APPLYING TECHNOLOGY TO DISPLAYS

"Step into the 3D world."

The poster reads...

You are not kidding.

At the Society For Information Display's (SID) convention in Seattle, WA May 25-27, 2010 it was 3D all over.

The demonstrations ranged from a giant 84" panel from Samsung with a 3D screen resolution 4 X High Definition (3,840 X 2,160), that you viewed with glasses, to small mobile device 3D displays that give you a crisp 4-6" 3D image you can see without glasses.

The SID show is not so much about finished products that you can go out and get at Best Buy today. This show is where the people who make those display systems you buy at retail get their technology and technology components. It is the ultimate annual display dweeb fest.

It is the place to catch the industry's themes and directions, as well as understanding what will be at retails in a year or two.

The themes for 2010 are:
1. 3D Everything
From display technologies to the manufacturing and testing tools to put the technologies to market.

2. Multi-touch

So you can expect to touch and pinch everything over the coming years.

3. OLED (Organic Light -Emitting Diode)

An up and coming display technology that make thinner, lower power and even flexible displays possible.

4. Low power consumption

Technologies that make our large home screens 4 times as power efficient, to laptops and pads that will run for weeks without recharging.

5. Thin

All the way to flexible!

I gathered a lot of material and shot some great interviews that I will be bringing you over the coming weeks.

Stay tuned!

This is Theo looking at how the industry is applying technologies to displays.

Applying iPad Technology AS A CONTROL SURFACE

The iPad is the control surface I dreamed of for years.
In my 20's I started designing technical systems, beginning with mixing consoles and tape recorders. The control surface designs (better known today as UIs or User Interfaces) were limited by buttons, switches and sliders that needed to be logically located for the user - but also dictated by engineering and board layouts.

In the early 90's, as digital controls became feasible, I started to design control systems using computers. The first of these were very crude, but by the mid 90's I was able to create graphic user interfaces for machine and system controls. I eventually received a few patents in this area.

Probably because of my background in hardware UIs, I always liked software that emulates hardware. Buttons sliders and knobs should look, feel and operate like their physical counterparts. The main benefits of the electronic interface is its tremendous flexibility. Of course, interacting with this interface using a keyboard and mouse was a giant leap backward.

In this new century, touch control has leaped forward as evidenced by many things including the touch screen in my car and of course now my multi-touch phone.


Putting the iPad into this context is more than exciting!
Consider the following characteristics:

• The iPad is not only touch but multi-touch.
• The iPad is untethered with great battery life and the ability to link the control surface to the controlled system wirelessly -with both wifi and bluetooth.
• The iPad can leverage client-side AND server-side applications for really sophisticated controls that are software and database linked.
• The iPad offers powerful high-speed graphics and animations to support real time feedback including live video cameras and sound.
  
• The iPad is an ideal size for a single user UI.
  
• The iPad is very inexpensive in the context of control surfaces.
• The platform is very feature rich compared to a standard touch screen. It includes multi-touch, accelerometers, GPS location, wifi, blue tooth, web, multi-tasking (imminent), sound, and more.
  

THE TOPPER!
And most important, the iPad is NOT some proprietary hardware system you need to integrate and support. Rather, it is a relatively inexpensive, commodity, commercial device you can easily adapt to your most esoteric application by simply developing software - and if the device you need to control does not support wifi or bluetooth, a little bit of hardware interface is probably enough.

It seems that the audio Apps have really gotten into this. As an example, Groove.Maker includes sliders, button, selectors, real-time visual feedback and more.

Although this particular app does not control an external device, it easily could. Others do.

It adheres to many real-world design metaphors and you can run multiple faders and turn knobs at the same time because the control surface is multi-touch. Wow.

The real innovations are yet to emerge. I expect industrial casings, dual hand or "many surface" coordinated applications, video integration, and much more.

I will go as far as to predict that the iPad becomes a catalyst for a renaissance in man/machine interface...

This is Theo - Exploring the iPad as an amazing control surface application.

Applying iPad Technology IN THE KITCHEN

Over the weekend, I was taking a little timeout on Netflix to watch a delightfully bad scifi movie on the family iPad. I suddenly realized it was time to prepare that meal I had promised.

I wandered into the kitchen clutching the device under my arm and grasped that I was entering new iPad territory - literally! How does the iPad fit into the kitchen? "Good question!", I mused.
"And a good idea for a post!".

