Way back in 2008, when Modernista! launched a new version of their website, I was blown away. It was such a simple idea, but it was daring and revolutionary. And it generated a ton of buzz. The site was super-simple, just a navigation layer that connected live Modernista-related pages from sites including Flickr, Wikipedia, YouTube and Google News. It’s embrace of Web 2.0 concepts startled some, but it positioned the agency as innovative and creatively…
 
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The tangibility of tabletop/object interfaces can make them much more approachable and informal than screen-based applications. That, plus you’re focused on the experience — not distracted by all the other apps or toolbars fighting for your attention. So it was cool to discover these two recent explorations. The first, Augmented Shadow, is by Joon Moon, a grad student at Parsons. By moving an object designated as the light-source, the other objects’ shadows are updated. The…
 
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Take a look at this series of commercials from Palm, part of their “Life moves fast. Don’t miss a thing” campaign. They show a kind-of augmented reality, holographic-style mobile UI. Unlike the Chase Blueprint ads, which showed some pretty innovative ideas for holographic interfaces, these essentially project what’s happening on the screen. The point isn’t to present a new interface — instead it’s about communicating how you can use a mobile interface while you’re on-the-go….
 
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This is interesting… an ice cream vending machine that’s smile-activated. The system recognizes a user’s facial expression and, if they’re smiling, rewards them with free ice cream. It’s a great example of creatively using advanced technology for a brand-relevant experience. Created for Unilever (who own the brands Ben & Jerry’s, Good Humor, Breyers and Klondike), the project was developed by SapientNitro UK. You can read more on their case study and press release pages. PSFK points…
 
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I’ve previously written about my first job after college, working in the field of artificial intelligence. AI work had an energy and optimism that was very exciting. But, over time, the field slowed down, faced with complex problems that seemed insurmountable. But over the past ten years, AI been picking up steam again. Researchers are using increasingly large databases of information, and developing new ways of analyzing and learning from them. And they’re working on question-answering…
 
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How adorable is this… with Drawdio you can turn almost anything into a musical instrument. (Unlike most posts on this blog, this isn’t screen-based — but creating interactive drawings in addition to designing interactivity with physical objects seems pretty cool.) Developed by Jay Silver at the MIT Media Lab (I promise to try and stop using them as a source for posts here… but there’s a lot of cool stuff there)… The Drawdio circuit-craft lets…
 
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Cool UI in credit card commercials? These two 2009 commercials from Chase for their Blueprint Visa cards demonstrate not only some advanced interaction models, but upcoming technology ideas, too. The “Couch” ad features a magic paper bill, with qualities similar to Caprica Paper. The bill lets a customer touch an item to get more details about a purchase, along with being able to manage payment schedules. It’s interesting to see the purchased product revealed in…
 
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It looks like we’re one step closer to the Luminous Room. Take a look at this demo of LiminAR. It’s a project by Natan Linder, a student of Pattie Maes in her Fluid Interfaces Group at the MIT Media Lab. LiminAR is made up of two components, the Bulb and the Lamp: The LuminAR Bulb combines a Pico-projector, camera, and wireless computer in a compact form factor. This self-contained system enables users with just-in-time projected…
 
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Uniqlo’s interactive stuff is always cool, and this little toy is no exception. The “Lucky Switch” widget was part of a 2009 end-of-year clearance campaign. The widget could be embedded into blogs and websites, and when pressed, transformed every image on any website into a Uniqlo Lucky Ticket. The widget was designed by the Japanese firm IMG SRC. You can see a description (in Japanese) of the project here.  I’m still searching for the actual embed…
 
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TED.com just posted a talk from this year’s TED2010 by John Underkoffler on his research into gesture interfaces. John is best known for his work on the interfaces in the film Minority Report but has since founded Oblong Industries. The talk demonstrates Oblong’s point-and-touch interface called g-speak. I have to admit, having never actually used the system myself, that it looks a bit baffling. How does a user know what to do? Don’t your arms get…
 
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