Comments on: Sixth Sense. Only Slightly Lamer than VR.

By: Andy Polaine

Andy Polaine — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:00:36 +0000

Good old McLuhan - he was a smart chap most of the time. That's very true most of the time. I think there are situations when the augmentation is really just that, or rather an addition. That can more for more complexity, though, so I suppose that could be seen as the amputation part.

The comment system that posts a link to your last blogpost is called CommentLuv. The idea is that commenters get rewarded for their trouble with a link back. I turned off the explanation bit because it means having a little love heart, which I wasn't so keen on. But it's a nice idea. I think. I'm still trying it - it seems to freak some commenters out a bit.

By: Viveka

Viveka — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:48:11 +0000

“Like VR, the central paradox of ‘augmenting the senses’ is that the technology cuts back the senses” - very apposite. McLuhan had it down nicely: for every augmentation comes a corresponding amputation. A reminder that augmentations are not always an unalloyed good.

I notice your comment system has automatically flagged my most recent blog post, where I propose a different (and fairly obvious) use for the tiny projector technology used in the Sixth Sense demo...

Viveka’s last blog post..Ad-hoc workspace sharing for under $US 500 per person

By: Andy Polaine

Andy Polaine — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:54:04 +0000

I think spatial gestures can be great too – they work fantastically on the Wii and EyeToy. Not only that, it's really amusing to watching people doing them and it's definitely part of the entertainment experience. That performative aspect is really important to remember – I don't think many technology driven projects like this get that very well. I could imagine something like this being used in a mixed reality game where the idea is to try and project stuff onto other people or objects/buildings, but then it is a very different idea.

As it is, this feels far too much like the old U.S. space pen versus Russian pencil situation (which is an urban myth, by the way).

By: Karl DD

Karl DD — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:02:58 +0000

Thanks for this post Andy! I really love reading these posts where you call it as you see it.

I saw this demo and to be honest was mildly impressed, but the obvious thought was: who the heck is going to hang a projector round their neck? Followed by: who is going to mug the person who hangs a projector round their neck?

I do think spatial gestures have something going for them, but waving your hands around like an idiot in the supermarket just to check if a product has traces of nuts in it is not going work so well. Videoplace or Sketch Furniture utilise spatial gestures in a way that breaks away nicely from the 'hunched over desk' scenario.