A can of worms.... opened... - Page 2

xoxoxoBruce · 06-30-2009, 02:10 AM

Isn't that something you should do at home instead of blocking the aisle in the damn store... like the people calling their SO to find out what they should buy because they didn't make a fucking list.

Undertoad · 06-30-2009, 04:58 AM

Flintos, The whole thing is do we want a projection system we interact with, is that going to be the way of the future? Or is it going to be a better version of what we already have: a small mobile device with a bright, beautiful display we interact with. It's the projection system I'm the most meh about; every projection system I've ever seen is weak, only usable in certain light, and very imprecise. Take it outdoors and it's useless, and I'm wagering there ain't a damn thing you can do about that, because you have to fight the light of the sun.

And "works on every surface" is probably not going to fly either, because it has to be the right color to interact with your colored fingers, and has to be relatively flat in order to do some of the things you'll want to do. You can project a button onto a toilet paper roll, but you can't sort your projected photos on one, nor can you look up the toilet paper allergen website for more information.

Maybe special glasses would do the trick.

Flint · 06-30-2009, 09:02 AM

The projection system seems stupid, yes. But think about this...

I have always imagined the ideal peripheral to a human-integrated information system to be some type of heads-up display. That is a great way to present information, layered "on top" of the real-world environment, but what can't it do? It isn't an INUPUT device (unless you added some eye tracking capability).

What does the clunky, prototype "6th sense" device do? It combines an input AND an output system "on top" of the real world environment. Input and output is accomplished, from the user's perspective in one "place" (you don't have to type on an input device , a keyboard, and also look at an output device, a monitor) and furthermore, this "place" is the world--the actual, real world you are walking around in. In order to do this, it has to involve the dubious technique of creating a feedback loop between a projection system and a visual recognition engine (the details of which we are wholely ignorant of at this point).

Take a step back from the details, the specifics, and think about the idea here (what, in my mind, this demo was designed to communicate). A human-integrated interface that layers itself "on top" of the real world, and allows seamless input and output, out there in front of your eyes--where we have been looking at things, and doing stuff to things, for millions of years. Compare this to our recent habit of pulling little boxes out of our pocket and punching little buttons on them. THAT, my friend, is not the way to go. That is a stopgap that will be archaic soon.

They may not have solved the problem here, but they have realized the correct idea. This is the TED Conference - "ideas worth spreading" ...

Undertoad · 06-30-2009, 10:38 AM

Well OK, you're closer to convincing me.

The two holdups will be pattern recognition and sunlight. Both are really amazingly difficult. Right now, it can't locate the tip of your index finger of your right hand, unless you have a pen cap on it.

What we'll have next is the ability to ask questions via speech recognition. That system allows you to leave the phone in your pocket (as does the TED prototype, which costs $350 but requires $350 worth of phone). You press a button on your earpiece and ask it: What is my checking account balance? It states the answer through your earpiece.

How do you ask that question of this system? Hold up your empty wallet and draw a question mark?

Here's the prototype that you can use right now. It can only answer certain kinds of questions, and it can only answer them via screen, but you know they'll be branching that out, just as soon as they've used this system to hone their speech recognition with a broad spectrum of users.

Oh and also Compare this to our recent habit of pulling little boxes out of our pocket and punching little buttons on them? We're past buttons now, we're touching the screens of high-quality motion-sensing displays...

Flint · 06-30-2009, 11:19 AM

I don't like that one because it can only tell you about the Golden Gate Bridge and the size of giant squids. And you have to wear a blue shirt.

Clodfobble · 06-30-2009, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Isn't that something you should do at home instead of blocking the aisle in the damn store... like the people calling their SO to find out what they should buy because they didn't make a fucking list.

In theory, yes. But consider that there are, say, 200 brands of spaghetti sauce sold in this country, 50 of them are gluten-free, and my grocery store carries 15. Cross-checking the two lists requires me to either already know which 15 brands my store stocks so I can check them before I get there, or to carry a list of the 50 so I can reference it while standing in front of the shelf.

