My favorite is the Tilty Remote. I like the idea of objects being a proxy for data flows, the kinetic experience of the physical thing being digitally translated into meaning. These objects function as like magic wands. Unlike pointers or cursors, wands arnt for drawing on a 2-D surface, they are for waving. Wand’s kinetic experience is the important thing — not which icons they make an A –> B path between behind glass – the specific flip, twist, and turn they preform in their wielder’s hands.

Its the difference between Harry’s phoenix core and a Wii-Mote.

But we muggles can make our own magic wands. Accelerometers measure how fast something changes direction and speed. Gyroscopes relay their orientation in space. Something the size of a Bic lighter could be manipulated to preform all sorts of arial acrobatics, with each move representing a new command or control. Its an interface.

Like any good interface, some feedback is important. Haptic motors could provide tactile information to a user’s hand, a buzz when a command was not understood, a smooth hum when it was. Or, depending on the application, feedback from a different object all together.

The most obvious implementation for this type of interface is for digitally controlled things moving through space. Quadcoptors or another sort of “drone” could be programmed to respond to such a “wand’s” movement, mimicking, or, more correctly, interpreting its motions. In my mind, this makes a lot more intuitive sense than an RC double thumb-stick — mastering those seems as difficult as actually learning to fly a helicopter.

Most DIY drones now days are flown over large, open areas with linear flight paths drawn on a 2D map via a traditional “pictures behind glass,” mouse and keyboard computer. Once you get off manual joy-stick take-off and landing, a program that looks like google maps is flying your machine.  It seems like such mobile flying machines should be subject to more subtle control.

These tiny quad rotors preform some pretty amazing flying. But it can go so much further. These ‘coptors relie on the artificial intelligence model for computing, much like the DIY Drone’s mission planning software above. This tries to get computers to “understand” and make their own decisions.

The tactile “Tilty Remote” control method I am dreaming up here is a step towards making drones more in line with human augmentation modle of computing. It moves the relationship between person and machine out of the realm abstraction and into the physical world.

Of course, no system will lose out from bad AI — if the robot isn’t “smart” its no fun to control anyway. But humans also have a whole set of perceptive gear specifically geared towards moving through three dimensions. Using that in addition to our ability to abstract and interact symbolically would create a more powerful relationship with the machines increasingly sharing space with us than is currently possible.