James Patten: The best computer interface? Maybe ... your hands

翻译人员: Xiaoou Chen 校对人员: Wei Wu

A computer is an incredibly powerful means

就表达创意而言, 电脑的功能

of creative expression,

难以置信的强大，

but for the most part,

但是绝大多数情况下，

that expression is confined to the screens

那种表达都被限制在了

of our laptops and mobile phones.

我们手机或者笔记本电脑的屏幕上。

And I'd like to tell you a story about

我想跟大家分享一个项目

bringing this power of the computer

这个项目将计算机引入到物理世界

to move things around and interact with us

用计算机来操作我们看得见摸得着的物体

off of the screen and into the physical world

而不是仅仅通过电脑屏幕

in which we live.

进行交互.

A few years ago, I got a call from

几年前，我接到纽约一家

a luxury fashion store called Barneys New York,

名叫纽约芭妮时尚奢侈品店打来的电话，

and the next thing I knew,

那通电话之后,

I was designing storefront kinetic sculptures

我开始为他们的橱窗设计

for their window displays.

动态的陈列品.

This one's called "The Chase."

这个作品叫做“追赶”。

There are two pairs of shoes,

有两双鞋，

a man's pair and a woman's pair,

一双男鞋，一双女鞋

and they play out this slow, tense chase

它们在玻璃周围演示出

around the window

一种慢节奏却激烈地追赶，

in which the man scoots up behind the woman

男人疾走到女人身后

and gets in her personal space,

相距十分近，

and then she moves away.

然后女人很快离开了。

Each of the shoes has magnets in it,

每只鞋内都装有磁铁，

and there are magnets underneath the table

桌下有磁铁

that move the shoes around.

用来移动鞋子。

My friend Andy Cavatorta was building

我一个叫做安迪·卡瓦托尔塔的朋友之前在

a robotic harp for Bjork's Biophilia tour

为 Bjork's Biophilia tour 建造一个机器人竖琴

and I wound up building the electronics

我设计了其中的控制电路

and motion control software

并编写了控制软件

to make the harps move and play music.

去让竖琴移动并演奏音乐。

The harp has four separate pendulums,

这个竖琴有四个分开的摆，

and each pendulum has 11 strings,

每一个摆上有 11 条弦，

so the harp swings on its axis and also rotates

竖琴可以在它的轴上摇摆并旋转

in order to play different musical notes,

来演奏出不同的音符，

and the harps are all networked together

所有的竖琴都相互联网

so that they can play the right notes

这样它们就可以在

at the right time in the music.

正确的时间奏出正确的音符。

I built an interactive chemistry exhibit

我在芝加哥的科学与工业博物馆

at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago,

建造的一个互动性的化学展示机器，

and this exhibit lets people use physical objects

这个展示让人们用实际物体

to grab chemical elements off of the periodic table

从元素周期表周抓取元素

and bring them together to cause

并把它们放到一块

chemical reactions to happen.

导致化学反应。

And the museum noticed that people

博物馆注意到，

were spending a lot of time with this exhibit,

人们在这个展品前呆的时间非常久.

and a researcher from a science education center

一位来自澳大利亚科学教育中心

in Australia decided to study this exhibit

的调查者决定研究这个展品

and try to figure out what was going on.

并试图弄清楚为什么。

And she found that the physical objects

她发现这种摸得着的小物件

that people were using were helping people

能够有助于人们去理解

understand how to use the exhibit,

如何操作这个展品,

and were helping people learn in a social way.

并且是以一种互动的(social)的式.

And when you think about it, this makes a lot of sense,

通过思考我们能够从中得到很多启发,

that using specialized physical objects

人们更容易通过一个专门设计的

would help people use an interface more easily.

具体的小物件对一个系统进行操作,

I mean, our hands and our minds are optimized

我的意思是，我们的手和大脑

to think about and interact with tangible objects.

已经习惯了感知和操作那些摸得着的物品。

Think about which you find easier to use,

想象一下实物键盘

a physical keyboard or an onscreen keyboard

和手机屏幕键盘

like on a phone?

哪个更好用?

But the thing that struck me

但是在做这些项目的时候

about all of these different projects

最让我感到意外的其实是

is that they really had to be built from scratch,

每个项目都必须从头开始

down to the level of the electronics

从头设计电路

and the printed circuit boards and

印刷和制作电路板

all the mechanisms all the way up to the software.

到控制软件的编写, 都需要从头做.

I wanted to create something

我想创造出一个工具

where we could move objects under computer control

一个跟电脑联网但是可以用手直接控制的东西

and create interactions around that idea

可以用它来实现之前提到的交互过程

without having to go through this process

而不需要每一次都

of building something from scratch

从无到有地

every single time.

重新做一遍.

So my first attempt at this

我的第一次尝试是在

was at the MIT Media Lab

MIT的媒体实验室

with Professor Hiroshi Ishii,

与Hiroshi Ishii教授

and we built this array of

一起做了一个这个样子的

512 different electromagnets,

含有512块不同电磁铁的阵列，

and together they were able to move objects around

它们可以使物体

on top of their surface.

