Tech

Mirror That Reflects Your Future Self

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(via the ACM news service) Odd research at Accenture, in Sophia Antipolis, France:

Researchers at Accenture Technology's lab in France are developing a digital "mirror" that modifies a person's image to show the predicted effects of overindulgence, inactivity, and other factors based on the subject's behavioral patterns. "Helping people visualize the long-term outcomes of their behavior is an effective way to motivate change," contends Stanford University's B.J. Fogg. The system is designed to display an image of the subject via wireless camera, while computer software constructs a lifestyle profile based on camera surveillance of the person's daily activities, as well as dietary information provided by the subject himself. A different software package will then apply this profile to determine how the digital image should be changed to reflect anticipated weight gain, changes in skin tone, and other physical manifestations of excess. A third software package will modify the subject's face, and the Accenture team would like the system to function in real time. Accenture lab director Martin Illsey wants a prototype mirror to be ready by mid 2005. But though some people think the technology could be very effective in spurring users to change their lifestyle, others are skeptical. "I don't think any system which presents a negative image of the user will be taken up by many people," says University of Bristol ubiquitous computing expert Cliff Randell.

Companies and user-testing

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User experience: why do so many organizations believe they own it? report from a Silicon Valley gathering by Fred Sampson is a great account about a meeting that focused on usability in private companies.

Dear Dr. Usability, I am working for a client who does not want to conduct user research. He just wants me to start giving him page designs for his Web site. This potential client has a specific audience in mind: Vegetarian Veterinarians. Shouldn’t I insist on doing some user research before giving him what he wants? It would be unprofessional to just give him designs without some research supporting their value. —Worried Contractor in Connecticut

Confessions of a Technologist who has worked with Psychologists, Artists, Designers, and other Creatures Who are Strange to Me

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Randy Pausch is going to be keynote speaker at CHI 2005. His talk (entitled Confessions of a Technologist who has worked with Psychologists, Artists, Designers, and other Creatures Who are Strange to Me) will deal with a smart issue: Cross-disciplinary collaboration is hard.. He worked as a computer scientists on various projects,c ollaborating with psychologists (to evaluate VR design), designers, artists, neursurgeons... and he found out that:

Some highlights from the talk regarding Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration:

  1. Shotgun marriages don't work
  2. Neither side can be there "in service of" the other
  3. It takes time, patience, and courage
  4. A goal that is "above" either discipline really helps
  5. Different disciplines have different values, moral and otherwise

Onomy interactive table/wall

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A new interactive table + wall that Scott Minneman pointed me! Scott is the CTO of Onomy, an american company specialized in the design of interactive systems. Thanks to Onomy's Interactive Wall, users now have the opportunity to explore a scene or graphic in a very engaging new way. In the first installation, they move the monitor around a diorama of the city -- on the monitor, parts of the city 'come alive' and animate scenes of how the city is being changed by wireless and network technologies. They also have several tables that rocks like this one. What is even more interesting is their research-based approach:

When embarking upon the development of a new technology, we engage in "genre-based design." This methodology begins by analyzing the genre of the design situation to determine the relevant cultural conventions that (1) govern the social situation of use and deployment, (2) shape user/visitor expectations, and (3) ultimately influence the symbolic meaning of the new technology.

A genre defines not only the technological form, but also the social framework for the experience of the technology. We methodically analyze both the formal and informal conventions that influence the meaning of technology. Based on this analysis, we augment the scope and objectives of the design problem, and proceed to create a genre-sensitive design for the form and interaction of the new technology.

Why do I blog this? because we're into interactive tables recently because of the learning center project + the workshop we're organizing about it.

A location-augmented cell phone for kids

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mymo is a bright coloured plastic mobile phone designed for children and, with just 3 buttons controlling all the functions. The phone can only hold 5 pre-programmed numbers, so kids will be limited in who they can call. There is a location service that allows parents to locate the owner. Why do blog this? I am just wondering about it's going to be used, especially the location feature. I like the 3-buttons thing, it reminds me lowtech remote control.

Collaborative browsing

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(via), jybe, a firefox plugin meant to allow collaborative web-browsing.

Jybe is a Peer to Peer plug-in that enables people to surf the web and chat together all in real time. This is not a proxy service but turns your web browser into a de-facto IM client.

Why do I blog this? I like this co-surfing idea even though I still have to think about creative and original scenarios of use. Anyway, it's another element to take into account in the interface discussion I had yesterday: in this case, the browser is the main interface and is the basis for IM. Let's test this now.

Use physical properties as resource for interactions

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Bricolage explores how physical properties (such as conductivity, optical qualities or shape) of everyday objects available at hand, can be hacked on the fly to become resources for interaction in ubicomp applications.

Bricolage explores the notion of on-the-fly expressive hacking of everyday objects at hand by Ubicomp end-users. We investigate how to take advantage of physical properties and of perceived affordances emerging from the repurposing of these objects, while building interactions in context - how to design for their hackability. Bricolage builds upon experimental artistic practices and DIY hobby activities involving physical hacking of everyday material objects.

Why do I blog this? It's because I am interested into the environment (re-)shape socio-cognitive interactions. In this project, designers take advantage of physical objects (spatial artifacts) to foster new social interactions.

A nice brush

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Just ran across this: I/O Brush, did by Kimiko Ryokai, Stefan Marti, Rob Figueiredo & Hiroshi Ishii at the Tangible media group (MIT).

I/O Brush is a new drawing tool to explore colors, textures, and movements found in everyday materials by "picking up" and drawing with them. I/O Brush looks like a regular physical paintbrush but has a small video camera with lights and touch sensors embedded inside. Outside of the drawing canvas, the brush can pick up color, texture, and movement of a brushed surface. On the canvas, artists can draw with the special "ink" they just picked up from their immediate environment.

[Tech] The georb!

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The georb by Global Haptics is an interesting interface meant for various purposes: 3D design, VR, web3D, animation, telemanipulation, gaming, or science and technology applications.

Our solution is a patented mapping of convex surfaces to 3D geometries through an integrated network of tactile sensors. The user controls 3D movement simply by touching the part of the Orb that maps to the desired direction. For example, if the user wants upward motion, the user touches the top of the Orb. To move right, the user touches the right side of the Orb, and so on. Rotations are controlled intuitively as well.

The geOrb is easily operated on the desktop or away from it. It doesn't need tracking equipment, even when it is held away from the desk.

The geOrb fits comfortably in one hand or two. Since it only relies on touch, there is no tugging, twisting, or pulling, required. Since there is no need for tracking, there is also no need to hold your hands out in any awkward or uncomfortable positions. That means greater comfort.

[Tech] The Virtual Raft Project

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The Virtual Raft Project by Bill Tomlinson and others.

The Virtual Raft Project is a multidisciplinary undertaking seeking to create communities of believable autonomous characters that inhabit heterogeneous networks of computational devices. In particular, the project is interested in allowing the characters to break the plane of the traditional desktop screen. To this end, we have designed an interactive installation featuring a novel tangible paradigm for interacting with the characters. This paradigm involves the use of a mobile device, such as a Tablet PC or handheld computer, as a “virtual raft” by which a character may be transported among several virtual worlds. By enabling the character on the raft to react in real time to the raft’s motion in real space, this installation encourages participants to become physically engaged with virtual characters. We believe that this physical engagement can lead to an increase in the believability of the characters.