Beyond The Desktop The Future of the Interface

The co-evolution of hardware, interface and users Punched cards Character displays and keyboards Graphical displays, keyboards and mice Immersive hardware Wireless, mobile & embedded hardware Command line interfaces Direct manipulation - graphical user interfaces Immersive, ubiquitous, pervasive, ambient, wearable, tangible etc. time BoffinsWorkersEverybody

Virtual Reality Interfaces

Virtual Reality Applications scientific visualisation Simulation Games

VR Interface Challenges System performance Movement Health and safety Haptics & small Presence

A mental state where participant has the sense of being in the location specified by the displays - “being there” A fundamental goal of VR? Measuring presence subjective presence behavioural presence

Factors that affect presence Immersion Mode of navigation Self-body image External disruptions Inconsistencies between the user’s mental model of the world and its actual behavior Boredom and amount of activity

Ubiquitous Computing The third wave of computing?

Ubiquitous computing “Activate the world. Provide hundreds of wireless computing devices per person per office, of all scales (from 1" displays to wall sized). This has required new work in operating systems, user interfaces, networks, wireless, displays, and many other areas. We call our work "ubiquitous computing". This is different from PDA's, dynabooks, or information at your fingertips. It is invisible, everywhere computing that does not live on a personal device of any sort, but is in the woodwork everywhere” [Mark Weiser, PARC, 1988] Ubiquitous computing is roughly the opposite of virtual reality. Where virtual reality puts people inside a computer-generated world, ubiquitous computing forces the computer to live out here in the world with people.

Ubiquitous Interfaces

Ubiquitous Interface Challenges Interaction with invisible sensors Context awareness Interruptions and (dis)engagement Privacy, security and accountability Interaction in public settings How to study and evaluate experiences?

Interacting with (invisible) sensing systems How do I address one (or more) of many possible devices? How do I know the system is ready and attending to my actions? How do I effect a meaningful action, control its extent and possibly specify a target or targets for my action? How do I know the system is doing (has done) the right thing? How do I avoid mistakes?

Mixed Reality Continuum Virtual Reality Physical (everyday) Reality Augmented Reality Augmented Virtuality A Continuum of Realities immersionubiquity

Can You See Me Now?

The seams in CYSMN

Designing for seams Remove them Hide them Manage them Reveal them Exploit them

Mixed Reality Continuum Virtual Reality Physical (everyday) Reality Augmented Reality Augmented Virtuality CYSMN spans points on the continuum

Final Word Good interface design is fundamentally about understanding and designing for people Much of it seems like common sense - but the skill is in how you do it in practice Interface design is becoming ever more important as ‘users’ and interfaces diversify