The impact of HCI on Society

Improved usability:

One way HCI has impacted society is that it has improved the usability of devices by reducing the specialized knowledge to use a device to the point were learning how to use a device is fairly simple, for example touch screens and voice control, as shown in the video below.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ciagGASro0

this video shows how voice controlled devices can be used and intergrated into everyday life and also shows how people with bad eyesight or people who are blind can use the device because of its audio descriptive feature.

 

Touch screens have improved the usability of devices by making the devices more user friendly, this is because  most touch screen devices only have a couple of buttons and the majority of the interaction with the device is done through the touch screen as you can have a wider variety of buttons on the screen.
You can see a video of a touch screen in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL9MbEM2N4o&feature=related

touch screen tables like the MicroSoft Surface could revolutionise advertisment in places like Bars and Cafes as items of food and drink could show advertisement for the product when rested on the device as shown in the video, and could also allow multiple users to use it and search the internet at the same time.

Speech recognition systems have also improved the usability of devices, as speech recognition technology can allow a person to use a device while performing another task like driving, an example of devices that use speech recognition are Satellite navigators, smart phones and computers.
An example on speech recognition in use can be seen in the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z01zyfB0CrA

this video also shows how voice controlled devices can be used and intergrated into everyday life, as shown in the video where a savnav is operated by voice controll makeing it safer to use as the driver can keep there attention on the road.

 

Specialised interfaces:

Another way H.C.I has impacted society is that it created specialised interfaces for hostile environments or hospitals and created interfaces for people with disabilities an example of one of these devices is a hand free motion capture devices like the Microsoft Kinect which turns the user into the controller, as shown in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2qlHoxPioM

The Kinect was originally designed for gamming but in some hospitals it has been used by doctors to interact with medical equipment like monitors showing CT scans and other medical information without having to scrub up again after using it saving valuable time during operations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Ep3oqicVU

 

Eye recognition systems are specialised interface for people who have amputated arms or people who can't move because of a genetic disorder or they are paralysed, the eye recognition system will allow those people to use their eyes to interact with technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvNmne6uxAg

Complexity:
the final way H.C.I has impacted society is that it has increased the complexity of devices an example on complex interfaces is Augmented reality, the way that augmented reality works is that reality markers are placed in front of a device that has a camera that can read the reality markers then the reality marker will display an image on the screen of the device. augmented reality and reality marker have mostly been used for games but in some news papers and magazines are also starting to use reality markers within their articles which could allow a reader using a device to watch a report on the news story or to get more information on the story in the article.
To get more information on augmented reality click on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqxF2Vdkyxw

 

To see how augmented reality is used in newspapers and magazines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zmzOsRbT3g

Augmented reality could revolutionise advertisment acrross the world, agmented reality markers could be placed in things like magazine as shown in the video, this would make the magazines more dynamic and interesting and could convey more information to readers by displaying videos.

The impact of HCI on Economy

Productivity of an individual:
one impact that HCI has had on the economy is that it has increasing the productivity of an individual by speeding up input, an example of how HCI has speed up input is the barcode readers used in super markets and shopping centres, barcode readers increases the productivity of an individual because the cashiers don't have to entre in the barcode number manually which allows the super market markets and shopping centres to sell more items and make more money.

Automation:
Another impact that HCI has had on the economy is the increasing automation in factories and other workplaces by reducing the amount of human input required by the worker by installing more efficient input devices such as computers.
one way that automation has affected the economy is that as more and more employees are being replaced by automated systems or have to learn how to operate which can create, assemble and package products faster than a normal worker could, this means that less and less jobs there are available for people and the unemployment rate goes up.
Another way that automation has affected the economy is that the companies will be saving money as they will not have to pay wages to as many or in some cases any employees but as the company is saving money the company's products will be cheaper to buy.
Below is a link to a video showing an automated production line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM-Bj219taM

 

Varied working environments:
Another impact that HCI has had on the economy is that HCI has created mobile computing devices such as tablet and laptops, witch allow people to work where ever they are in the world, this makes them very popular devices in workplaces and are also used by students during there studies.
 

another impact that HCI has had on the economy is that HCI has created devices that can be used in various working environments, for example mobile phones, mobile phones allow for communication on the move wherever you are, this makes mobile phone extremely popular as it makes communication easier.
the affect that mobile phones have had on the economy is that they have created massive competition against companies that create mobile phones, these companies try to outdo

