A Look To The Future

Next-Generation User Interfaces

By: John Garcia

Current User Interface

• Most of our current setups for our computers are still traditional mouse and keyboard while mobile devices/tablets have moved a step towards a touch screen. Some minor modifications towards our current set up is just simply making the keyboard and mouse wireless.

Challenges

• There are many concerns when it comes down to designing interfaces. First, is that many individuals have a variety of preferences (text messaging versus voice communication). Another big issue is coming to the face if its in ergonomic nature; comfortable to use.

Touch-Screen

• Mobile devices have come a large way coming down from the early generation of giant brick phones to now-a-days smartphones (iPhone, Android, Windows). Speaking of a touch screen back in those times would have been a crazy idea, but you can see how much further we’ve come. Even with touch-screen devices the clients have many different preferences via smartphones or tablets. Smartphones have a simple one-touch command while multi-touch features are very open minded for tablets. An issue with multi-touch is that its not comfortable to extend our arms for prolong periods hence why many companies expanded to devices like large interactive surfaces.

Voice Recognition

• Voice recognition is already an available interface, but it is not perfected and needs necessary improvement to make it a much more viable. Most computers know simple basic voice commands, but can’t hold an everyday conversation. Artificial intelligence is being created as we speak by researchers to further develop and help computers understand speech and writing.

The “Kinect”

• Microsoft revealed a device known as the “Kinect” for their home entertainment console the Xbox One. The “Kinect” is a very sophisticated device that is capable of capturing and reading the movements of the user in real time. It’s capable of displaying those readings into any of the software specified for the “Kinect”, but also it’s capable to capturing gestures as well and voice commands.

Virtual Reality

• As technology has advanced so has the concept of ‘virtual reality’. The Oculus Rift brings back that concept as technology has been advancing and are in the right steps of putting the user in an interactive virtual world. While the Oculus Rift is still in its testing stages a lot of the examples it has displayed is the possibility within the grasp of the future.

Google Glass

• Google has taken upon themselves to creating glasses which can interact like a smartphone. Being capable of taking phone calls, or pulling up Google maps on command. The computer is at the tip of your fingers just right in front of your eyes as you are walking out into the world with glasses. For more updates for the Google Glass click here.

Virtual Holograms

In the world of Marvel (comic book universe) the character Tony

Stark, Iron Man, is a very intelligent and brilliant man. He has the capability of creating 3D holographic interface that he is capable of interacting with and capable of connecting with the world’s internet and computer.

Someday in our future we will be looking at same thing being

possible.

Resources

• Textbook:O'Leary, T. J., O'Leary, L. I., & O'Leary, D. A. (2015).

Computing essentials 2015. (25th ed., p. 78). 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121: McGraw-Hill Education.

• Images:Google.com and Bing.com