D1 - The impact of a potential future development in HCI

In this post, i will be giving my opinion on the possible impacts of future development on HCI.

Society
 In this day and age we are just getting to grips with voice control, we are selling it in phones and sometimes it works however sometimes it doesn't. The problem with voice control in phones is the fact that it may pick up certain words but not any others. It will generally use words in the dictionary and not any slang new words you may want to use.

 In the future Voice control could get so much more powerful and the great thing is its only just starting. Starting with the negatives this time we could have all this amazing voice control but would you still ever use it on the street. some people may find it weird being seen talking to a mobile phone telling it for you to note to buy some milk before you go home.

 So we could go as far as to say how long till we can open a locked door in our house with just our voice, No need for keys we could just say 'Door open' and it would recognize your voice and open. Or how about a simple home system which you could interact with and just say random things around your house such as 'light off'. 

 As I said voice control is just starting and the things we could potentially do with it are crazy and some what scary. Being able to control a house with just your voice could in fact improve security, by almost eradicating the possibility of your house keys being stolen, as you wouldn't have any.

Economy
 So what can HCI do for the economy? I personally believe that it will help it improve in the future. First of all, it ca help businesses search for emails or notes. There are programs out there which allow you to put your emails in them whether you have photocopied your notes into an email or received an email from your boss and you have a lot of emails. It could be frustrating having to look through all those emails so there are programs which will let you type in a word or keywords and analyse the pictures or emails to pick up the words and show them to you, even if it is handwritten. It could potentially get so much better. This could improve a businesses productivity as it could allow employees to have overloaded emails but make it so much easier for them to find there notes.

 With businesses you could in fact in the future have a 'power computer' which can talk to you and do things for you and could literally be the boss. Kind of like an AI. You can speak to it or email it, scan things in and it could literally run the company while you were working. This is realistically more in the future by a long shot but the concept is really there today! 

Culture
 The things HCI could do in the future are amazing, just the idea of talking on Skype to someone or a piece of software with a video transmission and then having the ability to see a hologram of that persons face you were talking to around the room you could walk through it or around it would just be incredible. To be able to play a game of chess with your friend in china in 3D would just be incredible and possible! Very expensive but completely possible. It could allow teaching in ways we could not imagine now. A geography lesson where you can pull out the world in 3D and get students to walk around it zoom in on different countries by touching it is an idea that may sound incredibly far-fetched, is very possible in the near future.

Google Glass

 Google glasses are a great example as to just how far HCI has come in time. They have similar functions to a phone however they are designed to easier to use and easy to see. The glasses have the physical approach of typical glasses however they have a small camera built into the side and when the person wears the Google glasses the projection is on the lenses. The camera is able to take pictures and videos, showing progress on the lenses, capturing life moments more easily. 

 When lost or if the usual route to work/ a friend’s house has been blocked the glasses will inform the user and quickly afterwards, show them another route that they could take. Directions are displayed in front of the person. Similar to phones, Google glasses can record the user’s voice and send it in a message to another person, saving them time on typing. The device is a hands free device increasing the simplicity. A really good feature of the Google glasses is the translator, if the user is in a foreign country and says something in English, the glasses are able to translate this and tell them how to pronounce it in their language as well as how to write it out. This affects culture and communication barriers. 

 When arriving at a bus, train, fairy or an airport the glasses will let the person know automatically how early/ how later they are. Unlike average glasses, these Google glasses are proven to be strong and light in weight. There are several designs and colors which are available to the public.

 The Advantages of Google Glass

1. Hands Free: The currently most popular applications for Google Glasses are continuous hands free tasks, such as video recording, maps/directions, and clock/date apps.
2. Convenience: The second most obvious advantage of Google Glasses are convenience apps, such as taking photos with just a push of a button, head or eye movement, or voice command without the need of taking out a cell phone or camera from a pocket or bag, possibly turning it on, then starting the camera application, and then finally aiming the camera to take the photo.
3. Multitask: With Google Glasses, users no longer have to look away from the task that they are performing. For instance, drivers do not need to take their eyes off the road if they need directions.
4. Open Platform: Any developer or company can implement new applications on the open platform of Google Glasses.