The impact of HCI on culture

The way people use computers:
One impact that HCI has had on culture is that it has changed the way people use computers and other devices such as mobile phones and domestic appliances.
mobile computing devices like laptops, tablet computers and smart phones
allow for people to use a computer and access the internet wherever they are this has impacted culture all over the world as it allows people to get information on other cultures, countries and religions, there are translators available on computer that help in communication between people from different cultures.
mobile entertainment is entertainment such as games, music, video that is available on a mobile device, this has impacted culture by allowing people to watch films and documentaries about other cultures  and listen to music from other cultures on their mobile devices.
Mobile phone have impacted culture as they have brought worldwide communication to an individual, mobile phones allow for communication by calling another phone, sending a text message or e-mail or even video call. mobile phones can be used to access social network sites like Facebook. mobile phones have impacted culture by allowing cheap communication with people from other cultures.
Domestic appliances have impacted culture as they make tasks around the house quicker and easier to perform, for example dish washers allow people to clean their dishes quicker than if they had washed the dishes themselves and because people are saving time they will have time to do other more important things.
Games have had a massive impact culture as online games have allowed people from all over the world to communicate play as a team together. another impact that games have had on culture is that as games can be very addictive and makes people spend allot of time playing the game instead of socialising with their friends and family.
Another impact that HCI has had on culture is that it has changed the way people are educated or study for a degree as there has been an increase in online education and teaching services over the years.


Sugata Mitra's Hole in the Wall project:
In an experiment known as the Hole in the Wall experiment was conducted in 1999  In the  experiment a computer was placed in a kiosk created within a wall in a slum in Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to use the computer freely. The experiment aimed at proving that children could be taught by computers very easily without any formal training.

Psychological and Sociological impact:

Another impact that HCI has had on culture is that it is de-skilling work which leads to unemployment, de-skilling work is where automated machines and computers are brought in by a company, these machines can do the faster and more efficiently than an employee and is cheaper, but not all employees are replaced by machines some employees jobs are made easier because the machines do some of the work normally done by the employee.
The impact that HCI has had on culture is the impact on developing nations some of the impact of HCI have been positive like mobile phones which have improved communication in the country, computer for school children which are being used help the kids in developing nations to have a better education. the negative impact that HCI has had on developing nations is that allot of companies outsource work to developing nations and the employees are under paid and the working conditions are dangerous.

What is Human Computer Inferface ?

Human Computer Interface is the study various methods of interaction people use to interact with computers and other machines. For example a control pad, keyboard or touch screen, then to evaluate those methods of interaction used by people to determine how successfully they are used by people to interact with computers and other machines, or how “User Friendly” the computer is and then to determine what impact that method of interaction will have on society, economy and culture.

Future impact of HCI

The future impact that future HCI systems like flexible screens will have on society, economy and culture.

Society:

The impact that flexible screens will have on society is that it will dramatically change the way devices look is flexible screens allow devise to become allot thinner that devices with normal LED or plasma screen, flexible screens could change the way devices work, one way the flexible devices could work is that when you bend the devices the image on the screen could zoom in and out, an example of this is the Nokia Morph concept phone witch is able to be open up into a tablet device, the phone is also able to folded around the users wrist turning the phone into a watch.
You can watch a concept video of the Nokia Morph in the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw2yiOhsFsc

The technology behind the Nokia morph is a little advanced for phone and computer companies at moment; however scientists have made flexible display screens called OLED screens, OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode these OLED’s are an organic compound that emits light when an electrical current is passed through it.
Below is a video of an OLED screen that can be rolled up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OvTLg4i2_U

Economy:

The impact that that I think flexible screens will have on the economy is that companies that sell electronic device will start to make allot of money if they start selling devices with flexible screen, the reason the companies will be making money is that allot of people will want to buy the flexible devices because it is new and different and people will see other people with the devices and then they will want the device as well.
Another impact that flexible screens could have on the economy is that OLED screens can be used in varied working environment as they are allot tougher to break than an ordinary screen this means that OLED screens could be used in extreme environments like wars of when going rock climbing or scuba diving, the way the flexible screen could be used is that the flexible screen could be attached to the sleeve of a jacket of army uniform.

 

Culture:
The impact that I think flexible screens will have on culture is that I think it will affect developing nations this is because companies that sell electronics will have their flexible devices created in developing nations because it is cheap to have the products created there as they can pay the workers assembling the devices allot less in wages than they would if the company were to assemble the device in their own country, normally in these outsourced factories in the developing nation the employees are under paid and work long hours in dangerous working conditions.