On behalf of everyone here at Artefact, Rob and Gavin would like to sincerely thank everyone for their support over the past twelve months. This has been an incredible year for the company, and we truly appreciate the opportunities to collaborate with such an amazing group of talented people. We would like to take this time to wish all of you and your families best wishes for the holiday season, and we look forward to working with you in 2010. - Rob and Gavin
The User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) Conference introduced a bunch of amazing new work that’s coming out of research right now demonstrating new ways of using sensors to command different types of interactions. One in particular was interesting: the muscle sensing system. Ph.D Candidate at the University of Washington, Scott Saponas, in collaboration with Microsoft Research and the University of Toronto showcased how an array of muscle sensors on the forearm can map gestures like pressing your thumb and index finger together as an input to do things like change the track in a playlist, open the car trunk and even rock out to Guitar Hero. Really cool stuff. Check out the video to see for yourself!
Paper Abstract
Previous work has demonstrated the viability of applying offline analysis to interpret forearm electromyography (EMG) and classify finger gestures on a physical surface. We extend those results to bring us closer to using musclecomputer interfaces for always-available input in real-world applications. We leverage existing taxonomies of natural human grips to develop a gesture set covering interaction in free space even when hands are busy with other objects. We present a system that classifies these gestures in real-time and we introduce a bi-manual paradigm that enables use in interactive systems. We report experimental results demonstrating four-finger classification accuracies averaging 79% for pinching, 85% while holding a travel mug, and 88% when carrying a weighted bag. We further show generalizability across different arm postures and explore the tradeoffs of providing real-time visual feedback.
There are my obvious favorites, but I won’t share that until after you watch the video! Click play already, then read on…
I personally think more research videos should be made like this. Fun, enjoyable, interesting and engaging.
There’s an interesting bit while watching the two brothers mimicking each other as they struggle through the ordeal. I’m not sure what to make of it, but it was certainly fascinating. I’m also curious what would have happened if there was only ONE marshmallow between them instead of one for each. Thoughts?
Starting from the 1990’s, this video walks through the evolution of special effects used in motion picture. Really cool to see how far along we’ve come. Also, check out our post on 3D by Rob Girling and be sure to follow as more on future visualization techniques becomes available.
Ah yes, true genius.I was visiting a friend recently for a dinner party and came across this masterpiece of simple 12-button appliance UI.
In case you can’t see it in the fuzzy snapshot, not only is there a “help” button, it’s actually labeled “Help!” (with the exclamation point!).Unfortunately this unit was out of service, so I was unable to turn it on and try it out to discover what exactly this button does.
Since they found it necessary to include a “!”, I can only presume it is there in the event that your hot pocket becomes unstable and goes thermonuclear.Only then can you activate the “Help!” button, at which point Jack Bauer arrives to disarm your radioactive countertop cooker.
Ironically, this massive microwave is called the “Counter Saver Plus.”I guess the “plus” means “plus the rest of the counter.”
How complicated can heating up a TV dinner be that you have to engage a HELP! dialogue?
Have you seen other egregious interface designs like this one?Post a picture or let us know in the comments!
by Kevin Wong, posted December 23rd, 2009
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