UI fun
Okay, so I've hinted at this for a while now, whenever someone mentions Minority Report as a UI model. Now it's hitting mainstream publications and not just research journals, the patent filing is underway, and we're more free to talk about it. (But no, sadly, not distribute it.)
Enjoy.
http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/spr2004/facetop.html
(Oh, and it's really damned cool with Cocoa Gestures.
)
Enjoy.
http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/spr2004/facetop.html
(Oh, and it's really damned cool with Cocoa Gestures.
)
Comments
When you need to collaborate this is a great way to do it.
Karl, the other grad student on the project, (they misspelled his name, the poor guy
Hey, shouldn't this be in Hobbes' thread, you selfish baguette?!
You hinted at this earlier before. What was your part in the project? When will we see this for everyone?
As for when we'll see it... dunno. UNC owns the patent on it, since we're both university employees. And of course, they want a business model and fee system in place before handing out any licenses for the tech. But... we've already had a few nibbles. (I'm hoping Apple comes calling, but to be honest, I fully expect we'd get into a lawsuit battle before they licensed it - it's just how they do things these days...)
If nothing comes of it, I'm definitely hanging onto my own personal copy of the source anyway.
Funny bit - my advisor, the co-inventor, spent almost three months trying to get something working on his NT/2000 boxen. Three different FireWire PCI boards, four different video cameras, four different video boards. Never worked once. As in, never worked even with the video board vendor-supplied demo apps for transparency. (It's a limitation of the Windows graphics architecture, pure and simple - this will never work under the current Windows system.)
The day he was ready to throw in the towel completely, I said, "Lemme see what I can do." That night I whipped up a workable prototype in 45 minutes on my Pismo laptop... including reading the documentation.
That week he ordered a dual G4. The next month, at 17" PB. When they were released, a dual G5. And so it goes.
Originally posted by Kickaha
That week he ordered a dual G4. The next month, at 17" PB. When they were released, a dual G5. And so it goes.
so, about releasing a version for longhorn... how big do you see this getting while it is only available for OS X? (next 3 years or so)
maybe you will win a best in show award at Macworld this year!
Originally posted by Paul
so, about releasing a version for longhorn... how big do you see this getting while it is only available for OS X? (next 3 years or so)
No idea. We have a lot of "oooh *cool*!" interest, but nobody stepping up to the plate to license it for a product... which doesn't surprise me.
maybe you will win a best in show award at Macworld this year!
*laugh* Maybe, but I seriously doubt it.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Yup, or just run your own computer. It essentially replaces the mouse.
Karl, the other grad student on the project, (they misspelled his name, the poor guy
How does that feel regarding muscle fatigue/RSI?
Ive always intuited that holding your arm up the monitor would get tough after 8 hours. Never been able to try tho.
Whats the level of accuracy of the thimble? Looks like it puts a pretty big square up on the screen.
Muscle fatigue is an issue if you're doing something like graphics with it, but if you're coding, writing, or other tasks that don't need a lot of mousing around on a constant basis, it's a non-issue. Think about how often you use your mouse, and realize that it's often faster to just lift your arm and point.
No matter how intuitive it actually is, there is some serious adjustments that have to be done on a mental level. It is kinda on the same level of a Windows user coming to OS X. They think it should be one way because that is how Windows is, and when you tell them it is simpler, it takes a second to click in their minds.
"Just move your finger over what you want to point at." "Ah, okay."
In one mode, the video is only visible while your thimble is in camera view, otherwise it fades out completely. So while you're typing, no video visible. Lift your hand, video pops up, cursor follows finger, manipulate data. When done, drop hand back to keyboard and continue typing, video fades out.
Previous systems have required multiple cameras, serious spatial registration, and even radio transmitters. Ours just requires a Mac, 10.3, and a FireWire camera.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Well, we haven't had anyone unable to use it after a couple of seconds.
"Just move your finger over what you want to point at." "Ah, okay."
In one mode, the video is only visible while your thimble is in camera view, otherwise it fades out completely. So while you're typing, no video visible. Lift your hand, video pops up, cursor follows finger, manipulate data. When done, drop hand back to keyboard and continue typing, video fades out.
Previous systems have required multiple cameras, serious spatial registration, and even radio transmitters. Ours just requires a Mac, 10.3, and a FireWire camera.
Sounds awesome man. I think you guys have overcome probably one of the bigger hurdles. Hope to see more of it in the future.
See, isn't Chapel Hill great? What did Duke ever do for anyone?
you're a smart one, jason.
*scurries back into oblivion*
This is just a little side diversion.
But thanks though... it's kinda spiffy.
you know you want to.
Besides, do you know the *HELL* I've gone through the past few months keeping my blasted mouth shut?!?