AR, Voice and Loyalty
The progression of the human computer interface continues and the important components of the next phase are coming into view. The touchscreen isn’t going away, just like the keyboard and the mouse haven’t disappeared, but we are seeing the seeds of the interface elements that will likely dominate computer usage in the future. There is still a lot of development to come and there are several pieces of the puzzle that are still missing.
This future interface will comprise multiple components for the user that can work together or independently depending on the user’s need and situation. A modular approach but unlike the shortsighted modular smartphones like Google’s Ara concept, LG’s G5, or the Moto Z these modules won’t need to physically attach.
Augmented reality glasses (AR), voice controlled assistants and a loyalty to smartphones will be the main components.
Augmented reality glasses will allow the user to see objects overlaid over their view of the world or completely consume the view to allow for an immersive virtual reality experience. This new interface will provide a whole new world of interactions and opportunities just like the smartphone did before it. It will still be awhile before this all comes together in a solution that will work better as a display then your smartphone and be something that you will want to wear for extended periods of time.
The issue is being tackled from both ends with different teams and companies working on headsets that are too big, heavy and ugly but with a compelling experience and then glasses that are closer to something you would be comfortable wearing in public but with limited functionality. Development in this space will be rapid in both hardware and user experience. There will be lots of variety and experimentation before the sweet spot is found.
Voice controlled assistants are another critical piece of our next computer interface. With faster processors and great advances in natural language processing and machine learning we can already see the power in this interface. There are two places to look at today to understand this interface. From a hardware interface we can look at Apple’s AirPods to understand how voice, gestures and contextual awareness can be combined. Then on the software side we can look at products like Amazon Alexa and Google Home that choose a narrower context of use in a more controlled environment; your home where you are able to ask questions or control other devices using your voice.
Many people are finding they have a preference for this interface for many actions even when their smartphone is within reach. This is an important signal that this interface is important but at the same time there are many challenges to adapting the interface to different environments. This is a case where we can look at these challenges as opportunities, solving these challenges is a key to unlocking this interface for broad use in many contexts.
At a high level a voice controlled assistant is an interface that can be very contextual to you and your environment (place, time, situation). Unlike icon grids, menus and keyboards where consistency is expected the voice assistant interface resets the user’s expectation. This allows machine learning to be leveraged beyond a simple word prediction bar and suggested actions. The consistency for the user is in the voice commands but the opportunity is making them so you don’t have to say them out loud when it isn’t convenient.
The innovations that are coming are word typing and silent voice commands.
Word Typing — is tapping on predicted words in AR or a touchscreen to enter commands or text. Why are we still typing one letter at a time? The trick is to have great predictions and many of them but also make it easy for the user to know where to find the word they want. One way is to lay the words out in the QWERTY layout based on the first letter of the word but have the ability to have many words with the same starting letter. tapping a question out in this system should be as easy as typing out a single word.
Silent Voice Commands — with voice controlled assistants we are communicating with a machine not another human so it affords an opportunity to create an interface that is natural to us but does not have to be comprehended by a human. Using the power of machine learning and natural language processing it will allow us to make a system that recognizes silent voice commands. The goal is to unleash the power of voice commands in any situation while being discrete, even in a noisy environment. We need to take voice commands outside of the home. There are several ways to approach this problem using different sensors. Adding silent voice commands to AR starts to make things very interesting with a solution that provides both compelling output and input.
Loyalty is to the smartphone. The title pays homage to Hirschman’s Exit, Voice and Loyalty. I believe the smartphone will still be relevant when AR and Voice take hold and it will represent the third leg of the interface but it will look different and have different priorities then the smartphone of today. The primary reason that the smartphone will still be relevant is that when you aren’t wearing your AR glasses or have your ear pods in (if they are separate from the glasses) your smartphone will still be the fastest and most convenient way to stay connected. As well in the situations where you only want to take one thing with you when you head out it will likely be your smartphone. Your AR glasses become your primary screen so your smartphone no longer needs a big screen. What’s new is that your smartphone is now your magic wand for your AR glasses. This could take many forms but I imagine it as a narrow formfactor with a wrap around display and an integrated hand strap. By not having to grip the phone and having the touchscreen available on the sides the user interface can incorporate interaction from all the fingers on the users hand. While being used as a input control with your hand and paired with the AR glasses the smartphone can incorporate great motion control and incredible haptic feedback to allow for amazing user experiences. The smartphone provides both your most basic connection needs on its own as well as advanced interaction when paired with your AR glasses.
AR, voice and your magic wand will create a new computing landscape that is incredibly exciting and is a blank canvas for new user experiences. I find it thrilling to know there will be many new applications that are enabled from this combination that we can’t even imagine today.
Product Differentiation and the Perception Utility Gap ← previous post
Learn more about Snap Pea Design’s thoughts on design strategy, product development, innovation and our process at www.snappeadesign.com