The Disadvantages of Google Glass 

1. Distraction: Imagine doing an important task and being continuously or suddenly distracted by audio and/or visual information that does not pertain to that task. For instance, Google Glass users could be talking with someone when they are simultaneously bombarded with advertisements or emails. An even worse example is if users are driving a car, then any distraction could become very dangerous. Therefore, distractions from Google Glasses could be much worse than simple information overload with liability concerns.
2. Rudeness: Additionally, many people consider Google Glass users to be rude when they are or can be distracted by the devices.
3. Privacy: Other people are not aware if and when they are being recorded by Google Glass users, unlike a regular camera or cell phone when it is much more obvious when they are recording. Furthermore, people even behave differently when they believe that they could possibly be recorded. As a result, people are socially wary and even shun people who wearing Google Glasses.
4. Stress: With the always online culture with cell phones, tablets, and computers causing social and information overload, the lack of winding down periods has increased stress and anxiety in the population in general. With Google Glasses that can be always worn and in use, stress and anxiety will probably be significantly worse.
5. Surfing: Using Google Glasses for regular Internet surfing is a combination of both awkwardness and clumsiness. Thus, Google Glass is not as convenient and easy to use as a computer, tablet, or even a cell phone.

At this moment in time, it is unclear as to what Google have planned for Glass, however in my personal opinion i believe that there is plenty of improvement and features which can be added to the device. I think that in the future user compatibility and pin-point accuracy will be the main areas of focus of improvement in developments to come. The accuracy being that information being picked up from the Glasses is accurate and relevant to the users request of information.

 

 When it comes to the user compatibility, I believe that Google need to work on making the device more user friendly, making sure that it doesn't become a challenge to use the device, and they should be able to do what they want freely, with minimal stress. For example, if somebody wished to take a picture it should as simple as it says it is, and there should be no faults when it comes to picking up a clear image. 

However, i believe that in the future the social side of HCI will slowly start to fade, and will concentrate on the concept of a better living experience for the user. I believe that people will become addicted to all of these devices, hence making them less and less sociable, because the amount of devices being created and the ever going development of HCI will mean that people don't necessarily need to leave their homes, as all they have and need is within reaching distance around their house.

 In conclusion i believe that the on-going development with HCI could potentially be catastrophic, however if it is managed to be kept under control in the future, it will improve the well-being and quite possibly the living of the human population around the world, what with new machines being created to aid people in living, and so on.

P1 - The future of HCI and my opinions on the matter.

Welcome to my blog, i will be discussing the potential future of human computer interaction, and my views on the possible impacts and the concept in general.

Society

 Firstly i will be discussing the possible impacts on the society when it comes to introducing HCI. To start with, the whole idea and concept of individual usability when it comes to handling devices such as phones will be immensely improved. For example, the introduction of advanced voice commands to allow users to work their phone; simply by talking to it, making things a lot quicker and more flexible when it comes to every day life; or that of a very busy person, who may not have enough time to, for example, put a reminder into his phone. 'Siri' Is a perfect example of voice command which is used in the iPhone. 

 This revolutionary idea has completely changed the full usability of a phone by creating an alternative, when it comes to daily tasks like searching for information on the Internet, to even sending text messages, they have never been easier; where you can just hold down your iPhone button and the siri command will be prompted, where you could then simply say "Send a message to 'Mum' saying Hello." And just like that, your message would send, without the need of typing a thing.

 One disadvantage which i find in today's voice integration in modern phones is the requirement to be connected to the Internet if you wanted to use it to it's fullest capability, because of the fact that it needs to access different servers to find the different information or data that the individual is asking for.

 I believe that in the future, voice integration can only grow, and I do not see a stop to the endless capabilities and potential that it has to come. I believe that organisations will steer towards the actual usability of the voice integration, working on pinpoint accuracy on voice detection, and accurate information results. 

 They will start to develop an understanding of the importance of hands-free when they look into the perspective of somebody who is constantly busy, running around all day, and doesn't have time to stop and go through a set process to activate their device. For example, they could be triggered by a certain noise, such as Google, which have already done so with their 'Okay Google' function, where the user only need say those words and the search bar will come up. This would make things run a lot smoother, although like Google it would have got be a set word or trigger for it to activate; as setting a word which is used in every day conversation could be potentially irritating if the device was to keep activating. 

 Another idea which companies such as Apple are looking into the future, is integrating Siri into cars, where a simple push of a button on your steering wheel will activate it, making it easier than ever to get everything you need to do on your phone, whilst being in the car driving.

