Constraints on creativity imposed by computer-aided design (CAD) tools are being overcome, thanks to a novel system that incorporates eye-tracking technology.
'Designing with Vision', a system devised by researchers at The Open University and the University of Leeds, is breaking down rigid distinctions between human and machine. This should help designers to recover intuitive elements of the design process that are otherwise suppressed when working with CAD.
Traditional design tools, such as pen and paper, are increasingly being replaced by 2D and 3d design computerised drawing packages. The uptake of CAD is helping to increase productivity and improve the quality of designs, reducing errors and unnecessary wastage when the goods are made.
However, the switch to CAD may have a downside too. The introduction of digital technologies often forces people to change how they work so they fit with the technology, rather than the other way around. In creative disciplines, this inevitably constrains the results produced – a scenario that would be a disaster for designers, according to Steve Garner, Professor of Design at The Open University.
"Creativity is a fundamental building block of the design process," Professor Garner said. "The eye-tracking system identifies which part of the design sketch the user is drawn to, making the human-machine interface far more fluid. The result is a synergy between human ingenuity and machine-based digital technology."
Professor Alison McKay, Professor of Design Systems at the University of Leeds, added: "The digitisation of design could potentially stifle innovation and exclude people with a lot to offer but who work in ways that are not compatible with machines. Instead, we want to create digital design systems that are themselves designed in response to the needs of real designers."
In the 'Designing with Vision' project, researchers focused on an early stage in the design process that involves drawing, viewing, selecting and manipulating shapes. This process is common to designers working in areas such as fashion, graphics and consumer goods packaging.
Designers who work with shapes tend to intuitively home in on certain areas in initial sketches, using these as a starting point to move forward.
However, this element of subconscious selection is difficult to replicate with CAD, because the software package is unable to 'see' what might be catching the designer's eye.
To redress this, researchers added eye-tracking technology to a CAD system, giving the digital technology a more fluid human-machine interface. This produced a design system that could identify and select shapes of interest automatically within a drawn sketch, according to the designer's gaze.
The system was put through its paces by groups of professional and student designers to check that it worked in practice. The tests confirmed that the combination of eye-tracking technology and conventional mouse-based input allowed initial design sketches to be manipulated and developed according to the user's subconscious visual cues.
"We are not Luddites, we want to work with technologies like CAD," Professor McKay said. "We envisage a future for design that combines creativity and digital technologies, and in this scenario, is able to support designers working with shapes early in the 3d design processes, before the shape has been fixed."
'Designing with Vision', is being funded by The Leverhulme Trust.
2011年10月20日星期四
2011年10月18日星期二
'Real Steel' Features Technology of the Future With the Help of HP
Sci-fi films from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Minority Report have provided audiences with a glimpse at the future of technology, and to bring some technical vision to Real Steel, DreamWorks turned to HP for a look at the not-too-distant future.
Real Steel—which just spent its second weekend atop the domestic box office—is set in 2020, where robot boxing has become a popular form of entertainment.
PHOTOS: 'Real Steel' First Look: Hugh Jackman in Dreamworks' Robot Boxing Film
“They wanted us to look ahead one or two generations of technology,” explained Mark Solomon, principal 3d design designer at HP’s Innovation Program Office. “What was the next generation laptop or mobile device? What does our TouchSmart (touch screen technology) look like? There was a plethora of things we showed to DreamWorks. It ranged from large rooms that were all technology controlled with sensors to the next-gen laptop or mobile device.”
The result of the collaboration was designs for some fictitious technology used in the film. One, referred to as ‘Flex,’ is a flexible and transparent display that appears in the handheld remote control for the robot Noisy Boy. “One of the (future) trends will be integration of flexible and transparent displays, and putting those together in one form factor is what we did here. (Future displays) will fold and bend.
VIDEOS: ‘Real Steel’ Cast Teases Film
“(Another) thing that has been trending is augmented reality,” Solomon noted, adding that the Noisy Boy controller underscored this area with a transparent display “that enables the user to hold up the remote and look into the ring … but then add graphics and data about how the robot is handling itself.”
Early flexible display and transparent technologies has already been introduced, but Solomon projected that consumer electronics products that combine both features are at least five years away.
STORY: 'Real Steel': 5 Things Seen and Heard on the Red Carpet
Another design used in Real Steel was a curved interactive and collaborative surface. “It is the next generation of interactive surfacing,” Solomon said. “It also plays up on the trend of devices having more and more screen and augmenting touch with gestures—so it is layering next generation interaction.”
VIDEO: 'Real Steel': Hugh Jackman Talks Robot Boxing, Possible Sequel
While it was cut from the final film, a future 3D printer was also part of HP’s design work. “Right now, if I push the button (on 3d design printing technology), you would get a plastic thing that looks (for instance) like a phone. In ten years, maybe a little longer, you could hit that button and that phone will work.”
Solomon summed up: “Especially with the (quality of) visual effects that we have today, I think the movies will always be able foreshadow (future technologies). You can even go back and read books from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and they talk about things we are doing today—or haven’t even built yet.”
Real Steel—which just spent its second weekend atop the domestic box office—is set in 2020, where robot boxing has become a popular form of entertainment.
PHOTOS: 'Real Steel' First Look: Hugh Jackman in Dreamworks' Robot Boxing Film
“They wanted us to look ahead one or two generations of technology,” explained Mark Solomon, principal 3d design designer at HP’s Innovation Program Office. “What was the next generation laptop or mobile device? What does our TouchSmart (touch screen technology) look like? There was a plethora of things we showed to DreamWorks. It ranged from large rooms that were all technology controlled with sensors to the next-gen laptop or mobile device.”
The result of the collaboration was designs for some fictitious technology used in the film. One, referred to as ‘Flex,’ is a flexible and transparent display that appears in the handheld remote control for the robot Noisy Boy. “One of the (future) trends will be integration of flexible and transparent displays, and putting those together in one form factor is what we did here. (Future displays) will fold and bend.
VIDEOS: ‘Real Steel’ Cast Teases Film
“(Another) thing that has been trending is augmented reality,” Solomon noted, adding that the Noisy Boy controller underscored this area with a transparent display “that enables the user to hold up the remote and look into the ring … but then add graphics and data about how the robot is handling itself.”
Early flexible display and transparent technologies has already been introduced, but Solomon projected that consumer electronics products that combine both features are at least five years away.
STORY: 'Real Steel': 5 Things Seen and Heard on the Red Carpet
Another design used in Real Steel was a curved interactive and collaborative surface. “It is the next generation of interactive surfacing,” Solomon said. “It also plays up on the trend of devices having more and more screen and augmenting touch with gestures—so it is layering next generation interaction.”
VIDEO: 'Real Steel': Hugh Jackman Talks Robot Boxing, Possible Sequel
While it was cut from the final film, a future 3D printer was also part of HP’s design work. “Right now, if I push the button (on 3d design printing technology), you would get a plastic thing that looks (for instance) like a phone. In ten years, maybe a little longer, you could hit that button and that phone will work.”
Solomon summed up: “Especially with the (quality of) visual effects that we have today, I think the movies will always be able foreshadow (future technologies). You can even go back and read books from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and they talk about things we are doing today—or haven’t even built yet.”
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