Edgy Social Media

WHAT IS NATURAL USER INTERFACE (NUI)?

Keeping it simple, have you ever played with X-Box Kinect? Maybe you have seen your kids stand in front of the tv and move without punching buttons? There is a sensor that reads your body movements and allows the kids to play the video game. Perhaps you’ve even stood there and bowled, danced or worked out with them? This is an example of NUI.

Xbox Kinect

IT’S YOUR CIVIC DUTY TO HACK!
June 1st was National Day of Civic Hacking. There were 95 events, 20 Government Partners such as NASA, White House Office of Digital Strategy and National Science Foundation. Companies such as Facebook, Elance and CodeforGood were involved. Intel sponsored the event. The lab I work out of, Caffeine Spaces hosted and it was a packed, exciting event!!! Nationwide people took this sensor, breaking it a part, adding code, and creating something nobody has thought of before. There were prizes and exciting recognition.

NUI

INTERVIEW WITH MARC ASSELIN

I had an interview with Mark Asselin, a thought leader in NUI and the creator of our hackathon called HackaNUI. (We private messaged on Facebook the interview)

Why did you want to start the HackaNUI?

I started HackaNUI because the market for perceptual computing is booming. I wanted to expose people to it so they’d get excited about it like I am. In addition, I was looking for resources. Most of my developers are in other countries as the work is highly specialized.

What surprised you the most about the event?

The thing that surprised me most about the event had nothing to do with the tech and more to do with community. I reached out to the local community for help and they all came out of the woodwork. I got such an outpouring of support it was overwhelming. I guess I was just a bit surprised.

As a thought leader in this area, share how NUI is changing the future of technology.

NUI is going to change everything that we do in the near future. Today we talk about Kinect cameras but tomorrow we will be talking about how the underlying tech will be integrated into everything we do. Imagine 3D cameras integrated into your laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart TV, refrigerator, etc. You’ll walk into a room and the camera will do facial recognition and know who you are. Based on that it will set room preferences for you, the music you like, the lighting, etc.

Is this technology giving Microsoft some ‘cool’ factor?

I’m not sure if I think Microsoft is necessarily getting an edge from this. They seem mostly focused on the XBox One at this point. That being said, there is obviously a cool factor to the technology. However there are many players out there, Microsoft of course but there is PrimeSense, Intel and many others. Intel just announced a $100 million investment fund dedicated to perceptual computing.

CHECK THIS OUT! CLICK from Engadget.com

• Email Marc Asselin marc@mlabs.co for more info on NUI.

CLICK THE LINK TO: SEE WHO WON at the HackaNUI

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Tara Husband,
Edgy Social Media
305.323.9614

P.S. It’s so fun to see people com together in South Florida. Here’s a Shout/Out to those who help make it happen: SPONSORS. Event photo credits by Art Graham. Additional companies who collaborated in social media http://SocialMediaSass.com, http://theinnovativeconsultant.com.