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