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有没有想过观光旅游的时候,只要用手摆出一个拍照的手势,随后真的就会响起“咔嚓”一声,接着你所看到的景象就被拍摄并存储下来,然后,随便走到一面白墙前,戴在胸前的投影设备就可以将刚才的照片投射出来,你可以在上面做出各种手势对照片进行拖拽、缩放等编辑处理;有没想过当你在书店拿起一本书,身上的摄像头捕捉到书的封面内容就可以帮你链接互联网调出相关的书评并投射到书本上……“第六感装置”可以帮你实现上述心愿,这种神奇的技术可以充当一种“第六感官”, 为人们提供出现在其面前的任何物体的相关信息,从而使人们的生活变得更加方便。有关“第六感装置”的视频演示可参看以下网址:http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html ,保证让你大开眼界!
Imagine being able to check your email on any blank wall, simply by drawing an @ sign in the air with your finger, or being able to check the time by using that same finger to draw a circle, which produces the image of an 1)analog watch right on your wrist. You want to take a digital photograph? Just put your thumbs and 2)forefingers together to make a picture frame. Better yet, imagine a system that can display the reason for your flight delay directly on the3)boarding pass you are holding in your hand.
“We’re trying to make it possible to have access to relevant information in a more 4)seamless way,” says Dr. Pattie Maes, who heads the Fluid Interfaces Group at 5)MIT. She says that while today’s mobile computing devices can be useful, they are “deaf and blind,” meaning that we have to stop what we’re doing and tell those devices what information we need or want.
“We have a vision of a computing system that understands, at least to some extent, where the user is, what the user is doing, and who the user is interacting with,” says Dr. Maes. “SixthSense can then 6)proactively make information available to that user based on the situation.”
The SixthSense 7)prototype has changed since it was first introduced to the public in 2008. Originally, it consisted of a web camera 8)strapped to a bicycle helmet. But the current prototype promises to be a bit more consumer-friendly. It consists of a small camera and 9)projector combination (about the size of a cigarette pack) worn around the neck of the user. An accompanying smartphone runs the SixthSense software and handles the connection to the Internet. The camera, in a sense, acts as a digital eye, seeing what the user sees. It also tracks the movements of the thumbs and index fingers of both of the user’s hands.
The idea is that SixthSense tries to determine not only what someone is interacting with, but also how he or she is interacting with it. The software searches the Internet for information that is potentially relevant to that situation, and then the projector takes over. “You can turn any surface around you into an interactive surface,” says Pranav Mistry, an MIT graduate student working on the SixthSense project. “Let’s say I’m in a bookstore, and I’m holding a book. SixthSense will recognize that and will go up to 10)Amazon. Then, it will display online reviews of that book, and prices, right on the cover of the book I’m holding.” Mistry notes that the system is11)customizable as well, so that if you don’t want Amazon reviews of a book, you could choose instead to find out what the New York Times thinks of it. He also says that 12)brick and mortar bookstores might decide to provide their own information to the device, which would mean that a customer would not have to necessarily go online to find more information.
The system has been improved to become smaller and more consumer-friendly. The hardware included in the SixthSense system is not that expensive. The current prototype costs about $350 to build. But this attempt to merge the digital world with the physical world requires some serious 13)programming and engineering. “All the work is in the software,” says Dr. Maes. “The system is constantly trying to figure out what’s around you, and what you’re trying to do. It has to recognize the images you see, track your gestures, and then relate it all to relevant information at the same time.” It is not surprising then that, in this initial research phase, the SixthSense team has only developed a few 14)applications. In the longer term, Dr. Maes envisions opening up the SixthSense platform and letting others develop applications for it.
But Pranav Mistry sees some commercial applications for the system in the near future. For example, he wants to develop a 15)sign language application that would “speak out” a translation while someone was signing. He also sees potential for SixthSense in the field of gaming. Unlike the16)Nintendo 17)Wii, which keeps you in front of the television, the SixthSense system might “allow a kid to go outside and be able to get a real tennis lesson on a real tennis court.”
No one involved in the SixthSense project feels that their platform will replace laptops and smartphones. “If I’m doing something like 18)CAD, I’m not going to choose the SixthSense interface,” says Liyan Chang, an MIT undergraduate working on the project. “But in certain instances, it can do something that a desktop or laptop can’t do, which is quickly put information right where I want it to be, right on a wall or a newspaper in front of me.”