There were several issues to consider including: Why an iPad in the kitchen?

Well, I was not finished with my movie and it was time to prep then cook. I don't have any media in my kitchen and taking the iPad with me offered music, radio, television, movies and of course access to that online recipe I was going to use.

But an iPad in the kitchen? With water, grease spatters, and all manner of sticky organic material? Maybe not.

Just then, my wife wandered in and pointed out that we had the same problem with our beloved collection of cooking books. Why not use the same solution?

Of course! There are many cookbook stands that combine a nice adjustable angled stand with an acrylic cover to protect the book. This is a perfect solution for the iPad in the kitchen.

You can find these stands for as little as $20.00 at stores like Crate and Barrel, Bed Bath & Beyond, and of course Amazon. Just make sure it is adjustable and more important, that it has a splash guard. These are typically acrylic and the best ones are over sized for better protection. Ours was perfect.

Of course you can't use the iPad's surface without touching it. But again, this is the same for a recipe book. If you need to change the page (or the movie), wash those hands and raise that splash guard again when you are done.

I think the iPad would clean up easily from some errant spatters with its milled aluminum fitted back and glass front. It is probably reasonably kitchen safe anyway, but I'd hate to find a glob of sticky on it the next time I grabbed it.

So get yourself a cookbook stand and go iGourmet!

This is Theo APPLYING TECHNOLOGY in tasty new ways.

Ref: Google search for cookbook stand

Applying "Lean Back" computing with the iPad

The idea of "lean forward" and "lean back" computing has been bandied about over the past few years in context to the IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) movement. It is pretty self explanatory.

Sitting at your computer, and clicking links is considered to be "lean forward".
Sitting on your couch watching television is considered to be "lean back".
This makes sense when you think of the experiential aspect of each mode.

I bring you this idea because it is one of the most intriguing aspects of the iPad.

It is arguably the world's first "lean back" computing device. It simply invites you to curl up in your easy chair and fondle your way through the internet... or simply watch a show... listen to music... or read a book. And when you are in a "lean forward" frame of mind, you can pop it onto the table and start typing. It is really terrific that way.

As we all try to make sense of this new device, the "lean back" attribute of the iPad is one of its greatest differentiators. It is little wonder that the traditional computer categories don't fit it well.

It can also make it challenging to justify the iPad as a work tool. I'll address that in an upcoming posting on work surfaces. Right now, I am going to take my iPad out to the patio and watch a movie on Netflix.

Theo - Leaning back while applying new computing technology.

Applying iPad Technology - A NEW SERIES

I have been "off-line" for over a month now. Ouch. Sorry.

In part I have been very busy, and in part I have been totally absorbed in experimenting with the iPad.

Originally I had resolved not to blog about it, because I figured everyone else was. Soon I realized I was not writing other stories because I was so absorbed with this strange new device. Well - sometimes you just have to go with the flow!

So here we go with a series of application articles on the iPad.

I had also not intended on being an early adopter. After all, this was only an iPhone on steroids, or even less than that. No 3G... No Camera.... I'll wait. "I don't really need this thing. We are still in a recession! And I can't simply indulge my curiosity. Can I?"

On Saturday April 3rd., Nik - my son, my friend and my engineer - spent the day working at the Apple Store on Santa Monica's Third Street Mall. It was the "Big Rollout". At my request, I received iPhone pix of the insanity all day, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I even got a video snipped or two of the crowds rushing in.

That evening, Nik stopped by the house to show us the "pad". He was still fired up from the day's excitement.

As it turns out, he had made a decision for me. Nik decided I was buying an iPad whether I was being "all reserved and disciplined or not". Nik had concluded it was important that I start to explore this new thing right away. Though he told me he could take it back if I really objected, I trust Nik's instincts and gratefully accepted my purchase of a 16Gb iPad.

So it was at 7am the next morning, while I was sitting in a United departure gate at Burbank airport on my way to Washington D.C., that I pulled out the iPad from my briefcase. It was still sheathed in its plastic wrapping. I held it in my hand. I turned it over and peeled it open.

"How do you like it?" someone enthused immediately.

I held up the wad of plastic wrapping in my hand and shrugged.
"Got no idea - It's only been 15 seconds! but so far I think it's great!" Everyone laughed and people began to move to where I was sitting to have a better look.

And so begins this series on APPLYING THE IPAD TECHNOLOGY.

First Application: The iPad helps you make friends.

Theo - Applying the iPad technology