Unit 23 - P1 - Society

Society

P1 - Describe the impact of HCI on society, the economy and culture.

Improved Usability - Voice in phones

 

This has improved usability as it allows people to be able to use advanced voice commands to control certain actions to process in their device. An example of a type of voice command is Siri, which is used on the new iPhone's  This has changed the full usability of a phone by creating an alternative of using the phone for daily activities like searching for information on the internet, sending text messages and other navigational sources such as making a reminder or event. Also one of the main purpose of creating voice into a phone is to make doing simple tasks much easier for all kinds of users.

Some of the disappointing things about voice integration in phones today is that you have to have an internet connection in order to use it, because it needs to access different servers to find the different information or data you are asking for. One of the future developments with Siri is to integrate a button into a steering wheel making it hands free, meaning that a voice recognition application like Siri can only improve with time and make it easier to use for everyone.

Link - http://www.apple.com/uk/ios/siri/

Specialized interfaces - Touch screen

A touch screen can allow users to use devices with ease and much quicker than they would with a Trackpad/mouse. This means that you don't need any extra equipment or peripherals to generally use, as you can use your fingers to navigate what you want to do. This is a technology that is commonly growing and becoming more advanced every day which has made it a lot easier to use for particular kinds of people who have difficulties using technology such hearing and sight problems. Some of the main advantages of having a touch screen device is that it's portable and can save space rather than having a big bulky PC. 

Also the most obvious one is that it's easy to use meaning that it's helpful for people of all ages and people with difficulties. Having a touch screen has evolved quickly which has been able to not only make it better for general users but also people with certain difficulties like older people with dementia which can help by doing simple tasks like reminding them about an activity during the day which helps prevent the person from checking several times. It can also help people with down syndrome by helping the development of their learning. 

Link - http://www.webmd.boots.com/alzheimers/news/20100209/touch-screen-help-for-people-with-dementia

Complexity - Augmented Reality

The world of technology has come a long way since the differences between now and 10 years ago because in recent years there has been a type of HCI called augmented reality which is basically a generated computer input which enables users to get video, sound and graphics data that gives them information about particular local events and surroundings like finding out about many subjects such as food restaurants, entertainment and games for example. The interface is usually being used on smart phones because most new mobile handsets have a GPS integrated inside where people can use it with an augmented reality application such as Layar to locate various spots around your area while also sending you pictures of the nearby locations by using the GPS compass tracker in your phone, as without it the application wouldn't work properly as it wouldn't know where the locations you are looking for are.

When using an application like Layer to view nearby shops, restaurants or entertainment locations you will see various types of graphics on screen depending on your location as it will have relevance to where you currently are or nearby. When using an application that supports augmented reality it makes a map or even a game on your more interactive and more thrilling to use and fascinating to see how it recognizes objects and buildings in the real world to show you data that you can view without even visiting the actual place like for example searching for a nearby movie theatre and then giving you the option to find more information in the venue or even given the option to call them which is found from the GPS.Also many new versions of software can allow users to use voice recognition as another input option to search for certain criteria that you want to search.  

Below is a video of how augmented reality can be used in everyday use.

Link - http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/21/augmented-reality-iphone-advertising

P1 - Economy

Economy

P1 - Describe the impact of HCI on society, the economy and culture.

Productivity per individual

There are many different kinds of ways in which people can learn from a new piece of technology like for example the interactive whiteboards used in schools can make lessons a lot more entertaining when teaching. Also i think that the interactive whiteboards offer a more engaging experience when in a lesson as it can not only get the student to participate in an activity which will help them remember a lot more easier but also learn in a new way which most students will find it much better than being given a lecture in class. 

One of the good things about interactive whiteboards is that you can include various types of media such as audio and video rather than just having text which makes the interface effective to each individual. Also the main drawback of interactive whiteboards is that they can get damaged or easily stained which wouldn't please some companies or schools to invest in.

Link - http://www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/Interactivewhiteboards.pdf

Increased automaton


One of the main changes of technology is that they seem to work more automatically especially for mechanical machinery thats used in factories. Lots more factories this days are using automatic machinery and electronics to do the work for them which can make things much more efficient and less time consuming especially if the company have a deadline to meet. There are also many other reasons why many factories have included technology into their industry like enduring the consistency of their work which can help a lot particularly if employees get ill and therefore set a machine to still do the work. Also there are many problems that can occur in a factory which is why robotic machinery has been introduced more as they can end up being very profitable pieces of technology that can mimic what a human can do but also do it faster and possibly better in some cases making it better for the business.

