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If you thought that so-called Wearable Computing, like Google Glass and the just announced Nissan Smartwatch, was a category on its own, you’re profoundly mistaking. In 1995 already, wearables were explored by the Perceptual Computing Group at MIT Media Lab. Only a year later, Thad Starner together with Steve Mann (and others), who has been called the Father of WC plus AR, wrote this remarkable article on the generic topic of Augmented Reality Through Wearable Computing.
Today, Perceptual Computing has been revived by Intel and Creative Labs in this here fourfold challenge:
Productivity
Utilize the Perceptual Computing usage modes (i.e. finger/hand tracking, speech recognition, facial analysis or 2D/3D object tracking) to enhance a user’s ability to accomplish tasks with a non-gaming application. Keep in mind that it’s not necessary to REPLACE mouse and keyboard, but you want to use Perceptual Computing usages to ENHANCE a user’s ability to accomplish a task.
User Experience
Develop an innovative means for users to interact with applications using any combination of the Perceptual Computing usage modes or even a single usage mode. Create an interaction that is memorable and innovative for the user.
Gaming
Games have pushed the technology envelope and driven innovation with user interaction. Turn a game into an experience or create an entirely new game mechanic. Enhance a game you built and love or develop something never seen before.
Open Innovation
Think outside the box. Think beyond the wires! Take the features from the Intel PC SDK and turn them into exciting, innovative experiences that free the user from traditional computing models. Establish your own rules and create the experience you once only imagined.
PICT + SPEC = the new PC
I myself in this context tend to talk about PICT: Personal, Intelligent & Calm Things & Tech, the first and foremost technical challenge still being SPEC: Storage, Processing, Energy & Connectivity. PICT and SPEC together constitute the basis of mature Perceptual Computing, the new PC. Measured by Bill Buxton’s Long Nose of Innovation this must be bound to happen any time soon.
The new PC is Perceptual Computing
About the author
SogetiLabs gathers distinguished technology leaders from around the Sogeti world. It is an initiative explaining not how IT works, but what IT means for business.
Its all about percepetion. Ever seen the movie Gamer, there was a scene where a young man was standing in his room, which was 100% build up in augmented reality. It gives a good interpretation on how this could be implemented in a normal household. Just think of the possibilty’s. This will become a big new era for Creative and tech people.
Indeed Jos, you’re perfectly right. The interesting thing to me is that although in the past decades we have seen fantastic examples of miniaturization, energy-efficiency and the like, there still is some road to travel before truely Perceptual Computing as in “organically tied to our senses and higher faculties” will be the norm. But given the ever increasing speed of development we have now, especially with new materials like graphene, I guess is that 2015 will welcome the start of a new human-centric computing era.
That day will be fast i hope. Ever read the singularity is near or watched Ray Kurzweil on youtube.
And as a side note: you should invest in graphene 🙂
I agree Jos, just check the Cambridge Graphene Centre > http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/graphene-taking-the-wonder-stuff-from-dream-to-reality > it’ll take only 1 more year. By 2015, the computing world wil have reached its next transformational stage.