New User Interface Technologies

It was an eventful week in the field of user interface control design. Two new technologies were announced by industry leaders Synaptics and Logitech:

• Synaptics announced the Onyx phone concept - a concept platform for a new touchscreen technology.  Touchscreen control on mobile devices is nothing new, but the Onyx technology recognizes  more than just single touchpoint inputs.  It can identify natural behavioral patterns and gestures - for example the profile of a user's face as an indicator that the user is ready to answer an incoming call.  This can reduce interaction to basic gestures rather than deliberate controls.  It also makes the device extensible to a wide range of activities (e.g. phone, music, messaging, etc.).  It will be interesting to see who this potential is realized in the design of devices in the near future. 
• Logitech is launching a new computer mouse (MX Revolution).  The key innovation in this product is a new type of scroll-wheel that spins with less friction, along the lines of a flywheel.  This enables the user to scroll more quickly and with less effort compared to standard scroll wheel designs.  This change in function will require an adaptation in user behavior to adjust to this new method of scrolling.  As with the Synaptics Onyx, it will be interesting to observe the extent to which both product designers and consumers adapt to the potential benefits (and drawbacks) of new human-computer interaction technology.