[From O’Reilly Radar]

[Image: Screenshot from Apple’s trackpad tutorial.]

Buttons were an inspired UI hack, but now we’ve got better options

Josh Clark on the future of touch and other types of UI.

by Jenn Webb | @JennWebb | +Jenn Webb  | 7 March 2012

If you’ve ever seen a child interact with an iPad, you’ve seen the power of the touch interface in action. Is this a sign of what’s to come — will we be touching and swiping screens rather tapping buttons? I reached out to Josh Clark (@globalmoxie), founder of Global Moxie and author of “Tapworthy,” to get his thoughts on the future of touch and computer interaction, and whether or not buttons face extinction.

Clark says a touch-based UI is more intuitive to the way we think and act in the world. He also says touch is just the beginning — speech, facial expression, and physical gestures are on they way, and we need to start thinking about content in these contexts.… read more. “Josh Clark on the future of touch and other types of UI”

[From AlphaGalileo; more information is available on the BrainAble Project web site]

Enhanced brain-computer interface promises unparalleled autonomy for disabled

28 February 2012 CORDIS Features, formerly ICT Results

In the 2009 film Surrogates, humans live vicariously through robots while safely remaining in their own homes. That sci-fi future is still a long way off, but recent advances in technology, supported by EU funding, are bringing this technology a step closer to reality in order to give disabled people more autonomy and independence than ever before.

From wheelchair-bound victims of car accidents to people suffering full-body paralysis or locked-in syndrome, millions of Europeans have some form of motor disability that restricts their ability to move, interact or communicate with others. In recent years a variety of technologies have been developed to help people with such disabilities live more independent and autonomous lives.… read more. “BrainAble: Enhanced brain-computer interface promises unparalleled autonomy for disabled”

[From AsiaOne via Telepresence Options; more information is available from Ctrl Works]

Robot to help doctors work remotely

By Josephine Price
my paper
Monday, Mar 05, 2012

A robot will soon help doctors at one hospital check on patients.

Called the Telepresence Puppet, it could let doctors interact with their patients without having to be physically present.

A doctor can guide the robot, which runs on wheels, to the patient and communicate with him through the machine.

The doctor can see and hear the patient using the robot’s camera and microphone, and the patient can see and listen to the doctor through the robot’s screen and speakers.

These and other uses of the robot will be tested out in a pilot run by home-grown start-up Ctrl Works at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital next month.… read more. “Telepresence Puppet robot to let doctors work remotely”

[A press release from Cisco via Zawya]

Bridging Peace: Cisco Empowers Al Fakhoora Students in Gaza to Share their Experiences and Engage in Global Dialogue

Cisco TelePresence Technology is at the Heart of Al Fakhoora’s Virtual Majlis Program Facilitating Cross-Cultural Communication Between Students in Gaza, Qatar and the United States

DOHA, Qatar – March 6^th, 2012: Cisco announced today that Al Fakhoora, an international campaign committed to raising awareness of the plight of students in Gaza, has officially launched its Virtual Majlis initiative based on Cisco TelePresence technology to connect university students from Doha, Gaza and the US to create deeper understanding without stereotyping or prejudice, promote critical thinking and explore commonalities.… read more. “Cisco Telepresence empowers Gaza students to share experiences, engage in global dialogue”

[From The Daily Mail, where the story includes several more pictures]

[Image: The world as seen through the LifeClipper helmet – it mixes the ‘real’ as seen through cameras with hallucinations created by computers]

‘A living dream’: The ‘augmented reality’ helmet that turns walk in the park into an encounter with alien creatures under a psychedelic sky

By Damien Gayle
Last updated on 5th March 2012

Most ‘virtual reality’ helmets plunge users into an unreal video-game world – but a new version mixes the unreal into the real world in a ‘living dream’.

The helmet only works in St Johann’s Park in Basel, Switzerland – but wearers explore a mixture of the ‘real’ park, seen via cameras, and 3D illusions created by computers, including ghostly, glowing grass, surreal insects and strange visions in the sky.… read more. “‘A living dream’: LifeClipper immersive Augmented Reality in a Switzerland park”