Pointing to the future of UI | John Underkoffler

翻译人员: Gary Wang 校对人员: Mengge Li

We're 25, 26 years after

苹果机是大概25，26年前

the advent of the Macintosh,

发明的，

which was an astoundingly seminal event

那是在人机界面的

in the history

历史中，

of human-machine interface

甚至是在整个计算机领域的

and in computation in general.

一个令人叹为观止的革命性的创新。

It fundamentally changed the way

它从根本上改变了

that people thought about computation,

人们对于计算的理解模式，

thought about computers,

对电脑的理解和使用方式，

how they used them and who and how many people were able to use them.

使得更多的各种各样的人都能够使用电脑。

It was such a radical change, in fact,

那是一个很彻底的改变，事实上，

that the early Macintosh development team

早期的苹果机开发团队

in '82, '83, '84

在'82，'83，'84年

had to write an entirely new operating system from the ground up.

不得不完全从零开始写一个全新的操作系统。

Now, this is an interesting little message,

那么现在，我想传达一个有趣的观点，

and it's a lesson that has since, I think,

或者说这是从苹果机问世之后

been forgotten or lost or something,

被遗忘或者丢失的一个教训：

and that is, namely, that the OS is the interface.

操作系统就是界面本身，

The interface is the OS.

界面其实就是操作系统。

It's like the land and the king (i.e. Arthur) they're inseparable, they are one.

这就像在《阿瑟王》里面的土地和国王，两者不可分割，两者其实是一体的。

And to write a new operating system was not a capricious matter.

在当时写一个新的操作系统并不是一个难以捉摸的事情，

It wasn't just a matter of tuning up some graphics routines.

它也不仅仅是只要调整和修改一些图形显示顺序和模式。

There were no graphics routines. There were no mouse drivers.

其实当时没有什么图形显示流程，也没有鼠标驱动程序。

So it was a necessity.

所以当时全部改写操作系统是唯一的选择。

But in the quarter-century since then,

但在此后的25年里，

we've seen all of the fundamental

我们看到了所有基本的

supporting technologies go berserk.

相关技术迅猛发展。

So memory capacity and disk capacity

比如，内存和硬盘容量

have been multiplied by something between 10,000 and a million.

已经翻了差不多1万到1百万倍。

Same thing for processor speeds.

处理器速度也是如此。

Networks, we didn't have networks at all

而网络，在苹果机出现的时候

at the time of the Macintosh's introduction,

还根本没有网络，

and that has become the single most salient aspect

现在它已经成为我们生活中与电脑共处的

of how we live with computers.

一个最突出的不可或缺的东西。

And, of course, graphics: Today

当然，还有图形处理能力：现在

84 dollars and 97 cents at Best Buy

你花84.97美元在百思买（Best Buy）公司

buys you more graphics power

能买到比10年前

than you could have gotten for a million bucks from SGI only a decade ago.

要用1百万美元从专业的SGI图形服务器更多的图形处理能力。

So we've got that incredible ramp-up.

总之，我们的技术已经得到了不可思议的发展。

Then, on the side, we've got the Web

然后，在另一方面，我们有网络，

and, increasingly, the cloud,

和越来越多的云计算服务，

which is fantastic,

非常棒。

but also -- in the regard in which an interface is fundamental --

但是那些东西对于在人机界面是基本内容的方面，

kind of a distraction.

也是一个分散注意力的因素，

So we've forgotten to invent new interfaces.

导致我们忘记了要去创造新的界面。

Certainly we've seen in recent years a lot of change in that regard,

当然，在近几年我们已经看到了这方面的很多变化，

and people are starting to wake up about that.

人们已经开始有所醒悟。

So what happens next? Where do we go from there?

那么接下来会怎么发展？界面的发展方向和远景如何？

The problem, as we see it,

我们认为这其中的难题

has to do with a single, simple word: "space,"

可以用一个简单的词来概括：“空间”，

or a single, simple phrase:

或者一个简单的词组：

"real world geometry."

“真实世界的几何形状。”

Computers and the programming languages

计算机和我们用来沟通和指挥它们的

that we talk to them in, that we teach them in,

编程语言，

are hideously insensate when it comes to space.

当涉及到空间的时候都是无可救药的。

They don't understand real world space.

它们不能理解现实世界的空间。

It's a funny thing because the rest of us occupy it quite frequently and quite well.

空间是一个有意思的东西，因为所有我们人类相当频繁和理所当然地占据它。

They also don't understand time, but that's a matter for a separate talk.

它们也不理解时间，不过那是另一个需要单独谈的话题。

So what happens if you start to

那如果你开始向它们

explain space to them?

