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Oki doki, so given plausible future technology let's try to brainstorm a solution that addresses the issue of tactility in interaction, I give you the ... dru
by mattiask 15y ago
Oki doki, so given plausible future technology let's try to brainstorm a solution that addresses the issue of tactility in interaction, I give you the ... drumroll KinBall (Kinectic ball). The Kinball would essentially be a wireless ball, like a small juggling sack (the smaller ones) that you could interact with to control devices.
So the Kinball would have the following features
* Gyroscope/acceleratometer so it knows which side is up and how fast it's being moved and where it is.
* Sensors so it can feel where it's being squeezed/pressed and how hard
* Some kind of detecting mechanism for when two balls (cough) are touching each other.
* Ability to vibrate in different frequencies and also only partially on different parts of the ball
So with a device like that you now would have to come up with a gesture language, some ideas
* If the future allows it, ability to change color
* Holding the ball and moving the thumb over it is "cursor mode, pressing in that mode would be clicking (and you could "click" and hold for submenus )
* Similarily swiping your tumb over the ball would be the swipe gesture
* Pinch-squeeze could be a specific gesture, perhaps combined with a gesture (like spritzing cookies :)
* If you hold the ball in the whole hand and move it from your chest and forward you could simulate resistance by varying the frequency of the vibrating to "feel" interface element
* you could roll the ball in your hand forwards and backwards, for instance for scrolling
* Double the balls, double the fun. With two balls you could perhaps do interesting things with the distance between them and again simulate resistance by vibrating the balls as you bring them closer to each other
* Social balling, you could touch someone elses ball (ahem) to transfer info, files etc
* You could have the ball on your desk and it could change color or pulse in different colors for different notifications.
This kind of interface would have some interesting features. You get tactile feedback and most gestures are pretty natural. You don't have to get smudge marks on your screens. The ball is pretty discrete and hardly visible in your hand. Heck with a headset (for getting information, like reading smss) you could just get away with a ball and the headset and skip the device altogether for some scenarios.
On the other hand it's another accessory you can lose and a ball in your pants might not be the best form factor.
Anyways, if Apple introduces the iBall you know where you read it first
- prawn 15y agoYou know, combine this with some sort of display (glasses, projection, implant) and you could be on the right track. That's my first thought. Second one is about carrying this ball, how easy it might be to lose it. What if instead there were rings on middle fingers or even all fingers? Could handle a few of the things you mentioned. Electronic handshakes just got a lot more literal. Perhaps typing in the future would take the form of hand shapes/signals, akin to traditional signing for the deaf? Assuming voice input will not be able to completely replace it. Maybe the future computer is a display in the form of an eyepiece, monocle or implant, finger rings as an input and then a processing component in pocket or within a belt?
- mattiask 15y agoWell, it wouldn't be a solid ball since it would have to be able to be squeezed so if dropped it atleast shouldn't roll away, and contrary to most smartphones it would actually be able to handle being dropped quite well. Rings/camera/gestures (minority report) in general are of course interesting but I think the downside of that approach is no tactile feedback
- prawn 15y agoThat's true. What tactile feedback could a hackysack-size ball really give though besides perceived firmness? If the finger rings were actually more like thimbles, could they impart some texture onto a finger tip? If you were brushing over a virtual surface, could they then give a sensation of texture? Raised on a page to denote a button, etc? I really liked the OP's article, but found it frustrating stopping short of real suggestions and predictions - great opportunity to try to forecast where things could be in 10-15 years.
- mattiask 15y agoWell, the ball could in theory feel how much pressure you excert on it and where, and provide haptic feedback. In a super advanced scenarion perhaps the ball could provide feedback by varying it's firmness. Guess it depends on how advanced technology is how good the thimble solution could be, but it strikes me easier to manipulate a ball, which you could do even when it's in a suit pocket than to do gestures in the air. Some gestures might be doable though. I have a hard time coming up with a "Cursor" scenario for that solution though and tactility makes it so much more easy to control. Maybe if you used your fingers against a hard surface but that would limit it's flexibility.
- zbyszek 15y agoI can't help being reminded of that ball in Woody Allen's "Sleeper". Fascinating speculation, none the less.
- jamesrcole 15y agowould be interesting if it could also * morph into different shapes depending on what it is being used for and representing. * change its tactile qualities for different uses * display any details anywhere on its surface (i.e. its entire surface is a screen). ...hmm, wonder if such a thing could also use a powerful gyroscope (or something else) to vary the resistance of how it can be moved through space.