在其表面移动。

But the problem with this

但问题是

was that these magnets

这个设备造价

cost over 10,000 dollars.

超过 1 万美元。

Although each one was pretty small,

即使每一个单元都非常小，

altogether they weighed so much

但是它们合在一起的重量加起来

that the table that they were on

使承放它的桌子

started to sag.

开始摇晃。

So I wanted to build something

所以我想造一个东西

where you could have this kind of interaction

使你可以在桌面上

on any tabletop surface.

就可以有这样的互动。

So to explore this idea,

为了实现我的这个想法,

I built an army of small robots,

我造了一个小的机器人，

and each of these robots has what are called omni wheels.

每一个机器人都有万向轮。

They're these special wheels

这些轮子很特别

that can move equally easily in all directions,

可以很容易的往任何方向移动，

and when you couple these robots

当你用投影仪与

with a video projector,

这些机器人相配合的时候，

you have these physical tools

你就拥有了这些物理的工具

for interacting with digital information.

与数码信息相互动。

So here's an example of what I mean.

我来举个例子.

This is a video editing application

这是一个视频编辑软件

where all of the controls

所有的去操纵视频的

for manipulating the video are physical.

方式都是摸得着的。

So if we want to tweak the color,

如果我们想微调颜色，

we just enter the color mode,

我们只需输入颜色的模式，

and then we get three different dials

然后我们便得到不同

for tweaking the color,

调节颜色的转盘，

or if we want to adjust the audio,

如果我们想要调解音频

then we get two different dials for that, these physical objects.

我们便得到两个这样的物理转盘。

So here the left and right channel stay in sync,

这里左右通道是同时始终锁定比例的，

but if we want to, we can override that

但是如果我们想要揭开锁定,

by grabbing both of them at the same time.

我们可以双手同时抓住它们。

So the idea is that we get the speed

这个想法的好处在于

and efficiency benefits of using these physical dials

将物理转盘的快捷与高效

together with the flexibility and versatility

跟软件设计的数字系统的灵活与弹性

of a system that's designed in software.

等优点结合起来.

And this is a mapping application

这是一个为应对灾情

for disaster response.

设计的地图软件。

So you have these physical objects

我们设计了一些特殊的小物件

that represent police, fire and rescue,

代表(消防)警察, 火情和被困群众.

and a dispatcher can grab them

一个指挥员可以抓住这些小物件

and place them on the map

将它们放在地图特定位置上

to tell those units where to go,

以此告诉那些人应该往哪里走，

and then the position of the units on the map

然后那些人地图上的位置

gets synced up with the position

与我们设计的小物件在

of those units in the real world.

实际世界上的位置同步。

This is a video chat application.

这是一个视频聊天应用。

It's amazing how much emotion you can convey

用这些物体的点简单动作

with just a few simple movements

就可以表达出很多的情绪

of a physical object.

真的是十分了不起。

With this interface, we open up a huge array of possibilities

这种操作方式也为我们打开了新的思路

in between traditional board games

传统棋盘游戏和街机游戏之间

and arcade games,

或许可以有新的结合.

where the physical possibilities of interaction

这种物理的接触方式

make so many different styles of play possible.

能够带来非常多的新的用户体验.

But one of the areas that I'm most excited

然后对于这种的新的交互方式的应用

about using this platform for

我感到最激动的是

is applying it to problems that are difficult

将其利用在解决

for computers or people to solve alone.

人与电脑不能独自解决的问题。

One example of those is protein folding.

其中一个例子就是蛋白折叠。

So here we have an interface

这个例子中我们给

where we have physical handles onto a protein,

给蛋白质装上了物理"把手"

and we can grab those handles

我们可以抓住那些把手

and try to move the protein and try to fold it in different ways.

并试图去移动那些蛋白质并将其以不同的方式堆叠。

And if we move it in a way that doesn't really make sense

如果我以一个

with the underlying molecular simulation,

不符合分子潜在结构的方式移动它，

we get this physical feedback where we can

我们可以得到一个反馈

actually feel these physical handles

那些物理把手

pulling back against us.

会相反的方向去抵抗。

So feeling what's going on

感受分子

inside a molecular simulation

内部的模拟

is a whole different level of interaction.

是一个完全不同的互动境界。

So we're just beginning to explore

我们刚刚开始探索

what's possible when we use software

使用软件

to control the movement

去操控环境中

of objects in our environment.

现实物体的可能性。

Maybe this is the computer of the future.

也许这是未来的电脑科技。

There's no touchscreen.

没有触摸屏幕。

There's no technology visible at all.

科技可以隐藏在视野之外.

But when we want to have a video chat

但当我们想视频通话

or play a game

或者玩游戏

or lay out the slides to our next TED Talk,

或者展示出一条为 TED 演讲准备的 PPT，

the objects on the table come alive.

桌子上的东西便会活起来。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）