解释空间会怎么样？

One thing you might get is something like the Luminous Room.

你可能会搞出一个像光照室之类的东西。

The Luminous Room is a system

光照室是一个

in which it's considered that

把空间作为输入和输出

input and output spaces are co-located.

并且相互关联的一个系统。

That's a strangely simple,

这是一个其实很简单

and yet unexplored idea, right?

但是尚未挖掘的想法。

When you use a mouse, your hand is down here on the mouse pad.

你看，当你用鼠标的时候，你的手放在这个地方的鼠标垫上，

It's not even on the same plane as what you're talking about:

而这里甚至不是你要讲的东西所在的同一个平面，

The pixels are up on the display.

那些像素在高高的显示屏上。

So here was a room in which all the walls, floors, ceilings,

那么这个房间，里面的所有墙壁，地板，天花板，

pets, potted plants, whatever was in there,

宠物，盆栽植物，不管是里面的什么，

were capable, not only of display but of sensing as well.

都不仅仅只能显示，并且能够感应。

And that means input and output are in the same space

这意味着输入和输出都在同一个空间，

enabling stuff like this.

能做些这之类的事情。

That's a digital storage in a physical container.

这是一个里面有电子存储器的一个实际容器，

The contract is the same

它会像现实世界中的实际容器一样

as with real word objects in real world containers.

有相同的反应。

Has to come back out, whatever you put in.

不管你往里面放了什么，总是要倒出来的。

This little design experiment

这个设计的办公室小实验

that was a small office here knew a few other tricks as well.

还能做一些其他有意思的事情。

If you presented it with a chess board,

如果你给它一个棋盘，

it tried to figure out what you might mean by that.

它会尽量想出你可能想干什么。

And if there was nothing for them to do,

如果你把棋盘移开，

the chess pieces eventually got bored

这些棋子没事可干，不一会儿

and hopped away.

它们觉得无聊就会跳开了。

The academics who were overseeing this work

主管这项研究的学者

thought that that was too frivolous,

认为它太没份量，

so we built deadly serious applications

所以我们后来做了一些非常严肃的应用，

like this optics prototyping workbench

比如这个光学试验台，

in which a toothpaste cap on a cardboard box

把牙膏帽放在纸箱子上

becomes a laser.

做成激光器，

The beam splitters and lenses are represented by physical objects,

用实际的物体做成光束分离器和镜头，

and the system projects down the laser beam path.

这个系统沿着激光光路方向投射。

So you've got an interface that has no interface.

所以这个界面其实可以说是没有界面的，

You operate the world as you operate the real world,

你操作这个东西就和你在实际世界中操作一样，

which is to say, with your hands.

也就是说，用你的手直接操作。

Similarly, a digital wind tunnel with digital wind

类似地，这里是一个数码风洞，

flowing from right to left --

数码风从右向左吹。

not that remarkable in a sense; we didn't invent the mathematics.

从某种程度上说，这个并不很牛，因为我们没有发明这个东西的数学计算方式。

But if you displayed that on a CRT or flat panel display,

但是如果你把它显示在投射或平板显示器上，

it would be meaningless to hold up an arbitrary object,

然后随便举着一个东西，一个现实世界中的物体，

a real world object in that.

它不会有任何含义。

Here, the real world merges with the simulation.

而在这里，现实世界与这个模拟空间融合在了一起。

And finally, to pull out all the stops,

最后我们把所有元素综合到一起，

this is a system called Urp, for urban planners,

组成这个给城镇规划师用的“城规”系统，

in which we give architects and urban planners back

这个系统提供了建筑师和城市规划师

the models that we confiscated

使用计算机辅助设计系统（CAD）

when we insisted that they use CAD systems.

所没有的功能模型，

And we make the machine meet them half way.

使得他们操作机器有一个更加友好的界面。

It projects down digital shadows, as you see here.

它向下投射数码阴影，就像这个样子。

And if you introduce tools like this inverse clock,

如果你拿来一些工具比如这个时钟模型，

then you can control the sun's position in the sky.

那么你可以模拟太阳的移动。

That's 8 a.m. shadows.

这是上午8点的阴影，

They get a little shorter at 9 a.m.

上午9点的时候变得短一点。

There you are, swinging the sun around.

再继续，可以把太阳旋转一周，

Short shadows at noon and so forth.

中午的阴影就更短，等等。

And we built up a series of tools like this.