 When it comes to specialised interfaces, the main topic i will be discussing is the use of touch screens, and just how far they have been developed in such a short time. To put it in it's simplest form, a touch screen can allow users to use devices with ease and much quicker than they would with a Track pad/mouse. This means that you don't need any extra equipment or peripherals to generally use, as you can use your fingers to navigate what you want to do.

 This is a piece of technology that is commonly growing and becoming more advanced every day which has made it a lot easier to use for particular kinds of people who have difficulties using technology such hearing and sight problems. One of the main advantages of having a touch screen device, such as a tablet is the pure fact that it is simple and portable, and can save a large amount of space, by being able to move it with ease, unlike having a desktop computer which has all of these peripherals connected to them and wires scattered all over the place; making it harder to move then just picking up a tablet. 

 Another obvious advantage of having a tablet is the user compatibility and concept, meaning users of all ages can use the device, and more importantly, people with disability's. For example, if somebody was to suffer from arthritis, and couldn't use a mouse properly, they could easily touch a screen to complete their tasks with ease. Tablets have been increasing in sales dramatically over the past 4-5 years, as this graph below shows, in 2014 alone over 308 million tablets were sold worldwide, compared to 2013's amount of just over 219 million units sold.

Here is the link to the website where i found these statistics: http://www.statista.com/statistics/272070/global-tablet-shipments-by-quarter/
The website also shows other great facts about touch screen devices and how they have grown in sales in the past 5-10 years, which you can check out at: http://www.statista.com/topics/841/tablets/

 In the space of ten years, technology has come a long way, and that is partly down to a new type of HCI, known as augmented reality. Augmented reality is basically a generated computer input which enables users to get video, sound and graphics data that gives them information about particular local events and surroundings like finding out about many subjects such as food restaurants, entertainment and games for example.

Above: An example of an individual using their smart phone to discover what is in their surrounds; using augmented reality.

 The interface is usually being used on smart phones because most new mobile handsets have a GPS integrated inside where people can use it with an augmented reality application such as Layar to locate various spots around your area while also sending you pictures of the nearby locations by using the GPS compass tracker in your phone, as without it the application wouldn't work properly as it wouldn't know where the locations you are looking for are. 

 Layar is amazing app which I have previously used, which allows you to view nearby shops, restaurants or certain events in your local area, and will display different graphics on your screen depending on where you are, as the application will pick up information on and around your current location. For example you could be interested on visiting a cinema by you, which you have never been to before, you could use this app to find out more information on it, and even possibly giving the option to call the cinema for further information, whilst never stepping foot inside. Below i have attached a picture showing what the App looks like.

Economy

 The economy also plays a huge part when it comes to the potential impacts of HCI and the advantages/disadvantages of it expanding. There are many different kinds of ways in which people can learn from a new piece of technology, for example the interactive whiteboards used in schools and even colleges, make lessons a lot more entertaining when teaching. Also i think that the interactive whiteboards offer a more engaging experience when in a lesson as it can not only get the student to participate in an activity which will help them remember a lot more easier but also learn in a new way which most students will find it much better than being given a lecture in class, and then having to copy stuff from a board. 

 The great thing i find about using an interactive whiteboard is the fact that there are more ways of teaching than just using a board and pen, as you can introduce audio and media into your teaching, this will in turn make students more intrigued to learn as it will reach out to and effect each individual, as they will all have different learning styles, so it will help distinguish what makes them work better, and the best possible way the teacher can get the information across in the correct way.

 The only real disadvantage which comes with having an interactive whiteboard of course is the same threat as any electronic device, the possibility of them being damaged or tampered with. I have found a website which states some impressive facts about the concept of just how much a small change like this can affect children and students across the world, and how they perceive information and learn more efficiently. It explains the functionality of having one in the class room, and how easier it becomes to access online teaching resources, etc...                                                                                 

Link to article: http://www.gynzy.com/teachers/interactive-whiteboard-advantages/9-facts-about-interactive-whiteboards-that-will-make-your-hair-stand-on-end/

However, whilst interactive whiteboards are a one-sided positive approach to HCI in the economy, there are also different types of technologies and machines which are being used in this day and age which have both good and bad outcomes on the way we live today. Machines in factories are becoming more and more automatic every year, making them 10 times more efficient then when they were first made.

