Surface and Tangible Computing, and the “Small” Matter of People and Design Bill Buxton Principal Researcher Microsoft Research Toronto, Ontario / Redmond Washington
The basic questions: Technology lead vs Application Lead? Technology Driven vs User Driven? Can innovation in scenarios drive innovation in technology?
The only true voyage of discovery is not to go to new places, but to have other eyes. Some engineering history…. Marcel Proust
Invented by schoolteacher Franklin Pierce Nitt in 1801
Introduction of the Blackboard Historical Atlas of Canada Volume II Plate 55
LCD
New Projection Technology
OLED’s: Images of Things to Come Very thin (~6 m.m.) Very inexpensive (~$10 ft2) Very soon (~5-7 years) Very big and very small Approach “interactive paper” Will today’s design decisions scale to take advantage?
-reflective displays -high contrast -low power -persistent -slow refresh -monochrome Electrowetting - colour - video rate dpi Reflective Displays
Other Eyes?
The Other Eye Revealed
Mehta, 1982 Lee, Buxton & Smith, 1985 Multi-Touch Sensing, University of Toronto
Input Research Group, University of Toronto, 1992
Microsoft Surface, 2007
The Iconic Beyond Graphical Thinking
Phycons : Physical Icons
Wacom Paint Phycons (Fukuzaki,1993)
From the passive to the active …
Thinsight: Hodges, Izadi, Butler, Rrustemi & Buxton, 2007
Who is to be the Emily Post for the Society of Appliances? The Ultimate Question for Ubiquitous Computing:
The Long Nose of Innovation Buxton, 2008
Moral of the Story … A focus on users, and creative thinking around scenarios is the most efficient way to shorten the nose.
Questions?