Wednesday, 2. December 2009, 09:34:32
User Interface, 3D, UI, Computer
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Computer users have been typing on keyboards and clicking on mice for more than 20 years. An experimental new interface under development at Microsoft could give them a completely new way to use their system.
Multi-touch and motion-sensing devices have recently emerged from research labs, offering new ways to operate computers. Microsoft's experimental tactile interface takes things further still, letting users interact by squashing, stretching, rolling, or rubbing.
At the base of the new device a "sensor tile" produces magnetic multiple fields above its surface. By detecting disturbances to these fields, the system can track the movement of a metal object across its surface, or the manipulation of a bladder filled with iron filings or a magnetic fluid. A user can drag a ball bearing across the surface to move a cursor across a computer's screen, or manipulate a ferrous fluid-filled bladder to sculpt 3D virtual objects.
Source:
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23969/?a=f
Friday, 27. November 2009, 09:27:47
HCI, Computer, UI, BCI
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By the year 2020, you won't need a keyboard and mouse to control your computer, say Intel Corp. researchers. Instead, users will open documents and surf the Web using nothing more than their brain waves.
Scientists at Intel's research lab in Pittsburgh are working to find ways to read and harness human brain waves so they can be used to operate computers, television sets and cell phones. The brain waves would be harnessed with Intel-developed sensors implanted in people's brains.
The scientists say the plan is not a scene from a sci-fi movie -- Big Brother won't be planting chips in your brain against your will. Researchers expect that consumers will want the freedom they will gain by using the implant.
Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141180/Intel_Chips_in_brains_will_control_computers_by_2020
Thursday, 16. April 2009, 06:54:56
robotics, cyborg, HCI
This is about the closest thing to a Superman suit we've seen. Put it on, say its creators, and the motorized Hybrid Assistive Limb can "expand and improve physical capability" up to tenfold in activities such as walking, standing, and climbing stairs.
Through a sensor attached to the skin, "HAL" captures faint biosignals on the skin's surface that result from messages sent from the brain to muscles when a person attempts to move. A computer analyzes how much power the wearer intends to generate, then calculates the amount of torque needed to put limbs into action.
Especially noteworthy here is that the suit responds to intended motion, rather than actual motion.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10218178-1.html?tag=mncol;title
Wednesday, 18. March 2009, 08:06:02
Computer, HCI, User interfaces, demonstrations
For decades our options for interacting with the digital world have been limited to keyboards, mice, and joysticks. Now with a new generation of exciting new interfaces in the pipeline our interaction with the digital world will be forever changed. In this post we will look at some amazing demonstrations, mostly videos, that showcase new ways of interacting with the digital world. Enjoy!
First up we have a video of MIT’s David Merrill demonstrating a technology called Siftables at the 2009 TED conference. Siftables are cookie-sized, computerized blocks you can stack and shuffle in your hands. By arranging them in different configurations or tilting them at different angles you can do math, play music, spell worlds, pour virtual paint, and more. The implications for hands on learning and manipulation of data are fantastic! We have not seen any word on how/when this technology will be commercialized, but we hope it will be soon!
Source:
http://singularityhub.com/2009/03/04/the-next-generation-in-human-computer-interfaces-awesome-videos/
Friday, 6. March 2009, 11:27:51
HCI, biotechnology, cyborg, robotics
A giant flower beetle flies about, veering up and down, left and right. But the insect isn't a pest, and it isn't steering its own path. An implanted receiver, microcontroller, microbattery, and six carefully placed electrodes--a payload smaller than a dime and weighing less than a stick of gum--allow an engineer to control the bug wirelessly. By remotely delivering jolts of electricity to its brain and wing muscles, the engineer can make the cyborg beetle take off, turn, or stop midflight.
The beetle's creator, Michel Maharbiz, hopes that his bugs will one day carry sensors or other devices to locations not easily accessible to humans or the terrestrial robots used in search-and-rescue missions. The devices are cheap: materials cost as little as five dollars, and the electronics are easy to build with mostly off-the-shelf components.
Maharbiz's specialty is designing interfaces between machines and living systems, from individual cells to entire organisms. His goal is to create novel "biological machines" that take advantage of living cells' capacity for extremely low-energy yet exquisitely precise movement, communication, and computation.
Source:
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22111/
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