 This is a gigantic step forward in the industry world, as it means that products which are being created in the factory's are done so a lot quicker, as they are automated, and the efficiency and quality of the product being created by the machines are near enough perfect every time, leaving no room for human error, unless of course there is a malfunction which would need to be fixed, however engineers across the world have started designing robots and machines which can give themselves a self-diagnostic and then be able to determine how to repair themselves. I watched a fascinating video which i will share below, of a Canadian robot named Dextre, whom is the first robot to repair itself whilst in space; aboard the international space station. 

Above: Dextre the robot aboard the international space station. 

"Dextre, the Canadian robotic handyman on board the International Space Station, has done several repair and maintenance jobs to date, as well as the Robotic Refuelling Mission technology demonstration, when he became the first robot to refuel a mock satellite in space. The space bot is now poised to claim a first for robot kind, self-repair. This animation shows how Dextre will swap two cameras on Canadarm2 and the mobile base, which together form the three main components of Canada's Mobile Servicing System."

Watch Dextre become the first robot to ever repair themselves whilst up in space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXQ6iSFVwrk

Even though it is amazing what scientists and engineers are capable of building in this modern time, it is worrying to know that, in due course as machines become more and more advanced, and all have the capabilities and functions as that of a human, would there be any need for us in the future? Jobs would start to decrease, as robots and machines would 'work' for free, meaning yes more money would be earned and saved for important world-wide matters, but there would be no financial income for families across the world, as jobs would fall out of our hands, simply because they are not needed. 

 I see that in the future, the main jobs that would be out there for humans would be a career in engineering or science. Of course there would still be other jobs out there, there would still be famous people, singers, footballers, soldiers etc, but it would have a dramatic affect on people with low income, for example people that work in retail, or in shops would slowly be eased down the corporate ladder, if not laid off all together, as companies would start to realise just how much money they could save from the less employees they have, in turn making it feasible for corporate companies to grow and so on and so forth...


What was once a line of workers, now a line of machines...











 Touch Screen devices have become very dynamic over the years, and they are continuously being used on various kinds of technology such as phones, computers and tablets. One of the new types of technology that's currently being worked on, and possibly soon to be introduced is having a touch screen device that can transform into physical buttons when you want to input text. This type of technology is inspiring for other technologies that it can be used in, like for example gaming, navigation and also appliances.

 I will share a link to the article which i was reading about this, which will hopefully broaden your minds and allow you to take in the fully concept of what this means for the future of technology. Below is a quote from the company; Tactus, who are bringing this brilliant idea to life.

"A company called Tactus has unveiled a new innovation that places a thin layer on top of a touch screen that creates physical buttons on-the-fly when triggered. When not in use, the buttons recede invisibly back into the layer's surface."

 Link to the article: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405504,00.asp

Culture

 Nowadays there are so many more ways you can interact with your computer, the trouble being with so many interactions, not everybody knows exactly what you can do. For example, there are now touch screens in computers which can enable you to navigate around your computer without the need of a mouse, just simple hand gestures. 

 However one of the most recent technologies which is evolving constantly is the idea of using gestures to control any device such as a computer or games console; allowing you to navigate around simply by using your hand to wave in a certain motion. You could do this on a computer for example, when scrolling through a photo album instead of using your mouse to click through the photos, you could use your hand to swipe left and right through your album.You are also capable of selecting and clicking objects and links, as well as being able to zoom in and out of pages of information simply by a pinching motion of you hand, and the opposite if you wished to zoom out.

 Most gestured technology is being used in video games like Microsoft's Kinect because it best suits its needs and it's more engaging than using it for any other device. But this type of technology will not only feature more in other technology but in various kinds of features such as using your hand to go through your music on your phone.

Below: A quick guide to the Xbox one's Kinect gesture.

 With mobiles today they are increasingly being made to suit various age groups to make it easier to use when communicating with people on smart phones. There are many different ways of communicating with people on smart phones varying from instant messaging, video, voice and text.

Above: An example of a user updating their Facebook status and sending a tweet by using Siri, avoiding the need to go on your phone.

 Apple's iPhone makes it even easier to use and share information and data when using social networking services, for example using Siri voice command you are able to post a status on Facebook with ease and also be able to change and update contact information from a social networking site into your contacts list without having the need to manually change an individual persons contact details one by one which is very handy.