Undertoad · 12-07-2009, 10:58 PM

(instant thread reactivation)

Holy fucking shit alert! Google just gave us we wanted.

http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles

You're at the Sydney Opera House and you want to know more about it. Take a picture of it. Google figures out what you just shot and tells you the detail.

You're in a bookstore and you want the full Amazon information on a book. Take a picture of the cover...

Somebody gives you their business card. Now you have to put their details in your contacts. Of course not, just take a picture of the card...

You're in front of a local restaurant and you want ratings and reviews for it... just point your phone at it, the GPS knows where you are and can fetch details.

Sure, you can take a picture of the UPC code... or the label on the bottle... more and more things will just "work" if you ask Google.

And soon, do you want to know what kind of tree that is? Take a picture of the leaf...

The pertinent question has already been asked by Flint, what to do with all this magic? - when there is more magic every day.

Flint · 12-07-2009, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

(instant thread reactivation)

Holy fucking shit alert! Google just gave us we wanted.

http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles

You're at the Sydney Opera House and you want to know more about it. Take a picture of it. Google figures out what you just shot and tells you the detail.

You're in a bookstore and you want the full Amazon information on a book. Take a picture of the cover...

Somebody gives you their business card. Now you have to put their details in your contacts. Of course not, just take a picture of the card...

You're in front of a local restaurant and you want ratings and reviews for it... just point your phone at it, the GPS knows where you are and can fetch details.

Sure, you can take a picture of the UPC code... or the label on the bottle... more and more things will just "work" if you ask Google.

And soon, do you want to know what kind of tree that is? Take a picture of the leaf...

The pertinent question has already been asked by Flint, what to do with all this magic? - when there is more magic every day.

ZenGum · 12-08-2009, 02:56 AM

Just gimme a tricorder already.

Elspode · 12-08-2009, 08:41 PM

There is also an app for iPhone called Redlaser that allows you to take a pic of a UPC and get info, including numerous online sales prices, on your phone lickity split.

Pie · 12-08-2009, 09:59 PM

We are closer to the infocalypse.

Radar · 12-15-2009, 07:31 AM

I love TED. They always have fun stuff.

Undertoad · 05-06-2010, 01:09 PM

Google Goggles update: now it translates.

http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/201...th-google.html

Quote:

Here’s how it works:

Point your phone at a word or phrase. Use the region of interest button to draw a box around specific words

Press the shutter button

If Goggles recognizes the text, it will give you the option to translate

Press the translate button to select the source and destination languages.

Flint · 12-21-2010, 04:05 PM

More apps needing a better human interfaces here.

richlevy · 03-13-2011, 11:28 AM

Y'know those sci-fi movies where aliens come to earth and for good or bad decide to become a corporation and slowly release their technology........

06-30-2009, 02:10 AM	#16
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Isn't that something you should do at home instead of blocking the aisle in the damn store... like the people calling their SO to find out what they should buy because they didn't make a fucking list. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

06-30-2009, 09:02 AM	#18
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	The projection system seems stupid, yes. But think about this... I have always imagined the ideal peripheral to a human-integrated information system to be some type of heads-up display. That is a great way to present information, layered "on top" of the real-world environment, but what can't it do? It isn't an INUPUT device (unless you added some eye tracking capability). What does the clunky, prototype "6th sense" device do? It combines an input AND an output system "on top" of the real world environment. Input and output is accomplished, from the user's perspective in one "place" (you don't have to type on an input device , a keyboard, and also look at an output device, a monitor) and furthermore, this "place" is the world--the actual, real world you are walking around in. In order to do this, it has to involve the dubious technique of creating a feedback loop between a projection system and a visual recognition engine (the details of which we are wholely ignorant of at this point). Take a step back from the details, the specifics, and think about the idea here (what, in my mind, this demo was designed to communicate). A human-integrated interface that layers itself "on top" of the real world, and allows seamless input and output, out there in front of your eyes--where we have been looking at things, and doing stuff to things, for millions of years. Compare this to our recent habit of pulling little boxes out of our pocket and punching little buttons on them. THAT, my friend, is not the way to go. That is a stopgap that will be archaic soon. They may not have solved the problem here, but they have realized the correct idea. This is the TED Conference - "ideas worth spreading" ... __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio** Last edited by Flint; 06-30-2009 at 09:12 AM.