我们还做了类似的一系列工具，

There are inter-shadowing studies

有连小孩都会操作的

that children can operate,

阴影交互研究工具，

even though they don't know anything about urban planning:

即使他们对城市规划一无所知。

To move a building, you simply reach out your hand and you move the building.

要移动一栋楼房只要用你的手去移就可以了。

A material wand makes the building

用一根棍子去碰一下能使这个建筑反射各个方向的光线，

into a sort of Frank Gehry thing that reflects light in all directions.

就像法兰克•盖瑞（Frank Gehry ）风格的建筑。

Are you blinding passers by and motorists on the freeways?

它会不会让路人和旁边高速公路上的司机觉得太耀眼？

A zoning tool connects distant structures, a building and a roadway.

区域规划工具可以把远处的物体，建筑和道路连接起来，

Are you going to get sued by the zoning commission? And so forth.

来看看有没有被区域规划委员会起诉的风险，等等。

Now, if these ideas seem familiar

现在如果大家似乎听过这些想法

or perhaps even a little dated,

或者甚至觉得有点过时，

that's great; they should seem familiar.

很好，大家应该听说过那些东西。

This work is 15 years old.

这项工作是15年前的了，

This stuff was undertaken at MIT and the Media Lab

是在麻省理工学院媒体实验室的

under the incredible direction of Professor Hiroshi Ishii,

石井洋（Hiroshi Ishii）教授的非凡指导下进行的，

director of the Tangible Media Group.

他也是有形媒体集团的董事。

But it was that work that was seen

世界著名制片设计师

by Alex McDowell,

阿历克斯•麦道威尔（Alex McDowell）

one of the world's legendary production designers.

也看到了这项工作。

But Alex was preparing a little, sort of obscure, indie, arthouse film

但是阿历克斯当时正准备为史蒂芬•斯皮尔伯格做一个有点难懂的独立制片的电影，

called "Minority Report" for Steven Spielberg,

叫作“少数派报告（Minority Report）”，

and invited us to come out from MIT

他从麻省理工学院把我们邀请出来

and design the interfaces

设计影片里面

that would appear in that film.

需要的界面。

And the great thing about it was

这个事情的伟大之处

that Alex was so dedicated to the idea of verisimilitude,

在于阿历克斯是如此热诚地追求逼真，

the idea that the putative 2054

一定要让电影里面描述的2054年

that we were painting in the film be believable,

是可信的，

that he allowed us to take on that design work

他让我们把他的设计拿过来用，

as if it were an R&D effort.

当作是研发出来的。

And the result is sort of

其结果是

gratifyingly perpetual.

令人高兴的，给人留下了长久的印像。

People still reference those sequences in "Minority Report"

在谈到新的用户界面设计的时候，

when they talk about new UI design.

人们还会提到在“少数派报告”里面那些序列。

So this led full circle, in a strange way,

这个事情使得我们以一种独特的方式

to build these ideas into what we believe

把那些想法做成了我们认定

is the necessary future of human machine interface:

必然是末来的人机界面，

the Spatial Operating Environment, we call it.

我们称之为空间操作环境。

So here we have a bunch of stuff, some images.

这里我们有一堆东西，一些图像。

And, using a hand,

用一只手，

we can actually exercise six degrees of freedom,

我们就可以操作六维自由度，

six degrees of navigational control.

6维导航。

And it's fun to fly through Mr. Beckett's eye.

现在飞过贝克特先生的眼睛，有点意思。

And you can come back out

从这个可怕的

through the scary orangutan.

猩猩身上回来，

And that's all well and good.

穿梭自如。

Let's do something a little more difficult.

现在我们做些有点难度的东西。

Here, we have a whole bunch of disparate images.

这里我们有一大堆分散开的图像，

We can fly around them.

我们可以在它们中间穿梭。

So navigation is a fundamental issue.

所以说导航是一个根本问题，

You have to be able to navigate in 3D.

你必须要能在三维空间导航。

Much of what we want computers to help us with in the first place

大部分我们首先需要电脑帮助的

is inherently spatial.

其实自然而然的就是空间，

And the part that isn't spatial can often be spatialized

而那些不是空间的往往可以使之空间化，

to allow our wetware to make greater sense of it.

让我们的脑袋能够更容易地理解它们。

Now we can distribute this stuff in many different ways.

请看，我们可以把这些东西用许多不同的方式展开，

So we can throw it out like that. Let's reset it.

可以像这样把它们扔开。把它们重新排列一下，

We can organize it this way.

我们可以把它列成这个样子。

And, of course, it's not just about navigation,

当然，界面不只是为了导航而已，

but about manipulation as well.

