How will we design products for the Internet of things?
As revolutionary as the mobile ecosystem is, it’s the interactions of more intelligent connected devices with people outside of the context of phones or computers that will drive more innovation, says Mark Rolston, chief creative officer at Frog Design. Rolston, speaking at the Mobile Future Forward conference Monday in Seattle described a future where devices become more contextually aware thanks to embedded and connected sensors.
Instead of thinking about the buttons on a phone or a laptop, manufacturers and designers need to think about what will happen when computers are embedded in everything and connected all the time. Instead of computing confined in a box on a desk or in the hand, computers will be everywhere pulling data from a variety of places. Understanding how those computers will pull information about their environment, relay that data to users and then interpret what users want them to do creates a web of interaction that will require new ways of thinking and design.
In fact, user interaction might be a very minimal part of the overall design. For example, Rolston described a wearable glucose monitor that has elements embedded in the body, a monitor interpreting the data from the user’s bloodstream and a wearable screen for the patient to interact with. Of those three elements the patient input screen is likely gathering the least important information and must convey complicated information simply.
In a conversation after his panel, Rolston explained the challenges inherent in designing interfaces in such a world will come from devices trying to understand a user’s intent, as we build out new ways to interact with them, such as motion. How will a machine know when someone waving their hands while they talk to a friend becomes someone trying to tell a computer to do something? Of course, when a device can watch us and interpret our movements and commands effectively it essentially gives computers the illusion of humanity. That’s the illusion Rolston apparently is trying to create.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- Building a better paywall: strategies for monetizing news content
- Flash analysis: Steve Jobs
- What the Google-Motorola deal means for Android, Microsoft and the mobile industry
alt=''
border='0'
/>
Paul Allen Wants Your Legacy Hardware [Hardware]
Facebook brewing something “awesome” in Seattle
Something is percolating in Facebook’s Seattle office.
On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg told reporters in a visit to Facebook Seattle the company plans to “launch something awesome” next week, according to a Reuters report published Thursday. The new product was developed at Facebook’s Seattle office, he said. Facebook Seattle, which opened in March and currently has around 40 employees, is the company’s only engineering outfit outside of its Silicon Valley headquarters.
As of press time, Facebook’s public relations team has not responded to GigaOM’s request for comment on the impending launch.
The new product could well be an iPad app, something that has been notably absent from Facebook’s portfolio for some time now. According to reports published earlier this month, Facebook has been readying an iPad app for over a year and was in the final stages of testing as of mid-June. Meanwhile, the company is also understood to be building an HTML5-based platform to serve a mobile version of its site through the web, rather than through a native app interface.
One thing is certain: Between all the IPOs, blockbuster fundraising events, and major product launches, it has been a very busy summer for the tech industry. And with Facebook apparently planning to kick off July in “awesome” fashion, it looks like 2011 may not have one of those traditional summer slumps at all.
Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):
- A Media Tablet Forecast, 2011 – 2015
- The Future of Workplaces
- Post-IPO strategies for LinkedIn
alt=''
border='0'
/>
Verizon to join AT&T in selling Apple’s iPad
Verizon to join AT&T in selling Apple’s iPad
NEW YORK (AP) — In a sign of warming relations between the two companies, Verizon Wireless is going to start selling Apple Inc.’s iPad at the end of this month, the companies said Thursday.
Read more on KING5 Seattle
Mike Kern: Can perfect Boise State be bettered by one-loss Alabama?
SO NOW THE real fun begins. ESPN couldn’t even wait for the first Bowl Championship Series standings to be revealed next week. It had to give us an unofficial version this week, since America obviously couldn’t go another 7 days without arguing over which teams were getting hosed the most.
Read more on Philadelphia Daily News
Target begins selling Apple’s iPad in stores
Target begins selling Apple’s iPad in stores
Target has begun selling Apple’s popular iPad tablet computer, a move the retailer hopes will drive traffic to its stores this holiday season.
Read more on KING5 Seattle
Target Begins Selling Apple’s iPad In Stores
Target has begun selling Apple’s popular iPad tablet computer, a move the retailer hopes will drive traffic to its stores this holiday season.
Read more on KCRA 3 Sacramento
Target begins selling Apple’s iPad in stores
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Target has begun selling Apple’s popular iPad tablet computer, a move the retailer hopes will drive traffic to its stores this holiday season.
Read more on 9 News Denver