Bristol University researchers’ SensaBubble can project images, text and emoji onto the bubbles it releases. Courtesy Sensabubble
In the final months of 2014, wearable technology sparked significant media and consumer attention – not least thanks to the announcement of the Apple Watch. But as wearables move from the margins into the mainstream, it’s time to consider the next wave of interactive technology.
Smartwatches shift existing technology to a new location – from the pocket to the wrist. More exciting are second-skin devices such as embeddables, ingestibles and hearables. These will include flexible technologies that blend into our skin; devices that are controlled by eye-motion sensors; and earbuds that measure and respond to our heart rate. All are part of the ongoing journey to create technology that is so deeply interwoven with our lives that it becomes almost invisible. The benefits of this transition will be better usability and genuinely groundbreaking technology that goes beyond incremental developments.
Pioneering concepts are already pushing the boundaries of interactive technology. I want to explore some of my favourite examples – those that reveal what we might be able to expect in the near future.
Technology and Emotion
The rise of big data is helping companies understand their customers better than ever before. In the future, consumer technology will communicate and translate its owner’s emotions, giving brands the chance to respond with relevant services – before they are even asked for.
Researchers from Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) are developing a sensor capable of recording goosebumps on the wearer’s skin. This could be used to measure emotional responses to a wide range of stimuli, enabling advertisers and entertainment companies to monitor consumer engagement more accurately. Here in the UK, British Airways has experimented with a blanket that reflects the wearer’s emotional state by subtly shifting colours. BA says the blanket will allow it to provide more responsive service by quickly identifying when customers are relaxed or nervous.
Rebooting Interaction Design
Increasingly, developers are taking technology beyond personal devices into less tangible realms. Created by researchers at Bristol University, the SensaBubble can project images, text and even emoji onto the surfaces of the bubbles it releases, transforming them into a playful – and transient – form of sensory branding. Lead researcher Diego Martinez told us that air or empty space could be the next frontier for interaction design. He envisions a future where shopping malls might be fitted with SensaBubbles that prompt passers-by to pop sensory advertisements – which could range from a trending hashtag to a preview of the latest Chanel perfume.
Some brands are embracing this idea by layering existing technologies. Rebecca Minkoff, for example, has opened its first stores featuring interactive, over-sized screens, where customers can browse and request products to try on. Customers will then receive a text message to alert them to a free changing room. Once inside, they can use an interactive mirror to ask for different sizes or items. This new application of technology will change the consumer’s retail experience, while at the same time giving stores valuable information on customer preferences.
Extraordinary Everyday Objects
2014 also saw the first signs that embeddable electronics are becoming viable products. Motorola unveiled a super-thin, smartphone-unlocking digital tattoo that could spell the end of the password. Apple, meanwhile, is exploring the potential of smart earbuds (or hearables): the tech giant has filed a patent for headphones that can measure the wearer’s temperature, activity levels, heart rate and perspiration.
Soon, technology will creep into the fabric of our clothes and homes. Studio XO, a technology, fashion and music lab, is already weaving sound-responsive light-emitting diodes (LEDs) into clothing, enabling the likes of Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas to glow to the beat. Integrated tech will unlock the much talked-about Internet of Things, a concept that relies on everyday objects having the ability to communicate with their owners.
So, as consumers, we can look forward to more and more ways to interact with technology, brands and our surroundings, as the border between the physical and the digital is eroded by products that straddle both worlds. Devices such as the smartwatch represent the intermediary step before the next wave of groundbreaking technology, which will further assimilate itself within our lives and homes. Technologists are constantly exploring ways in which gadgets, apps and products can acknowledge and respond to multiple stimuli – which go way beyond the touch of a button.
Hayley Ard is Head of Consumer Lifestyle at Stylus Media Group.
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