STILL conneXXt Nr. 01 English

09 THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLE CHANGE in the way humans and machines interact with each other over the past few years and the future looks set for this trend to continue at an even greater pace. But should we be worried about this or take it all in our stride? Humans and machines By uttering the voice command “Computer, put it on screen,” Captain Kirk, commander of the legendary Enterprise space shuttle, could display a variety of objects on a large screen on the command deck, including alien planets, incoming “calls” and mysterious space stations. This is just one of the many examples of how screenwriters from what is probably the most famous science fiction series imagined what the future of communication between humans and machines would look like all those years ago. It’s as simple as saying “computer”, adding the command and then seeing it happen: the holodeck starts the selected simulation, the lift goes to the requested floor or the space shuttle accelerates to the desired speed, “Computer, warp five. Power!” THE FUTURE IS NOW However, being able to issue voice commands is no longer a distant dream of the future. If you’ve ever asked your iPhone “Hey Siri, will I need an umbrella this afternoon?” or said to your smartphone, “OK, Google, take me to the nearest cinema,” then you will have been given prompt assistance by a rather charming voice and visualisations on the display. It’s already long been possible to control lighting, roller shutters and your heating using voice commands. In short, the way in which we communicate with machines has radically changed over the course of the past few years. In fact, thanks to the digital revolution, it has even reached a level, at least in some areas, that science fiction authors could only fantasise about. THE OPERATING REVOLUTIONS Monochrome monitors and keyboards were the order of the day back when digitisation was still in its infancy. In 1984, the first computer with a mouse as its primary input device appeared on the market – the Apple Macintosh. Admittedly, designs incorporating mouse control had been around for a long time before this, but Apple was the first company to make this appeal to the mass market, ultimately revolutionising the way we now interact with computers. Apple managed a similar feat in 2007 with its smartphone: The iPhone was the first mobile phone with a multi-touch display and it set a new operating standard. The extent to which such “multi-touch gestures” have now become second nature to us, as well as how intuitive they seem, becomes very clear indeed when young children sit down to read a magazine and attempt to enlarge the images with their thumb and index finger. In addition to this new operating paradigm, the whole way in which humans co-exist with machines is given a com- pletely new sense of direction with the use of microphones, cameras, datagloves, RFID chips and a multitude of sensors which are embedded in a diverse range of specialist equipment. TITLE STORY

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