Natural User Interface Design

Natural user interfaces, or NUIs, are a set of methods and mechanisms for more intuitively connecting people with technology. Instead of intermediating hardware for controlling and displaying information, natural user interfaces enable users to interface with natural behaviors. For example, moving a cursor might be accomplished by physically moving within a defined space, or selecting an item by speaking its name, rather than clicking a button – that’s what natural user interface is all about.

Many people are familiar with gestural user interfaces, popularized by the Nintendo Wii gaming system, and the intuitive touch screen interactions of the iPhone. But gestural user interfaces are just one subcategory of natural user interfaces. While gestural user interfaces focus on observable, physical motor behaviors, natural user interfaces can extend to a broad range of everyday human capabilities. Behaviors that could be associated with natural user interfaces include:

• Natural physical gestures and motion
• Verbal and non-verbal speaking
• Facial features or natural movements
• Eye tracking

Natural user interfaces can also encompass less obvious or visible human behaviors, including:

• Body state changes (e.g. sleep state, temperature, respiration)
• Neuroergonomic measures (EEG, MRI)

In these more forward-looking cases, natural user interfaces may be used for either direct, explicit interaction, or indirect feedback. For example a NUI might acquire a number of body state measures to identify and react to a potential health risk.

From touch and multi-touch phones and computers, to gestural interface gaming systems and radio transmitters embedded in everything from passports to pets, the connections between people and technology are becoming stronger, even as the medium for doing so becomes less visible and tangible. At the same time we have seen more sophisticated physical devices for interacting with the digital environment.

These tangible and intangible technologies have opened a rich world to NUI designers, who have largely been constrained to an input vocabulary of buttons and pointers. Now, natural user interface designers are gaining a complex and dynamic palette built around (and limited only by) the physical capabilities of the human body.

Expertise

Designing natural user interfaces or NUIs, requires an understanding of both user interface design and ergonomics. Bresslergroup has in depth understanding of these two complementary fields. This makes us uniquely qualified as natural user interface developers.

In terms of ergonomics, Bresslergroup has a 40-year history of designing products to accommodate human physical characteristics and capabilities. Our facilities include state-of-the-art ergonomic research and reference tools, and Rob Tannen, PhD, our Director of Research & Interaction Design, is a Certified Professional Ergonomist.

Our ergonomic research technology includes a force-sensing "glove" for ergonomic research and analysis. We use the FingerTPS ("tactile pressure sensing") system from Pressure Profile Systems. Both the hardware and software are very easy to set-up and use; and we've been applying it to a range of projects including consumer, industrial and medical product design, including NUI development in parallel with traditional industrial design.

For example, we can measure the force applied over time for particular fingers when operating various controls on products (e.g. touchscreen versus five-way controller). Besides benchmarking user interface controls, we can evaluate the relative capabilities of different types of users (e.g. children, adults, disabled users) to advise on appropriate control design for natural and gestural user interfaces.

See the video below that explains how the system works:

On the user interface design side, Bresslergroup’s capabilities including user research, information architecture, graphic and interaction design, usability testing and prototyping, including Adobe Flash and Air. To learn more about Bresslergroup’s overall user interface capabilities, see the user Interface section.

Our focus on integrated and embedded interfaces includes a range of experience in natural user interface applications including:

• Touch screen user interface design - Learn about the full range of integrated user interface design and usability services offered by Bresslergroup
• Gestural product interfaces - Gestural user interfaces allow people to interact with products and systems using familiar everyday physical movements.
• Direct physical manipulation interfaces as exemplified by our InterAction Labs SQWEEZE Wii controller – Read about our development of a controller for the Wii that connects physical gestures to digital gaming.
• Voice feedback systems with our KidSmart Vocal Smoke Detector – The story of our IDEA Gold award winning smoke detector design that integrates natural voice recording and audio feedback in a revolutionary way.
• RFID tracking systems and products for Elsafe – Touchless gestural user interface design (RFID) to secure valuables.
• Infrared scanning technology for Infrascan – Development of infrared medical technology that communicates with a wireless handheld device.
• Body-movement sensing products for IsoPad – A device that uses a sensitive fabric to detect movement and an integrated graphical user interface to maximize user performance.
• Augmented reality display represented by our leak detector for Black & Decker – A Popular Science “Best of 2009” consumer product, using simple augmented visual cues to allow users to save energy and money.

Effectively designing natural user interfaces also requires an understanding of the complexities of human behavior and the broad range of potentially applicable technologies. Consequently, Bresslergroup’s full range of capabilities, including expertise in 3D product design and mechanical and electrical/electronics engineering are essential elements to the natural user interface design team. Engineering provides an array of capabilities for interface development including technical innovation, proof-of-principle, design engineering, and testing.