Lab

Future

Science invariably gets the credit for generating transformations in society. If scientists sow the seeds from which design grows, what better brains to pick for ideas that might motivate designers on the brink of building our future? We make a humble attempt by celebrating our 20 years with 20 FORWARD-LOOKING VISIONS.

VISION Nº 4

Forget the screen: AUGMENTED PHYSICAL EXPERIENCES

are shaping the next interface

TECHNOLOGY

– Try googling ‘a magazine is an iPad that doesn’t work’, and you’ll come across a video from 2011 that has almost five million views. The clip shows a toddler attempting to pinch, swipe and zoom in on a copy of Marie Claire magazine, seemingly transferring behaviour learned from touchscreens onto the physical world. It’s been only ten years since the launch of the iPhone and five since the advent of the iPad, but the logic of the touchscreen interface has already transformed our relationship with digital media.

Last year saw a tipping point in new interfaces, most notably augmented reality (AR), with the appearance of a global phenomenon: Pokémon Go. Seamless digital overlay in physical space opens up the possibility of gestural controls that no longer rely on screens, keyboards, mice or touchpads. Much was made of Apple quietly expanding its 3D user-interface patents back in 2015, which carried the implication that Apple wanted to ‘own’ the rights to physical gestures such as fist-bumps, waves or hugs. These so-called gestural interfaces could completely transform the way we experience our physical surroundings.

‘Interfaces are made by humans for humans, and the innate logic behind the digital interface is human logic that’s based on the limited technological means available at the time,’ says Ivan Poupyrev, technical program lead at Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division.

For Poupyrev and his team, the way we currently interact with digital information is not inevitable. All interfaces are just tools, and although the screen has been a very useful tool, better interactions may be on the horizon.

‘Technologies such as VR allow us to materialize and externalize our thoughts and imagination,’ says Poupyrev. ‘We’re able to experience the technology with the full gamut of our senses while sharing it with others. Augmented physical experiences allow us to perceive digital reflections of things that we imagine through the use of touch, force, temperature and so on. It drastically increases the sense of realism.’

Illustrating the idea and its potential is Project Soli, a result of work done by Google’s ATAP. This tiny radar sensor helps to translate gestures into digital signals, enabling the user to interact with a device by simply moving his hand. The core concept is nothing new; after all, products like Microsoft’s Kinect and Leap Motion have been on the market for some time. Project Soli is a dramatic improvement in terms of accuracy and sensitivity, however. The ATAP team is currently demonstrating how Soli can be used in smart watches, but they are also working with Harman’s JBL speakers to develop products that can be operated by gestures at a distance. Their research has huge implications for the connected home, as well as the potential to transform activities of all sorts, from retail to culture. — JO

THEATRE in store

Retail will become a synthesis of hospitality, sales, entertainment, education and even GAMING experiences, says consumer futurist William Higham. Merchandising began precisely as a way to show off stock using stock, but the importance of stock is diminishing, becoming not just superfluous but onerous. ‘Retail space needs to be organized around INTERACTION AND EXPERIENCE – dare I say “theatre” – and designed around the shopper, not the stock,’ says Higham. ‘You can have fewer items in store and more stylish displays that positively impact shoppers’ moods and put more focus on sensations like sound and scent.’ — SM

VISION Nº 6

Responsive materials

@zeitguised

Mind and matter merge in Zeitguised’s futuristic proposal for ‘autoerotic communication’ by means of a digital skin that functions as a personal interface.