Germany depends heavily on the only raw material available within its national territoryknowledge. Nevertheless, major management faults due to a lack of management knowledge have led to closures of prosperous companies and in many cases to layoffs in the thousands in the recent past. This questions the abilities of companies and their decision makers and, once again, the actual quality of our most precious good. Managers cannot talk themselves out of this by stating that Germany is no longer able to produce competitively, as this is not true. The challenge is to make products people both need and enjoy. To achieve this goal, this thesis provides a tailored solution for the information and communication market.
The topic deals with one of the most promising technologies since the internet, namely the next generation of user interfaces - personal intelligent user interfaces (PIUIs). Some call it the Pan-dora’s Box of the information century, whereas others consider it to be the salvation for the mobile generation. This thesis might not be able to give a final answer to this dispute but provides a toolkit for the strategic technology management to cope with new technologies. Fur-thermore, a methodology framework is developed and applied to evaluate the usability of intelligent user interfaces. Usability isthekey factor for broad user acceptance and success in a highly competitive market environment like the communication sector. Beyond that, the work presents a list of high potential use cases for PIUIs till 2008. First “products” of this list have been presented or even rolled out earlier this year by major ICT companies like Nokia and Microsoft. This proof of validity and the fact that this paper includes a comprehensive list of indepth analysed next generation user interface technologies make this work a must read for every determined and responsible manager.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Scenario
1.2 Problem Setting and Goals
1.3 Structural Overview of the Thesis
2 Delimitation and Conceptual Definitions
2.1 Strategic Technology Management
2.2 Methods of Strategic Technology Management
2.2.1 Technology Forecasting
2.2.1.1 Expert Panel
2.2.1.2 Scanning and Monitoring
2.2.1.3 Patent and Literature Analysis
2.2.1.4 Trend Impact Analysis
2.2.1.5 Gap Analysis
2.2.1.6 Scenario Analysis
2.2.2 The Gardner Hype Cycle
2.2.3 Technology Assessment
2.3 Personal Intelligent User Interface
2.3.1 Definition Human-Computer Interaction
2.3.2 Definition of User Interface
2.3.3 Definition of Intelligent User Interface
2.3.4 Definition of Personal Intelligent User Interfaces
3 Development of the user requirement framework
3.1 Usability
3.2 Analysis of existing usability standards
3.2.1 The technology user requirements framework
3.2.2 Use case development
4 User interfaces and technologies
4.1 Affective Computing
4.2 Virtual Reality
4.3 Mixed Reality - Augmented Reality
4.3 Chip Implants for Identification
4.4 Brain-Computer Interface
4.5 Displays
4.5.1 Electronic Ink and Digital Paper
4.5.2 Retinal Displays
4.6 Gaze Tracking
4.7 Gesture Recognition
4.8 Handwriting
4.8.1 Handwriting Capture
4.8.2 Natural Handwriting Recognition
4.9 Haptic Interfaces
4.10 Intelligent Agents
4.11 Location Sensing
4.12 Machine Translation
4.13 Natural Language Search
4.14 Speech Recognition
4.15 Speech-to-Speech Translation
4.16 Synthetic Characters
4.17 Telepresence
4.18 Text-to-Speech Synthesis
4.19 Wearable Computers
5. Conclusion
5.1 Summary
5.2 Outlook
Objectives and Research Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a strategic methodology framework for evaluating next-generation user interface technologies to define high-potential use cases for the ICT market. The work addresses the challenge of navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of personal intelligent user interfaces (PIUIs) by bridging the gap between strategic technology management and practical usability evaluation.
- Development of a user requirements framework for PIUI technologies.
- Application of strategic technology management tools, including technology forecasting and scenario analysis.
- In-depth usability assessment using relevance and fulfilment metrics.
- Identification of high-potential use cases for PIUIs in the period leading up to 2008.
- Evaluation of next-generation interface technologies, such as affective computing, gaze tracking, and brain-computer interfaces.
Auszug aus dem Buch
4.1 Affective Computing
Affective computing is computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotion. (Picard, 1997)
One popular approach to affective computing is the design of applications that monitor and evaluate people's emotions. This method is also called emotion detection, with the objective of using this information in order to create better user interfaces. Another approach looks at how applications evoke emotions, either by exhibiting emotional aspects or by encouraging reflection on and awareness of emotions.
According to Carson Reynolds, there are different techniques and modalities used to detect affect. Physiological sensors, facial expression recognition, speech prosody recognition and pressure sensors rank among the most common ones. Affect sensors are often coupled with algorithms that are specifically designed to distinguish and classify patterns associated with emotional states (qtd. in Strauss et al., p. 2).
So far, the best results have been obtained through facial recognition, followed by physiological, speech and bimodal detection. Although current technologies are able to detect affective states with high acuity, recognition and evaluation of distinct emotions are still a huge challenge for researchers.
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the ICT market evolution and defines the thesis's goal of establishing a strategic toolkit for technology forecasting and usability evaluation.
2 Delimitation and Conceptual Definitions: Establishes the theoretical foundation by defining key concepts in strategic technology management, technology forecasting, and the domain of intelligent user interfaces.
3 Development of the user requirement framework: Details the creation of a framework to evaluate technologies based on usability standards, culminating in the definition of high-potential use cases.
4 User interfaces and technologies: Presents an in-depth analysis of specific interface technologies, assessing their user requirements, adoption timelines, and potential applications.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes the thesis findings, confirms the framework's validity through real-world examples, and provides an outlook on future research needs for PIUIs.
Key Words
Personal Intelligent User Interfaces, Strategic Technology Management, Usability Evaluation, Technology Forecasting, Human-Computer Interaction, Affective Computing, Wearable Computers, Gap Analysis, Scenario Method, Gartner Hype Cycle, Information and Communication Technology, Intelligent Agents, User Requirement Framework, Market Adoption, Ubiquity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work focuses on the development of a methodology framework to evaluate next-generation user interface technologies, specifically targeting personal intelligent user interfaces (PIUIs) to identify high-potential business use cases.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The research integrates strategic technology management, usability engineering, technology forecasting, and the specific technological domain of intelligent user interfaces (IUIs).
What is the main objective of the proposed framework?
The objective is to provide a "toolkit" for managers and developers to assess the maturity and usability of new technologies, ensuring they align with user needs and market readiness.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The methodology utilizes expert panels, scenario analysis, patent and literature research, and a "Fulfilment Relevance Gap" (FRG) model to quantitatively assess the maturity of specific technologies.
What topics are discussed in the main part?
The main part provides detailed descriptions, requirement profiles, and time-to-plateau assessments for 19 specific technologies, including affective computing, gesture recognition, and brain-computer interfaces.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Key terms include PIUI, Strategic Technology Management, Usability Standards, Technology Forecasting, and Human-Computer Interaction.
How does the author evaluate the maturity of a technology?
The author uses a spider-graph based on six requirement dimensions (utility, adaptability, responsiveness, attractiveness, privacy, and human senses) to measure the gap between user requirements and current technological fulfilment.
What is a key conclusion regarding privacy?
The thesis identifies privacy as a critical barrier to user acceptance; if next-generation interfaces cannot guarantee personal data security, they will likely fail in the mass market.
What serves as the "proof of concept" for the research?
The author highlights the "Affective Diary" project by the Swedish Institute of Computer Science, noting that its features align with the use cases developed within this thesis, thus validating the research's predictions.
- Quote paper
- Dipl. Ing. (FH) Markus Fischer (Author), 2006, Personal Intelligent User Interfaces 2008 - Development of a methodology framework to evaluate technologies in order to define high potential use cases, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/70633
