Look (Listen and Design) Before You Leap!
Why intelligent hardware is the secret to powering the AI quantum leap
Most artificial intelligence excitement today revolves around scenario videos that largely ignore the capacities of the physical world. In these videos, AI is a voice or an impersonal text on a screen. The default hardware in the room is a cylinder with a flashing blue light — really?! Is the future of AI and mixed reality limited to cylinder like shapes and oversized goggles?!
Without integrated hardware design, AI will remain a suspicious and non-trustworthy technology embraced only by geeks and experts. A soulless shapeless AI won’t appeal to consumers who are already choosing technology that’s more human and adaptable — to their lives. Hey designers! This is our chance to help get this right.
In order for AI to fulfill its promise—to augment our essential human experience—integrated hardware design thinking is essential. Here’s why:
We’ve been here before
In the 80’s a PC on every desk was the futuristic vision that eventually transformed entire industries; everything from office space, to furniture, to the world of electronic companions. As hardware and software became more closely aligned, our world of work was forever changed.
In the mid 90’s the smart phone started to free many of us from our desks and connected our physical world with an digital one. The internet in our pocket enabled us to always stay connected and pursue multiple tasks via specialized apps. Our world was again transformed with experiences that “knew” where we were, what we intended to do, and who might go with us!
Over time we have become addicted to the constant drip of stimulation and dopamine these devices afford, until we are barely present in any given moment. Our physical world keeps getting interupted by our digital one—and that has a negative impact on our relationships—with each other and with our natural environment. Where has our intelligence gone?
The next quantum leap
As computational speed and power have increased, machine learning has become more sophisticated, and our connected world is filled with data and connected “things”—the era of AI is upon us.
We now have a unique opportunity to create a physical environment that feels safer, friendlier, and is filled with human (and human-like) connections; an environment where human emotion and intuition lead the design of our interactions with physical touch-points; a smart environment where objects with wonderful new functionalities leverage all of our senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch) and free us from the screens we are currently glued to. Integrated Hardware design thinking combines hardware and software—and supercharges their union with artificial intelligence. With fused SW-HW design thinking, we can be more naturally connected to our virtual world AND simultaneously become more present in our real world again!
Signs of intelligent life
This new frontier is largely unexplored. Here are some encouraging signs and examples I’ve discovered so far:
Hands free interactions. Imagine how it would feel to not give up one of your hands just to be connected through your phone — because your intelligent wardrobe has either small or no pockets. Smart assistance (AI) imbedded in smart hardware that is a pleasure to wear (not carry!) and effortless to use (across a spectrum of abilities) could become your personal assistant — allowing you to feel connected, calm, and confident.
Project Guide Dog: inclusive smart cities
A system for the visually impaired uses location and navigation data with a network of information beacons in urban locations to describe routes. This project is a great inspiration about how technology should be integrated in urban environments as well as how a discrete wearable for the individual user should be designed. Inclusive design accommodates a wide range of contexts, interactions, and abilities.
Love at first sight. Let’s not forget that it is oftentimes the hardware that delivers the initial emotional impression and attracts humans to engage. It is like love at first sight. In the era of AI, products will no longer be stand-alone objects, but catalysts for physical connections and touch-points for interdependent systems. Human-centric AI demands integrated and intelligent hardware. Successfully implemented HW design will be fully integrated in the users’ surroundings with a minimal number of upgrades, interruptions, or distractions.
Tesla: form and function
The design of their car and charging stations embody a wide range of new technologies and forward-thinking user experiences, appealing to drivers on an intellectual AND emotional level. The integration of intelligence into their “hardware” fulfills customers’ desires to visibly express and experience attributes of modern luxury.
Fully adapted wearables. Many individual physical interaction points can be fully adapted to the human body while accommodating one’s personal style. Unobtrusive when worn, their interactsions can collect information provided by the user and communicate to the user — intuitively and humanely, via multi-sensorial channels.
DuoSkin: Ornament and style
MIT in collaboration with Microsoft Research have created DuoSkin, a product proposal that uses “metallic film tattoos” to create customized, jewelry like interaction devices that can be attached directly on a person’s skin.
Human superpowers. The prostheses designed by the Alleles Design Studio are great examples of intelligent and beautifully sculpted hardware (in compelling materials and colors) that users desire and bystanders admire. They are part of a revolution started by mountaineer Hugh Herr who lost both his lower legs in a climbing accident in 1982 and later became famous for creating some of the world’s most advanced prosthetic limbs. Imagine how AI could enhance the contextual functionality of these essentially human-centric products. It’s the embodiment and the promise of augmenting our human experience!
How to make the AI quantum leap
Anyone developing truly user-friendly AI (whether they produce actual hardware or not) will need to be fluent with incorporating HW design thinking into their SW design process. Additionally, today’s UI and hardware designers need to begin exploring ways to utilize AI during their entire development process — from research, ideation, immersive story-telling and conceptualizing, to prototyping.
Think like a hardware designer: consider these four essentials when starting your next AI project
TRUST: Hardware will play an essential role in evoking trust in people when using AI powered products and services. The urge to make tools and to imbue objects with meaning is fundamental to our species—and an important consideration in demistifying AI.
NEXT UI: New physical interaction paradigms (like buttons, gestures, and entire device form-factors) will provide opportunities for SW interaction flows that might otherwise be confusing and ambiguous.
PERSONALIZED FUNCTIONALITY: Personalized hardware will enable people to tailor their physical support system to fit their individual cognitive and physical abilities.
INDIVIDUAL HUMAN EXPRESSION: Hardware will provide a rich medium for people to express their indiviality by celebrating and communicating their styles, beliefs, and passions.
When we look back on this AI quantum leap, the teams that defined it will be the teams who have successfully integrated intelligent HW and SW to create delightfully human-centric AI powered products.
About me:
I’m a UX designer at Microsoft whose passion for design began with hardware and extended to technology.
My philosophy has evolved to the integrated hardware design thinking described in this story. I continue to be driven to create holistic and human-centered experiences as well as objects of desire.
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Thanks to my editor, David Betz
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