And if SixthSense 19)catches on, what will we all make of the sight of dozens of people checking their e-mails on the walls of airports and train stations? Dr. Pattie Maes laughs: “Well, I think it might actually be more socially acceptable than those 20)Bluetooth 21)earpieces people use these days. At least with our system you can actually see that people are interacting with information, instead of watching someone that looks like they’re just talking to themselves on a street.”
试想象一下仅仅用手指在空气中画一个“@”的符号,你便能够在任何空白的墙上查邮件;或者想看时间只需用同一只手指画一个圆圈,一只指针式手表的影像就会出现在手腕上。要拍数码照片吗?将你的拇指和食指放在一起做成相框状即可实现。还有更好地,试想象一下有这么一个系统,能够在你手中拿着的登机牌上直接显示出你航班延迟的原因。
“我们尝试用一种更完全连续的方法去链接各种相关的信息,”佩蒂·梅斯博士说,她是美国麻省理工学院“流动界面小组”的负责人。她说,尽管如今的可移动电脑设备在发挥作用,但却是“又聋又瞎的”,也就是说,我们不得不停下手头上所做的事情去告诉这些设备我们需要或者想要什么信息。
“我们在设想一种计算机装置,它至少能够在一定程度上了解使用者所处的位置,正在做的事以及所接触的人,”梅斯博士说,“‘第六感装置’能够根据情境主动提供信息。”
自2008年首次向公众推出概念原型之后,“第六感装置”现已有所改变。原先,其只是将网络摄像头绑在一个自行车头盔上。而现在,产品原型变得更加方便消费者使用,是一个小型照相机和投影仪的混合体(与烟盒一般大小),使用者可将其戴在脖子上。“第六感装置”的程序可以在配套的智能手机上运行,并使其连接到互联网。这个照相机,在某种意义上,就如同一只电子眼,能见使用者之所见,并且能够追踪使用者双手拇指和食指的运动。
该构想是这样的:“第六感装置”不仅试图去确定使用者在做什么,并且还试图去确定其中的交流互动过程是如何进行的。其内置软件会在互联网上搜索与当时的情境有关的潜在信息,并且将其投影出来。“你可以把你周围的任何平面转变成互动界面,”参与“第六感装置”研究项目的麻省理工学院毕业生普拉纳夫·米斯特里说,“比如说,我在书店里,拿着一本书。‘第六感装置’就会识别出来,并连接到亚马逊网。然后,它就会在我所拿之书的封面上显示出网上有关该书的评论以及价格。” 米斯特里说,这个系统也可以“定制”,如果你不想看亚马逊网的书评,那么你可以选择看《纽约时报》上关于此书的评论。此外,他说,实体书店可能会决定提供自己书店的信息到此设备上,这就意味着,顾客不一定非得要上网才能获得更多信息。
该系统已经过改良,体积变得更小,更方便消费者使用。“第六感装置”系统里的硬件并不是那么贵。目前的产品原型成本只需350美元。但是将电子世界与现实世界融合到一块的这种设想需要严谨的编程和工程技术才能实现。“所有的工作都在软件上,”梅斯博士说,“这个系统不断地在弄清楚你周围有什么东西,以及你打算做什么。它必须识别你看到的图像,追踪捕捉你的手势,同时将所有的这些与相关的信息联系起来。”无怪乎,在当前这一初级研究阶段,“第六感装置”研究团队仅仅研发出了几种应用软件。从更长远来看,梅斯博士打算公开“第六感装置”的科技平台,让其他人参与开发此项技术的更多应用软件。
不过,普拉纳夫·米斯特里已经看到在不久的将来此系统的商业用途。例如,他想开发一种手语传译应用软件,可以在人们打手语的时候翻译并“说出”其意思。同时,他也看到了“第六感装置”在游戏领域的潜力。与要你一直对着电视的任天堂Wii游戏机不同,“第六感装置”或许可以“让小孩到外面去,在真实的网球场上上一堂真实的网球课。”
在参与“第六感装置”研究项目的人中,没有人认为他们的这个平台会取代手提电脑和智能手机。“如果我在做一些像计算机辅助设计之类的东西,我就不会选择‘第六感装置’界面,”参与该项目工作的麻省理工学院学生常丽艳(音译)说,“但是有很多例子说明它可以做一些台式电脑或手提电脑做不到的东西,那就是迅速地将信息显示在我想要的地方,在墙上或者在我面前的报纸上。”
如果“第六感装置”广为流行,当看到数十人在机场或火车站的墙壁上查看邮件时,我们会有何反应呢?佩蒂·梅斯博士笑道:“事实上,我认为这比时下那些用蓝牙耳机的人更容易被社会所接受。至少我们的系统能够让你真正地看到人们是在跟信息进行互动,而不是看到街上有一些人好像在自言自语那样。”
Imagine being able to check your email on any blank wall, simply by drawing an @ sign in the air with your finger, or being able to check the time by using that same finger to draw a circle, which produces the image of an 1)analog watch right on your wrist. You want to take a digital photograph? Just put your thumbs and 2)forefingers together to make a picture frame. Better yet, imagine a system that can display the reason for your flight delay directly on the3)boarding pass you are holding in your hand.
