Cutting Edge Computer Interfaces? 106
Senate Staffer asks: "I am doing some research for U.S. Senator on technology advancements, specifically in the field of computer interfaces. Human-Computer interface tools have not changed for quite some time. The keyboard was grandfathered from the type-writer, and although there have been advancements (ergonomic designs, different key layouts, even different shapes), the basic function has not changed. The mouse was a major new advancement for computers, and again, although there have been advancements (track-balls, optical mice, trackpads, etc) the function has remained the same. What cutting edge technologies are being researched today and where? What technologies are currently available to consumers, and what technologies are on the horizon?"
Which? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Tax Dollars At Work? (Score:5, Insightful)
HCI (Score:4, Insightful)
You gotcher mouse, trackball, and mutant variations and combinations thereof, including tablets. Add force feedback and stir, where appropriate (slow down the mouse over window controls, etc.). Oh yeah, don't forget the whole wireless vs wired argument, plus security or lack thereof implied therein.
You gotcher touchscreens (icky), and yer voice command, and then, we come at last to voice recognition and haptic interfaces.
The thing is, humans have a limited number of ways to enter information, and depending on the nature of the information, it's going to probably have to come down to keyboards or voice recognition (or handwriting recognition) for _entering_ information.
For _manipulating_ information, you have a lot more choices, but doing so efficiently depends heavily on the nature of the information being manupulated. If you're editing a video, the appropriate efficient interface is probably going to be vastly different from that of editing plain text. And there's always going to be a personal preference entering the equation (e.g. some prefer trackballs over mice, some prefer pen & tablet over either).
I don't want an interface that uses scent or taste, thanks.
Re:Tax Dollars At Work? (Score:5, Insightful)
You want to know what the people are thinking, you goto the people. Slashdot would have a very large userbase of tech users, good place to ask Slashdot.
I heard a statement that I think came from Charles E. Merrill, that he use to walk around the mall to see what people bought, so he knew what to invest in. You goto the people buying and using the product to get information.
Is Slashdot a bad place to ask these questions, no. Its not only a news forum, its a discussion forum, always has been. Its not just News for nerds, its a open forum to discuss these things.
Re:Well.. (Score:3, Insightful)
For example, a common interface for old laptops (Model 100, 102, 200, 600, NEC 8201A, NEC8300, NEC 8500 etc.) was a main screen which shows a tabular list of say, 30 files and programs. You moved around with the arrow keys and picked what you wanted to work on. When you enter a program it forces you to pick a filename. You never need to "Save," similar to PalmOS.
No subdirectories. If you exit your program, you're back at the simple menu.
If you hit on a text file, guess what... it opens up in the text editor. If you hit enter on a BASIC program, it launches the program in BASIC.
Since there are no subdirectories, all your files are in plain view, so you don't lose them or waste time organizaing them. If you need to group a set of them you saved them to floppies or cassette, and those are easy to keep track of, since they are not abstract, but tangible things. That is intuitively understandable and comfortable for people.
Modern PCs have way too many "modes" and abstractions and ways to lose your information. Sure, if you're organized it is mangageable. But it sure would be better for everyone if the computer did its job and helped you stay organized. And the interface really should be data centric rather than program centric or programmer centric.
And I don't think a desktop full of icons is the way to do it either. You need to have interfaces manageable at a human level. Allowing a desktop with an arbitrarily large number of files is just too much.
By setting limitations, you do reduce possibilities, and flexibility but you also reduce the choices users are required to make, while forcing them into some kind of organization they are capable of dealing with. I like Raskins idea of a "Humane Interface." That should be the goal. I don't think he has "got it" personally, but it's the proper goal.
Two immediately come to mind (Score:2, Insightful)
The first is the haptic glove line from Immersion Corp [immersion.com]. At my old office we had a Sensable Phantom, which was somewhat neat in a "that's completely useless" sort of way, but this one really excites me. If the market for these grew and the price came down, I think it would be a great breakthrough for games and other simulations in particular. Imagine playing Black & White with one of these!
The second is an entire new field, combining bioinformatics and computing closer than ever. Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a burgeoning field, with a lot of research being done at universities such as Duke. I'm sure you've all heard of things such as the rhesus monkey controlling a robot arm [bbc.co.uk] via neurosensors embedded in its brain, for instance. There are also less intrusive methods available utilising EEG, such as the headbands from IBVA [ibva.org], cheesy as they may be. Obviously, though, these latter technologies don't have the same potential quality as their intrusive counterports.
And a third I thought of while writing this is Nintendo. Really. Their DS system has a lot of innovative features, what with its built in touchpad and microphone, and lack of mouse and keyboard, which means "traditional" methods are out of the question. Who knows what they're planning with their Revolution system? If it's something in the same vein, I think it will be a great boon for HCI. Of course, some of these could turn out to be flukes, but simply having someone with the exposure and resources of Nintendo (and their third parties) so actively involved in experimental input methods is very exciting.
sign language (Score:2, Insightful)