Technology update
“The purpose of computers today is to collaborate.”
famously, gestural systems. But they do much more than simply allow users to point and ges- ture to interact with computers. (And, in fact, gestures them- selves are optional.) These are spatial,
networked, multi-us-
er, multi-screen, multi-device, multi-location computing envi- ronments.
New interfaces
“The purpose of computers today is to collaborate,” said Oblong CEO an acknowledged tech visionary John Underkoffler in his Keynote Pre- sentation to the thought-leading London, conference ‘Connect – age of collaboration’ last month. Why is this important? Underkoffler is not only a pioneer of collaborative technology, he as a recognised expert on the human-machine interface. AV News reports on this ground-breaking event.
Staged at the Maverick spon- sored collaboration event, ‘Connect – age of collabora- tion’,
got off to an inspired
start with sound of almost 200 African drums and Boomwa- ka’s played by a theatre fill of senior figures from the AV and UC communities, supported by representatives of end-user or- ganisations and a small group of musicians.
Maverick Global Vice Presi-
dent John Sidwick introduced the opening session, and key- note speakers TV’s Spencer Kelly and Oblong CEO John Underkoffler. Underkoffler set the tone for the event, saying: “The true function of comput- ers today is collaboration”. The user interface, which Under- koffler described as fundamen- tally unchained from the days of Xerox Park and the apple Macintosh, makes little use of human dexterity, physiology and multi-tasking capability. Oblong was founded in 2006 with the goal of delivering a better human-computer in- terface. He explains: “We
are a company of designers, programmers, hardware engi- neers, and problem-solvers, applying human-centred de- sign principles to a full stack approach of technology devel- opment. We are working on the most interesting thing we can think of, which is how to make computers more flexible, ca- pable, useful, interactive, and empowering for humans work- ing together on the advance- ment of business, government, education, and culture.” Underkoffler’s background embraces work as a pioneering researcher into spatial comput- ing at the MIT Media Lab. He was plucked from academia by Hollywood’s A-list to envision the future of human-comput- er interface for films such as Minority Report, The Hulk, and Iron Man. Through these films his work has been amplified and influential to a generation of
developers, earning him
a National Design Award in 2015 and more than 1.5 mil- lion views for his TED Talk. Ob- long’s computing systems are,
At a recent TED event Under- koffler explained the principles underlying his work: “Oblong’s core technology platform is called g-speak™. It enables applications to be de- veloped that run across multi- ple screens and multiple devic- es. Our customers use g-speak to solve big data problems, to collaborate
more effectively, and to go from viewing pixels on
a single screen to interacting with pixels on every screen.” “We transform computing from a one-person, one-screen, one-device experience to a ful- ly shared and interactive expe- rience. We're the only company that brings together all your screens, streams, and devic- es into a unified environment. We're also the only company to combine data presentation and analytics capabilities with collaboration capabilities, en- abling you to turn big data into insight and intelligence. We’re also the company that coined the term Infopresence.” “Our flagship product is called Mezzanine™. It brings data sets, workspaces, and communication channels to life across multiple screens in multiple locations. It allows interaction from a number and
Maverick’s Jon Sidwick, Joel Chimoindes and Jane Hammersley pre- pare to open the ‘Connect – age of collaboration’ event at London’s Design Museum.
type of input devices simultane- ously, including touch screens, phones, and tablets. It frees users from sitting in one place, tied to one device, and enables
ment is as important as the technology. Firms have always had concerns about the effi- cient use of their offices, and for good reason. After staff,
Connect – age of collaboration; introduced with massed drums and Boomwakas played by an audience of conference delegates.
the free flow of teamwork where collaborators can access, share and control content on a fluid visual canvas all at once. Mez- zanine scales up to support the most immersive and command- ing innovation centres; across to link labs, conference spaces, and situation rooms; and down for the smallest work groups.”
Workshops and plenary sessions
The keynote sessions were followed by a programme of high-end workshop and plenary sessions, using the technolo- gies under discussion. Of those attended by AV News, special congratulations go to innovation to Peter Otto, Director Product Strategy & Design at Condeco for his presentation: “Ignition points - Creating a workplace and culture that fosters creativi- ty and innovation.” Otto explained that, in an age when “creativity is the new pro- ductivity”, the working environ-
real estate is their most expen- sive and valuable asset. Twen- ty or more years ago, before the Internet began to unravel the bonds that tied us full time to the workplace, this was a fairly straightforward issue. Up until the mid-1990s, most people had fixed hours in one place of work and a dedicated workstation, the size of which was often determined by their status within the organisation rather than anything else. Even those workers who spent large amounts of time away from the office usually had their own desk to call home. In the mid-1900s, that start- ed to change. Not only did the uptake of the Internet and the adoption of mobile phones and laptops allow staff to work from anywhere, there was growing awareness of exactly how they used space with- in the office itself. Pioneers such as Frank Duffy and his firm DEGW began to measure how much time people spent
P16 AV News October 2018
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