The Future for User Interfaces - Research Paper Example

The Future for user Interfaces Ways of interaction involving people and technology continue to evolve with advances in technology over the years. The association started with the use of printouts and punch cards developing through to the mouses, monitors, and keyboards. The growth and development went further to invent voice recognition tools, tract pad gadgets, as well as interfaces meant to make it easier for people with disabilities to use personal computers (PC) (Khanh, 2011, p. 79). Over the last few decades, interfaces continue to develop from discovery to another. However, following these developments, it is clear that there is still a long way to go because there are many possible ways to design interfaces in future. The world is already experiencing some of the likely ways through which the interface would develop. It is also very interesting to think and see the paths through which the development processes of the interfaces will take. Various possibilities exist and this discourse will delve into analysis of some of them. Web developers and designers have a responsibility of building interactive media applications. This work carries deep meanings that also underlie their roles in the development world. In addition to exploring various concepts, web developers evaluate problems as they seek solutions to the same. They are always entangled and concentrated on what takes place between the user and the device in use. Web designers and developers develop the communication between the user and the tool under use. The developers prepare the stage for other persons to work effectively without telling them what they need to do. It is essential for web designers and developers to ponder about the future of interfaces because it is their responsibility to develop them. The changes underwent by developers must in tandem with changes in the media industry as well as other parts of information and communication development. Understanding the future of interfaces is significant it will change the way web developers and designers apart from the users in terms of how they work and products delivered to the public for use. A vivid example is that almost fifteen years ago nobody on Earth understood that responsive design would become an essential matter in the industry of communication including interfaces. This is considering the fact that even in the present society some web site developers design web sites that are not responsive and without mobile contingency. First, it is definite that users of the interfaces continue to change. Since inception, the world was using traditional means of working with the media. This constituted a computer, desk, and a keyboard in addition to the mouse as the inputs to the traditional way of communication. This has changed and now the world embraces the internet as an essential aspect of human life and to some degree, it is very difficult to work without its use. Nonetheless, there is a change sweeping through the society today. The first of the shifts is that people now prefer mobile gadgets as opposed to the traditional desktops. This will even go further if future forces of design come up with new aspects. Now people have laptops, iPods, and sophisticated mobile phones that make the work such as communication and retrieving information easier and possible irrespective of the location. As much as this remains an obvious technological development among professionals, it modifies the way designers view the systems and models developed. Initially, developers controlled what to produce and disseminate to the market. Things are no longer the same. The world today understands that there is a responsibility to refer to by other scholars as a task and a consequence. The process of designing and developing some these issues continues to become more complex. Therefore, it is important for the designer to guide the person using the tool developed through a particular flow to maximize the experience in the use. Developers need to see through different behavior patterns, expected results, and likely hitches from the person using the interface. The industry moves far and far away from the stagnant experience to developing an interface worth counting as helping humanity to live. Google gives a good example of changes among users of interfaces and proceeds to categorize them into three. The repetitive user is the first. Google defines this person as one who checks the same type of information many times giving stock prices and e-mails as examples. The second type of a user is the bored user (CHESBROUGH, 2003, p. 41). This is someone with time to kill. This person appears idol and has nothing serious to do. The urgent user constitutes the third type of user and is described as the person with a request to look for something particular and very fast. There are different situations that a person a repetitive user especially the online character. Leading examples are social media websites. This category has the news sites, and sites providing online games. Sarcastically, it is possible that a person becomes a repetitive user after doing the same thing frequently because of being bored. Google classifies the urgent user as the main target of the company. Web sites are developed for this group of users. These people are always in need of information and need it very fast. This includes among others product prices, specific services from an institution, and the nearest location where they need particular services. They remain key users because they always want to achieve their goals. Various changes to expect in user interfaces are many and described below. Brain-Computer Interfaces. Within a brain-computer interface, thoughts fully control a computer otherwise referred to as brain waves by other academicians. Experts continue to pursue different methodologies in applying this technology. The approaches include among others full helmets, direct brain implantation, as well as headbands that cling on information in addition to interpreting the thoughts. Thoughts are important in generating all types of electrical signs in the body of a human being. They are many to the level that each and every thought has a brain wave attached to it following a particular pattern. It is possible to frame the different precise electrical signs to perform certain commands to allow the thinking to follow a certain route (BROCKHOFF, 1992, p. 416). Tan Le created the EPOC neuroheadset where the person suing must put on a futuristic headset with the ability to sense the microwaves coming from the brains. Tan is the president of Emotive Lifescience and the co-founder of the same organization. Thoughts execute commands that are primitive because they entail pulling the cubes in the direction of the user. The primitivism occurs at the point where despite the pulling; the detection appears to face certain difficulties. This underlies the work still ahead for the developers in the process of refining the whole gadget. Army-Mind Projects. Since two thousand and eight, professionals in the United States military are pursuing leads that will make it possible to have