The Mind & Consciousness As an Interface
This session is about the role and form that brain interfaces might take on in coming years. It draws from the science, the facts, the fictions and products currently on the market.
As interfaces have evolved they’ve followed a predictable path of increasing directness, from keyboards to mice, touch, voice and gestures. As we peel away the layers between us, our bodies, our tools, and the objects we want to control, interactions become faster, less exerted, and more natural. If we follow the possible trajectories of user interfaces, where might we end up? Is the brain the evolution of the user interface? Are our thoughts the logical next step in natural interaction?
The brain user interface has played a role in design fiction and science fiction, and there are valuable insights in that world. And, the technologies that enable brain UI have become real and almost practical. But - in everyday interactions, what will brain interfaces actually be useful for? What will we and the world around us look, behave and interact like? How, where, and when will we use them? What are the opportunities, and what are the challenges in creating experiences for brain interaction?
This session will set out to answer questions about the evolution of user interfaces by exploring the speculative and real product applications that are ahead for brain interaction, and the design patterns that will emerge around them.
Presenters
Julian Bleecker is a designer, technologist and researcher at the Advanced Design studio, Nokia Design in Los Angeles and the Near Future Laboratory. He investigates emerging social practices and networked interaction rituals. His focus is on hands-on design, physical construction, prototyping, observation, prop-making and designed science fictions as a way to raise questions, tune in weak signals, reveal hidden insights and yield innovations that lead to design that makes the world a more habitable, playful place.
He has a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in computer-human interaction. He earned his PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz where his doctoral dissertation focused on science, fiction, technology and culture.
http://www.nearfuturelaboratory.com
Nicolas Nova is a consultant and researcher at the Near Future Laboratory. He undertakes field studies to inform and evaluate the creation of innovative products and services. His work is about exploring and understanding people's needs, motivations and contexts to map new design opportunities and help designers and engineers. Nicolas applies this in the domains of video games, mobile and location-based media as well as networked objects/robots. He also teaches user research in interaction design at HEAD-Geneva and ENSCI-Les Ateliers in Paris. He holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL, Switzerland). In his free time, he collects video game controllers and peculiar interfaces dug up in flea markets here and there.
Sunday, March 11
