables or bounce off walls. ![]() Instead of totally immersing you in a virtual, computer-generated world, as is the case with virtual reality, augmented reality can let you see the actual room you're in, and the virtual objects behave as if they're in the room, too. These user interfaces can incorporate surfaces in a room, something Microsoft's demo makes clear. It's a new approach to augmented reality represented by Microsoft's HoloLens technology (but also by technology from a company called Magic Leap). The second is a technology that Microsoft introduced in January. So, for example, if you're playing a shoot-em-up game in a jungle environment, the TV still has the focus of the action, but all around you is a projected jungle that corresponds in real time to the action on the screen. The idea is that when you're playing an Xbox video game, your peripheral vision can be projected onto the walls, floor and ceiling of the room you're playing in. Microsoft has a research project - and patents to go with it - for something it calls IllumiRoom. Here are three such examples from a single company: Microsoft. They'll be active in their environment, rather than sitting motionless.Įvidence of the rise of display technologies and applications that use household and office surfaces as computer interfaces is everywhere. Lumo says that with floor and wall displays, kids will focus on each other, rather than on a screen. The benefits of such environmental displays (turning everyday surfaces into interactive computer displays) are found in Lumo marketing efforts, which apply to both adults and children. (Yeah, get ready for Microsoft Windows-based windows.) Luckily for all of us, Lumo represents the most rudimentary application of an idea that is on the verge of going mainstream: The use of existing surfaces - floors, walls, ceilings, tables and even windows - as interactive computer displays. And if need is too strong a word, then we'll certainly want our imaginations enhanced. But I do think adults need their imaginations enhanced. Personally, I don't think children need their imaginations enhanced by microprocessor-based technology - they'll turn the floor into lava with or without computer assistance. The projector will cost $549 when it ships in December, if all goes according to plan. Lumo is raising money on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |