Defining the Natural User Interface

Michael Edgcumbe

Interface designers should create interfaces that transcend the unidirectional command of the performer upon the computer to reach a tandem act of orchestration where each achieves meaningful realization through the other.

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Recent thoughts around design propose some precepts of what a 'natural user interface' might be. Interface designers should create interfaces that transcend the unidirectional command of the performer upon the computer to reach a tandem act of orchestration where each achieves meaningful realization through the other. The computer should lay out a host of actions tailored to its master's immediate desire. The performer should practice with his tool enough to anticipate what might be presented. Much of what we need to gain trancendence from monotony is currently available to use in our designs. We have experimental proof that humans understand behavior with the same toolset that we use to guage changes in elemental position, color, and size. We have excellent game interfaces that improve the timing of action with practice. We have machine learning algorithms which grow accustomed to the natural processes set before them and can run on a human-scaled device. We have the speed of calculation and sensors required to hold a real-time portrait of a performer's changing internal guides. We are ready to leap to future of tightly integrated interface elements that present themselves in the right place at the right time in the right way.