“We’re trying to make it possible to have access to relevant information in a more 4)seamless way,” says Dr. Pattie Maes, who heads the Fluid Interfaces Group at 5)MIT. She says that while today’s mobile computing devices can be useful, they are “deaf and blind,” meaning that we have to stop what we’re doing and tell those devices what information we need or want.
“We have a vision of a computing system that understands, at least to some extent, where the user is, what the user is doing, and who the user is interacting with,” says Dr. Maes. “SixthSense can then 6)proactively make information available to that user based on the situation.”
The SixthSense 7)prototype has changed since it was first introduced to the public in 2008. Originally, it consisted of a web camera 8)strapped to a bicycle helmet. But the current prototype promises to be a bit more consumer-friendly. It consists of a small camera and 9)projector combination (about the size of a cigarette pack) worn around the neck of the user. An accompanying smartphone runs the SixthSense software and handles the connection to the Internet. The camera, in a sense, acts as a digital eye, seeing what the user sees. It also tracks the movements of the thumbs and index fingers of both of the user’s hands.
The idea is that SixthSense tries to determine not only what someone is interacting with, but also how he or she is interacting with it. The software searches the Internet for information that is potentially relevant to that situation, and then the projector takes over. “You can turn any surface around you into an interactive surface,” says Pranav Mistry, an MIT graduate student working on the SixthSense project. “Let’s say I’m in a bookstore, and I’m holding a book. SixthSense will recognize that and will go up to 10)Amazon. Then, it will display online reviews of that book, and prices, right on the cover of the book I’m holding.” Mistry notes that the system is11)customizable as well, so that if you don’t want Amazon reviews of a book, you could choose instead to find out what the New York Times thinks of it. He also says that 12)brick and mortar bookstores might decide to provide their own information to the device, which would mean that a customer would not have to necessarily go online to find more information.
The system has been improved to become smaller and more consumer-friendly. The hardware included in the SixthSense system is not that expensive. The current prototype costs about $350 to build. But this attempt to merge the digital world with the physical world requires some serious 13)programming and engineering. “All the work is in the software,” says Dr. Maes. “The system is constantly trying to figure out what’s around you, and what you’re trying to do. It has to recognize the images you see, track your gestures, and then relate it all to relevant information at the same time.” It is not surprising then that, in this initial research phase, the SixthSense team has only developed a few 14)applications. In the longer term, Dr. Maes envisions opening up the SixthSense platform and letting others develop applications for it.
But Pranav Mistry sees some commercial applications for the system in the near future. For example, he wants to develop a 15)sign language application that would “speak out” a translation while someone was signing. He also sees potential for SixthSense in the field of gaming. Unlike the16)Nintendo 17)Wii, which keeps you in front of the television, the SixthSense system might “allow a kid to go outside and be able to get a real tennis lesson on a real tennis court.”
No one involved in the SixthSense project feels that their platform will replace laptops and smartphones. “If I’m doing something like 18)CAD, I’m not going to choose the SixthSense interface,” says Liyan Chang, an MIT undergraduate working on the project. “But in certain instances, it can do something that a desktop or laptop can’t do, which is quickly put information right where I want it to be, right on a wall or a newspaper in front of me.”
And if SixthSense 19)catches on, what will we all make of the sight of dozens of people checking their e-mails on the walls of airports and train stations? Dr. Pattie Maes laughs: “Well, I think it might actually be more socially acceptable than those 20)Bluetooth 21)earpieces people use these days. At least with our system you can actually see that people are interacting with information, instead of watching someone that looks like they’re just talking to themselves on a street.”
