FINAL INTERFACE PROJECT part 3

THE FALL 08 FINAL INTERFACE PROJECT DESIGN BRIEF
UROS OTASEVIC



Description
My final project for the Interface class is about experimenting with methods of improving already highly advanced hand-held smart devices user experience. It is not easy task to make significant advancements in the field that is exponentially improving for the last 20 years. However, I still believe there is room for improvement and think that with several enhancements we could considerably advance overall usability and efficiency. In the age of great technology advancements in all technology fields (mainly wi-fi,newly developed micro LED projectors, fast low-power consuming processors, powerful infrared and ultrasonic sensor) these research project goals are becoming feasible and realistic.


Design Questions

First I will try to discover the through behind existing products interfaces (mobile phones, PDA's, mp3 players) and by that i mean why it was designed the way it is, what could have been used to improve experience and why it wasn't used. Secondly, i will focus on the main drawbacks of the existing devices and lastly i will try to answer to this challenges.


Area of my focus will be the:

* possibility of using human body as an interface
* using image projection instead of typical screens
* advance voice commands
* improving still awkward text input interfaces
* using in-build camera or sensor for gesture based interactivity
* investigating the possibility of modular approach


Schedule

* 1st week - Research (past, present and future relevant technologies; filtering what would be useful for my project; understanding why some good concepts failed and why other succeeded; analyzing trends; search for future technologies; understanding consumer needs, expectations, complaints etc... )


* 2nd week - Conceptualizing (development start; concept based on collected data analysis; incorporating most interesting, relevant and efficient ideas)


* 3rd week - Designing (building first prototypes; starting with sketches, 3d modeling, analysis, fine tuning, testing, and finally making physical cardboard prototype)


Precedents

* Wii Remote - The Wii Remote is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via movement and pointing through the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology.


* TrackIR - TrackIR is an optical motion tracking system created by Natural Point Inc. It is a game controller that captures head motions with six degrees of freedom and translates them into mouse/cursor movements.


* IPhone - The iPhone is an internet-connected multimedia smart-phone designed and marketed by Apple with a multitouch screen and a minimal hardware interface. The device does not have a physical keyboard, so a virtual keyboard is rendered on the touch screen.



Summary

My project is a quest to make the most advanced mobile device user interface. It is designed for everyone since mobile devices became an integral part of every human being life. It is designed to increase the speed and quality of human-device interaction. Among the technologies that i will explore are: Infrared and ultrasonic sensors, micro LED projectors and voice recognition.