Techno Babble

VoodooIO is a project from the Embedded Interactive Systems group at the Lancaster University Computing department in the UK.

It adopts a novel approach for designing User Interfaces using a set of “pin” components that can be positioned and moved on a flexible active material.

Voodoo pins are realized as embedded computers that can communicate with a desktop PC via a planar networking substrate, using Pin&Play technology. The Pin&Play infrastructure involves a substrate with embedded conductive layers and custom-designed coaxial connectors that allow the pin computers to affix to the substrate, providing both physical attachment and digital connectivity.

Ad hoc networking techniques allow any combination of pins to be dynamically brought in and out of play from the substrate network. A communications protocol provides automatic discovery of network pins, as well as bi-directional communication between pins and the computer. A high-level programming API, configuration tool, and application hooks allow VoodooIO to interface with existing applications.

VoodooIO adopts a vision of the physical interface as a malleable material that can be shaped and adapted, rather than a device with a predetermined form or prescribed use. The intention is to overcome the obstacles that prevent hardware interfaces from being as easily appropriable by users as graphical user interfaces (and software applications in general) have become, blurring the boundaries between interface developers, interaction designers and end-users.

The concept is based on deconstructing the interface into atomic units of control – such as buttons, switches, knobs, sliders and lights – and a substrate material that allows individual units to be aggregated and spatially organized into control surfaces distributed across the environment.

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There’s an interview with Frank Moss, who was recently named head of MITs Media Lab, in Business Week Online

http://www.businessweek.com/…design_top+stories.

The Media Lab has an annual budget of $30 million and has helped spawn many small innovative companies.

One of the interesting things he mentions is how innovation used to be driven by large corporate Labs but now is more likely to come from people working together in network based environments.

Disruptive technologies, rather than incremental change are more likely to generate successful entrepeneurs.

Dassault announced (01-20-06) that it has received the Innovation Award from AMR Research for its thought leadership and vision of 3D as a democratizing force in industry and society. The company’s 3D For All initiative, including its acquisition of pioneering 3D behavior company Virtools, as well as its development and roll-out of the Cosmic Blobs 3D design software for children, were cited by AMR Research as illustrative of how Dassault Systèmes is working to take 3D beyond the confines of the engineering domain.

Dassault Systèmes’ 3D For All is a strategic DS initiative with the goal of enabling everyone to share, imagine and experience 3D. It encompasses:

3D XML ─ Based upon the universal, lightweight XML format, 3D XML enables users to share live, accurate 3D data quickly and easily, and is thus ideally suited for fast and efficient collaboration. Fully based on standard XML, it allows any software program to read, write, and enrich 3D XML content using standard tools. This capability will facilitate broad adoption of 3D and lower the cost of converting files from existing 3D formats.

Cosmic Blobs ─ With the Cosmic Blobs design software, described as ’digital modeling clay for children, kids aged 7-14,’ children can quickly design and build 3D creations that are on par with today’s leading computer-generated movies and cartoons.

Virtools ─ Acquired in 2005, Virtools provides comprehensive software development solutions for bringing 3D to life by building highly interactive content. The Virtools Software Suite enables prototyping, development and deployment of applications in the fields of industrial simulation/virtual reality, marketing/multimedia, and offline and online/networked video games. Virtools is used by industry leaders such as Procter & Gamble, EADS, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Matsushita, Intel, as well as major game studios such as Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Ubisoft.

Innovation is a theme of the 2006 Congress on the Future of Engineering software (COFES 2006)

http://www.cofes.com/2006/

There is an interesting blog discussing the topic - A blog for discussing innovation in engineering and its impact on engineering software users and vendors, leading up to COFES2006 - which may be worth following.

Take a look at

http://innnovation.blogspot.com

Analysis and consulting firm Cyon Research released results last week from its recent study of business markets for engineering software, based on the theories of Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen.

“The Innovator’s Dilemma”, in the context of CAx and PLM vendors – The case for an engineering software components market - is a freely available White Paper from Cyon Research.

Here’s a copy

http://www.kf12.com/blogs/uploads/cyonwp060116.pdf

An article in ComputerWeekly (Return of the bright idea) looks at what happened with the following technologies

• Push Technology
• ASP
• Unified communications
• Public key infrastructures
• Network computing
• 3G
• Video conferencing

If you’re interested, read the article here

http://www.computerweekly.com/Article129090.htm

A recently published article in the UK press, (source: Daily Mail 6 June - so it must be accurate ) tells us about research by Vodafone. They have found that it is the more experienced people who are most likely to come up with innovations to help firms thrive, rather than the younger staff pushing progress at work.

A survey of 2000 workers found that 40% of over 55’s enjoy coming up with new ideas. Typically they will generate ideas every few months with 1 in 10 averaging a new idea every day!

This compares with just over 20% of workers in the range 16-24 eager to promote new ideas.

Motivation also differs between the age groups with the younger workers seeking financial reward, and the older worker simply looking for praise and the best results for the business.

A further finding in the survey revealed 70% of workers thought their companies were not good at rewarding innovation, while 25% were so discouraged that they never bothered to tell anyone their bright ideas.

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Is it possible to capture knowledge used when a product is being designed in a form that can be easily re-used in the future? or alternatively, How can that knowledge be captured and how should it be stored?

There are similarities in capturing Design Intent during the design of products with the retention and re-use (sharing) of knowledge when developing software products or indeed in most fields.

Design Intent is not just a question of recording the history or sequence of commands used in the creation of a design. Give the same job to a number of people and it is unlikely that they would follow the exact same sequence of events (although the end result may be the same). Consider how many different ways users can create even the simplest geometry such as a rectangle - the end result may be the same, but the steps taken to get there can be completely different.

Taken away from the simplest examples, the problem can become extremely complex - Why was this hole placed here, What material should be used to provide the given strength at the lowest weight? etc.

The problem is posed, but what is the solution?