Johnny Lee · Google
Interface Technologies That Have Not Yet Left the Lab

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Most consumers (and developers) only see interface technologies that have made it into widely successful products: the mouse and keyboard, multi-touch, motion input, and basic speech recognition. However for every idea that has reached broad commercial success, there are hundreds of explorations that never left the lab. Both academic explorations and corporate research have generated a vast number of working prototypes that re-imagine our relationship with computing. In many cases, these technologies stay in the lab due to economic constraints, competitive landscape, limited software support, business tunnel vision, or are simply ahead of their time. In this talk, I will cover several examples of interface technology research that have not yet seen the light of day, but perhaps one day should.

Johnny Lee has a PhD. in Human Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University exploring a wide range of technologies to enhance the way we interact with computing devices. As a researcher in Microsoft's Applied Sciences, he became a core contributor to the development of Xbox Kinect, a controller-free motion gaming device, which sold over 8 million units in the first 60 days. His videos demonstrating how to create low-cost interactive whiteboards and 3D displays using a Nintendo Wii remote have accumulated over 15 million views on YouTube, and his talk at TED also remains one of their most viewed. In 2008, Lee received recognition by MIT's TR35.