Closing the Gap Between People And Screens [Video]

As touchscreen technology begins to dominate both smartphone and computer technology, the disassociation of the screen from its actual physical input becomes stranger and stranger. Think about how far removed a keyboard or a mouse is from a screen when compared to a direct interaction with that screen via a hand or finger gesture. Gestural computing cultivates a more personalized connection because feedback is correlated more with the hand’s movement rather than with the movement of a device. The gap between what we interact with, and how we interact with it, will continue to narrow until there is no discernible distinction between manipulating real world objects and a computer generated object.

This is a concept that Oblong Industries has been investigating over the past 24 years, and really has only begun to fully realize in the last decade. G-Speak, the latest iteration of the technology first seen in the film Minority Report, shows what can be done across several screens with a pair of synchronized gloves. Visual information from disparate screens can be brought together and transported across rooms without losing any of the integrity of the data.

In an inspiring TED Talk, John Underkoffler speaks not only about narrowing the gap between people and interfacial technology, but also how the notion of one person one computer is becoming outdated. Gestural technology is more conducive to collaboration and will not only allow interaction between multiple screens, but between multiple people as well. Underkoffler sees this technology as inherently democratic and as something that must, and will, exist in all computers within the next decade.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the technology is that it allows direct manipulation at high bandwidths and can affect the screens in ways that until now have been unrealized. For example, video editing becomes much more precise. Instead of editing around full scenes or shots of footage, single elements can be singled out and manipulated. Actors, buildings, vehicles, etc. can be separated from the rest of the content without compromising their integrity.

Not only does Underkoffler see this technology becoming the norm for all computers in the near future, he also envisions it becoming much more intuitive without even the need for the gloves. According to Underkoffler, this kind of technology will work its way not only into personal computering, but into architecture and design as well. It is the vision of a world where everything is dictated by the importance of the screen, making it easier for people to not only inhabit their surroundings, but to participate and control them as well.