06-30-2009, 11:19 AM	#20
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	I don't like that one because it can only tell you about the Golden Gate Bridge and the size of giant squids. And you have to wear a blue shirt. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

12-08-2009, 02:56 AM	#24
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	Just gimme a tricorder already. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

12-08-2009, 08:41 PM	#25
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	There is also an app for iPhone called Redlaser that allows you to take a pic of a UPC and get info, including numerous online sales prices, on your phone lickity split. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

06-30-2009, 04:58 AM	#17
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Flintos, The whole thing is do we want a projection system we interact with, is that going to be the way of the future? Or is it going to be a better version of what we already have: a small mobile device with a bright, beautiful display we interact with. It's the projection system I'm the most meh about; every projection system I've ever seen is weak, only usable in certain light, and very imprecise. Take it outdoors and it's useless, and I'm wagering there ain't a damn thing you can do about that, because you have to fight the light of the sun. And "works on every surface" is probably not going to fly either, because it has to be the right color to interact with your colored fingers, and has to be relatively flat in order to do some of the things you'll want to do. You can project a button onto a toilet paper roll, but you can't sort your projected photos on one, nor can you look up the toilet paper allergen website for more information. Maybe special glasses would do the trick.

06-30-2009, 10:38 AM	#19
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Well OK, you're closer to convincing me. The two holdups will be pattern recognition and sunlight. Both are really amazingly difficult. Right now, it can't locate the tip of your index finger of your right hand, unless you have a pen cap on it. What we'll have next is the ability to ask questions via speech recognition. That system allows you to leave the phone in your pocket (as does the TED prototype, which costs $350 but requires $350 worth of phone). You press a button on your earpiece and ask it: What is my checking account balance? It states the answer through your earpiece. How do you ask that question of this system? Hold up your empty wallet and draw a question mark? Here's the prototype that you can use right now. It can only answer certain kinds of questions, and it can only answer them via screen, but you know they'll be branching that out, just as soon as they've used this system to hone their speech recognition with a broad spectrum of users. Oh and also Compare this to our recent habit of pulling little boxes out of our pocket and punching little buttons on them? We're past buttons now, we're touching the screens of high-quality motion-sensing displays...

12-07-2009, 10:58 PM	#22
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	(instant thread reactivation) Holy fucking shit alert! Google just gave us we wanted. http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles You're at the Sydney Opera House and you want to know more about it. Take a picture of it. Google figures out what you just shot and tells you the detail. You're in a bookstore and you want the full Amazon information on a book. Take a picture of the cover... Somebody gives you their business card. Now you have to put their details in your contacts. Of course not, just take a picture of the card... You're in front of a local restaurant and you want ratings and reviews for it... just point your phone at it, the GPS knows where you are and can fetch details. Sure, you can take a picture of the UPC code... or the label on the bottle... more and more things will just "work" if you ask Google. And soon, do you want to know what kind of tree that is? Take a picture of the leaf... The pertinent question has already been asked by Flint, what to do with all this magic? - when there is more magic every day.

12-08-2009, 09:59 PM	#26
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	We are closer to the infocalypse. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

12-15-2009, 07:31 AM	#27
Radar Constitutional Scholar Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 4,006	I love TED. They always have fun stuff. __________________ "I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death." - George Carlin

12-21-2010, 04:05 PM	#29
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	More apps needing a better human interfaces here. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

03-13-2011, 11:28 AM	#30
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	Y'know those sci-fi movies where aliens come to earth and for good or bad decide to become a corporation and slowly release their technology........ __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

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