Remember the futuristic user interfaces used by Tom Cruise’s character in Minority Report? He was able to interact with the system and manipulate data through hand motions. This user interface technique is known as gesture recognition and is one of a number of emerging new computer-human interaction models.

Gestural recognition allows users to interact with a system without providing a direct input like a tap or click. The system recognizes hand movements and other signals and responds accordingly. Combinations of gestures (or a gestural system not unlike sign language) could be used to interact at much higher speeds than current interface techniques. It’s not a stretch to imagine gestural UI systems that adapt and personalize to a user’s specific gestural mannerisms. When combined with voice recognition, gestural UI will create new paradigms for computer/human interactions that could revolutionize how we interface with machines.

And we’re not that far away…

Gestural UIs are already out there in rudimentary form and are evolving at frighteningly fast rate:

• One of the best examples of gestural UI is the Nintendo Wii. The Wii’s success is based on its revolutionary new gaming interface—gestural game interactions.
• Healthcare is another industry that is beginning to experiment with gestural interfaces. A group of Israeli researchers has developed an application that allows doctors to manipulate medical images using gestures. This replaces the need to use a mouse or touch-screen device—eliminating possible contaminants that accumulate on physical hardware.
• Another cool application is in the kitchen. Bang & Olufsen is developing a hands-free remote control prototype. This control could have a number of interesting applications, although Bang & Olufsen is targeting it at kitchen devices (you won’t need to wash your hands before using the remote).
• In addition to Apple, several mobile phone and PDA manufacturers have recently filed patents for gestural control applications. The iPhone’s touch UI is likely a glimpse of what future handsets will support.

I expect we’ll see more and more applications and prototypes emerge in the next few years.

When Minority Report came out in 2002 the technologies it envisioned seemed far off. Gestural UIs were only one example—the film showed paper-thin LCDs, personalized ad displays, and 3-D imaging. With advances in materials and processors we may see these technologies a lot sooner than we think.

 

Related posts:

• Data Visualization with Microsoft Pivot
• Motion Magazine Demo Shows iPad Potential
• Office Desk/Bed Combo

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Experience Design, Interfaces, Research, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.