试想象一下仅仅用手指在空气中画一个“@”的符号,你便能够在任何空白的墙上查邮件;或者想看时间只需用同一只手指画一个圆圈,一只指针式手表的影像就会出现在手腕上。要拍数码照片吗?将你的拇指和食指放在一起做成相框状即可实现。还有更好地,试想象一下有这么一个系统,能够在你手中拿着的登机牌上直接显示出你航班延迟的原因。
“我们尝试用一种更完全连续的方法去链接各种相关的信息,”佩蒂·梅斯博士说,她是美国麻省理工学院“流动界面小组”的负责人。她说,尽管如今的可移动电脑设备在发挥作用,但却是“又聋又瞎的”,也就是说,我们不得不停下手头上所做的事情去告诉这些设备我们需要或者想要什么信息。
“我们在设想一种计算机装置,它至少能够在一定程度上了解使用者所处的位置,正在做的事以及所接触的人,”梅斯博士说,“‘第六感装置’能够根据情境主动提供信息。”
自2008年首次向公众推出概念原型之后,“第六感装置”现已有所改变。原先,其只是将网络摄像头绑在一个自行车头盔上。而现在,产品原型变得更加方便消费者使用,是一个小型照相机和投影仪的混合体(与烟盒一般大小),使用者可将其戴在脖子上。“第六感装置”的程序可以在配套的智能手机上运行,并使其连接到互联网。这个照相机,在某种意义上,就如同一只电子眼,能见使用者之所见,并且能够追踪使用者双手拇指和食指的运动。
该构想是这样的:“第六感装置”不仅试图去确定使用者在做什么,并且还试图去确定其中的交流互动过程是如何进行的。其内置软件会在互联网上搜索与当时的情境有关的潜在信息,并且将其投影出来。“你可以把你周围的任何平面转变成互动界面,”参与“第六感装置”研究项目的麻省理工学院毕业生普拉纳夫·米斯特里说,“比如说,我在书店里,拿着一本书。‘第六感装置’就会识别出来,并连接到亚马逊网。然后,它就会在我所拿之书的封面上显示出网上有关该书的评论以及价格。” 米斯特里说,这个系统也可以“定制”,如果你不想看亚马逊网的书评,那么你可以选择看《纽约时报》上关于此书的评论。此外,他说,实体书店可能会决定提供自己书店的信息到此设备上,这就意味着,顾客不一定非得要上网才能获得更多信息。
该系统已经过改良,体积变得更小,更方便消费者使用。“第六感装置”系统里的硬件并不是那么贵。目前的产品原型成本只需350美元。但是将电子世界与现实世界融合到一块的这种设想需要严谨的编程和工程技术才能实现。“所有的工作都在软件上,”梅斯博士说,“这个系统不断地在弄清楚你周围有什么东西,以及你打算做什么。它必须识别你看到的图像,追踪捕捉你的手势,同时将所有的这些与相关的信息联系起来。”无怪乎,在当前这一初级研究阶段,“第六感装置”研究团队仅仅研发出了几种应用软件。从更长远来看,梅斯博士打算公开“第六感装置”的科技平台,让其他人参与开发此项技术的更多应用软件。
不过,普拉纳夫·米斯特里已经看到在不久的将来此系统的商业用途。例如,他想开发一种手语传译应用软件,可以在人们打手语的时候翻译并“说出”其意思。同时,他也看到了“第六感装置”在游戏领域的潜力。与要你一直对着电视的任天堂Wii游戏机不同,“第六感装置”或许可以“让小孩到外面去,在真实的网球场上上一堂真实的网球课。”
在参与“第六感装置”研究项目的人中,没有人认为他们的这个平台会取代手提电脑和智能手机。“如果我在做一些像计算机辅助设计之类的东西,我就不会选择‘第六感装置’界面,”参与该项目工作的麻省理工学院学生常丽艳(音译)说,“但是有很多例子说明它可以做一些台式电脑或手提电脑做不到的东西,那就是迅速地将信息显示在我想要的地方,在墙上或者在我面前的报纸上。”
如果“第六感装置”广为流行,当看到数十人在机场或火车站的墙壁上查看邮件时,我们会有何反应呢?佩蒂·梅斯博士笑道:“事实上,我认为这比时下那些用蓝牙耳机的人更容易被社会所接受。至少我们的系统能够让你真正地看到人们是在跟信息进行互动,而不是看到街上有一些人好像在自言自语那样。”