On the right is a video of how the A10 tablet motherboard gets made and how much machinery is used in day to day factories.










Link - http://www.ehow.com/info_7835978_computer-robotics-can-factories.html


Varied working environment

Touch Screen devices have become very dynamic over the years and is continuously being used on various kinds of technology such as phones, computers and tablets. One of the new types of technology that's currently being worked and possibly soons to be introduced is having a touch screen device that can transform into physical buttons when you want to input text. This type of technology is not only revolutionary but inspiring for other technologies that it can be used in like for example gaming, navigation and also appliances. 

On the right is a video of the new Tactus touchscreen with physical buttons

This technology can make it fit for purpose in a working environment by helping people use new touch screen technology more fluently as like in the video they said that people in this generation want to use more physical buttons that we can feel as we are more familiar with it. I think that this will be the next big feature when it comes to smartphones as companies today haven't really evolved the touch interface as well as the phone itself.  

The layer and thickness of the touch screen doesn't change significantly when you are using the keyboard to input data on the device and the buttons then disappear when not in use.


Link - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405504,00.asp

P1 - Culture

Culture

P1 - Describe the impact of HCI on society, the economy and culture.


The ways we use computers - Gestures

There are many different ways of using a computer these days and there are lots of people they don't know that you can like for example there are new touch screens in computer which enables you to navigate like you would through a mouse by instead with your hands. But one of the most recent and evolving technologies is by using gestures to control and device such as a computer which can be navigated by waving your hand in a certain motion like for example, swiping your hand left and right to scroll through pictures and also zooming in and out of them by using hand gestures.

Most gestured technology is being used in video games like Microsofts Kinect because it best suits its needs and it's more engaging than using it for any other device. But this type of technology will not only feature more in other technology but in various kinds of features such as using your hand to go through your music on your phone.


In the video on the right you will see the way gesture control is going at the moment and what kind of technology will be used to enable the gesture feature.


Link - http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/leap-motion-gesture-control-technology-hands-on/

Psychology and sociological impact - Mobiles

With mobiles today they are increasingly being made to suit various age groups to make it easier to use when communicating with people on smart phones. There are many different ways of communicating with people on smartphones varying from instant messaging, video, voice and text, With newer hansets  in this generation companies make it more adaptable to what we use lie for example having pre-installed social applications on your phone like Facebook and Twitter to contact people without having to install it but can be frustrating to people who can't choose what they want to have pre-installed as their favourite social networking communication tool.

In Apple's new iOS 6 software they are included various social features which make it easier to use and share information and data when using social networking services like for example using Siri voice command to post a status on Facebook with ease and also be able to change and update contact information from a social networking site into your contacts list without having the need to manually chnage an individual persons contact details one by one which is very handy.

Link - http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20120926/NJNEWS/309260037/Apple-s-iOS-6-integrates-social-features?nclick_check=1

D1 - Impact of future technology

Impact of future technology

D1 - Evaluate the impact of a potential future development in HCI

Below you can see a well made up video of what the world of technology could be like in the future and you can see very significant changes to how you use it on a regular basis like in the video the man was able to use his phone and extend to whatever size he wanted but this may not be able to used until the very far future because there aren't any pieces of technology of that type of technical physics design but this is a good idea of how good technology could end up being.

Also in the video you can see that the woman uses gestures to change each piece of information of the mirror which is digitally integrated. This may also be a piece of technology to far into the future but with the way technology is growing everyday it's hard to predict when you can see types of technology like this. Also in the video you could see a man on a transparent computer which is actually quite close to being released in the near future as companies already have this type of hardware to make but isn't fully functionable as what you can see in the video such as using gestures which is only starting to be introduced to devices like computers and video games. 

One of the closest upcoming technologies and is currently being developed in computing is having fold up laptops that can easily be carried around and is supposed to be not as heavy of easy to break as current laptops to date. This type of technology is currently being reviewed and tested to be sure that it goes well if it went out on retail as not all futuristic designs go well especially for computing. One of the disadvantages i can see going wrong with this new laptop is having a touch sensitive keyboard as most people these days are more comfortable with physical components as people seem to enter data better with it rather than a touch screen. Overall though i think that this is a good idea to bring laptops forward and making them even more portable by folding it up and using the strap to put around your shoulder.