communication between the soldiers through brains. They entail thought elements with the capacity to have thorough-proof mind-to-mind communication among the officers. The project aims at having a situation where the entire military brigade will fall under the command of one thought without external directions CAMP, and Sexton, 1992, p. 74). To justify the essence of this research as much as it is far, the government allocated Pentagon four million United States dollars to recruit the services of a contract team assembled from the University of California, University of Maryland, and Carnegie Mellon University to work in making sure that the world witnesses’ prototypes within the next few years. The Matrixesque Brain Interface. This is an MEMS-Based Robot Probe. This exercise is taking place at Caltech in an effort to implant electrodes into the brain of a human being to enable it interface with specific neurons. The concept behind this research is that it will allow advanced management of prosthetic limbs and in other circumstances the similar management of the body. Already, the experts are through with part of the software meant to aid in this development. However, elements of the micro-mechanical section are still under development. Scientists will actually implant this part in the human brain. This development falls among one of the developments in user interfaces that are almost complete. User interface in the world computing refers to the ways through which a computer program or framework represents itself to the person using it (ALCHIAN, 1972, p. 63). This takes place through many ways including use of graphics, sound, and text. Everybody is compliant with the use of Windows as well as other Apple operating models where they interact with icons placed on the desktop in addition to mouse cursors. Before this, the industry had command-line prompt relying on traditional text. A shift to graphics from text announced the biggest development in the industry brought on the limelight by Apple (BALDWIN, 2003, p. 67). This was the work of Steve Job presenting the Macintosh operating system becoming the hallmark in nineteen eighty-four. Recently, innovated User Interface was the use of, voice, such as the Siri, use of touch for instance the use of Smartphone, as well as gestures applied in the Microsoft Kinetic among many more. More are however, under development. The Gesture Interfaces are some of those in the offing. A report delivered in two thousand and two in the sc-fi film documented that in the next few years probably twenty years, the world will witness interactions with the computer models through gestures primarily. The protagonist in the film appears wearing futuristic gloves. Tom Cruise carries out various duties using gestures and in the process manipulates videos, images, as well as datasheets on his personal computer gadget. Fifteen years ago, this appeared a dream but actions by the development of Wii Remote in two thousand and six and the Playstation film at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century demonstrates the practicality of this fact (Kurson, 2002, p. 89). The two are enough examples to proof that the world and technology re taking the same direction. The inclusion of the z-axis to the current two-dimensional user interface shows that improvements on the relationship between computers and humanity are on the high. It becomes necessary for people to internalize how body parts do various jobs. The Flexible OLED Display is another development in the offing. This development offers a solution to touchscreens found on Smartphone that remain rigid and respond slowly to the commands. The OLED is an organic semiconductor with the capacity to display light among other places stretched or rolled displays. It is possible to stick the OLED on a plastic flexible substrate and the new and bits found on the Smartphone screen. They entail thought elements with the capacity to have thorough-proof mind-to-mind communication among the officers. The project aims at having a situation where the entire military brigade will fall under the command of one thought without external directions (Chesbrough, 2003, p. 114). To justify the essence of this research as much as it is far, the government allocated Pentagon four million United States dollars to recruit the services of a contract team assembled from the University of California, University of Maryland, and Carnegie Mellon University. The team is to work in making sure that the world witnesses’ prototypes within the next few years (Warner, 2010, p. 46). The Matrixesque Brain Interface. Furthermore, it is possible to twist the screens, fold, or bend in the process of interacting with the computing modules. The urgent user constitutes the third type of user, described as the person requesting for something particular, and very fast (Jones, 2007, p. 116). There are different situations that a person a repetitive user especially the online character. Leading examples are social media websites. This category has the news sites, and sites providing online games. Sarcastically, it is possible that a person becomes a repetitive user after doing the same thing frequently because of being bored. Google classifies the urgent user as the main target of the company. Web sites developed for this group of users. Its application includes bending the phone in the process of zooming it in or out, twisting one side of the phone especially one corner while turning its volume up, reversing the second process , and finally turning down both sides and scrolling through the images one after the other. The world is already experiencing some of the likely ways through which the interface would develop. It is also very interesting to think and see the paths through which the development processes of the interfaces will take. Various possibilities exist and this discourse will delve into analysis of some of them. Web developers and designers have a responsibility of building interactive media applications. Bibliography ALCHIAN, A. (1972). "Production, Information Costs, and Economic Organization", American Economic Review, 62, 777-795. BALDWIN, J.R., (2003), Innovation and Knowledge Creation in an Open Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. BROCKHOFF, K. (1992). "Instruments for patent data", Technovation, 12(1), 451-458. CAMP, S. M. and Sexton, D. L. (1992) "Technology Transfer and Value creation: Extending the theory beyond information exchange", Technology Transfer, spring-summer.  CHESBROUGH, H. (2003). "The Era of Open Innovation", Sloan Management Review Summer, 35-41. Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open Innovation, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Jones, G. R. (2007).Strategic management: an integrated approach. Boston, Mass, Houghton Mifflin. Khanh, P.-G. (2011). Radical innovation and open innovation creating new growth opportunities for business; illumination with a case study in the LED industry. Hamburg, Diplomica-Verl. Kurson, K. (2002). Leadership in Technology. New York: Hyperion. Warner, A. G. (2010). Strategic analysis and choice a structured approach. New York, Business Expert Press. Read More