操纵同样重要。

So if we don't like stuff,

那么，如果有我们不喜欢的东西，

or we're intensely curious about

或者我们

Ernst Haeckel's scientific falsifications,

对恩斯特•海克尔的学术造假十分好奇，

we can pull them out like that.

可以这样把它们抽出来。

And then if it's time for analysis, we can pull back a little bit

然后如果需要作分析，我们可以把它们往后拉一点点，

and ask for a different distribution.

然后重新排列一下。

Let's just come down a bit

我们向下面走一点，

and fly around.

把它们转动起来。

So that's a different way to look at stuff.

这又是另一个看东西的不同的方式。

If you're of a more analytical nature

如果你还想进一步分析研究，

then you might want, actually, to look at this

那么实际上你可能想

as a color histogram.

用柱状图来看这些东西。

So now we've got the stuff color-sorted,

所以现在我们已经把这些东西按照颜色排序，

angle maps onto color.

角度也对应颜色。

And now, if we want to select stuff,

现在，如果我们想

3D, space,

从三维的空间里面选出东西

the idea that we're tracking hands in real space

——在实际空间中感应跟踪手的动作

becomes really important because we can reach in,

这个想法非常重要，因为只有这样我们才能在

not in 2D, not in fake 2D, but in actual 3D.

真正的三维空间中，而不是在二维或伪二维空间中操作——

Here are some selection planes.

这里是一些选择平面，

And we'll perform this Boolean operation

我们现在演示的这个操作

because we really love yellow and tapirs on green grass.

能把我们喜欢的黄色和在绿色草地上的貘找出来。

So, from there to the world of real work.

现在，我们演示一些实用的系统。

Here's a logistics system,

这是一个物流系统，

a small piece of one that we're currently building.

是我们目前正在做的一个项目的一小块。

There're a lot of elements.

这个项目包括很多方面，

And one thing that's very important is to combine traditional tabular data

其中一个十分重要的因素是要把传统的表格数据

with three-dimensional and geospatial information.

和三维地理空间信息结合起来。

So here's a familiar place.

这里有一个我们熟悉的地方，

And we'll bring this back here for a second.

我们把它拖过来一点看看。

Maybe select a little bit of that.

要不我们挑一点东西出来，

And bring out this graph.

把这个图取出来。

And we should, now,

那么我们现在应该

be able to fly in here

能够飞到这里面去，

and have a closer look.

看个清楚。

These are logistics elements

这些都是散布在美国各地的

that are scattered across the United States.

物流系统的组成部分。

One thing that three-dimensional interactions

三维互动以及

and the general idea of imbuing

把计算和空间信息

computation with space affords you

相融合的想法

is a final destruction of that unfortunate

彻底淘汰了

one-to-one pairing between human beings and computers.

一对一的人机界面，

That's the old way, that's the old mantra:

那是过时的方式和思维习惯，对吧，

one machine, one human, one mouse, one screen.

一台机器，一个人，一个鼠标，一个屏幕。

Well, that doesn't really cut it anymore.

显然，这已经不那么好使了。

In the real world, we have people who collaborate;

因为在现实世界中，我们合作，

we have people who have to work together,

我们需要协同工作，

and we have many different displays.

而且我们有很多不同的显示模式。

And we might want to look at these various images.

现在我们来看看这些不同的图像，

We might want to ask for some help.

这个过程中可能会要人帮一下忙。

The author of this new pointing device

发明这个新的指挥棒的人

is sitting over there,

就坐在那边，

so I can pull this from there to there.

那么我把这个东西从这里拖到那里。

These are unrelated machines, right?

这些机器都是不相关的，你要知道。

So the computation is space soluble and network soluble.

因此，这里的计算都是与空间和网络相融合的。

So I'm going to leave that over there

我把那个东西留在那边，

because I have a question for Paul.

因为我有一个问题要问保罗。

Paul is the designer of this wand, and maybe its easiest

保罗是这个指挥棒的设计师，所以也许让他到这里来

for him to come over here and tell me in person what's going on.

亲口告诉我是最简单直接的。

So let me get some of these out of the way.

那么我现在把这些东西挪开一点。

Let's pull this apart:

现在把这个分解开，

I'll go ahead and explode it.

继续把它爆炸开。

Kevin, can you help?

凯文，能来帮一下忙吗？

Let me see if I can help us find the circuit board.

让我看看是否能帮助找到电路板。

Mind you, it's a sort of gratuitous field-stripping exercise,

你要知道，这看起来像是一个没什么必要的现场演示，

but we do it in the lab all the time.

其实我们经常在实验室里面这样做。

All right.

差不多了。

So collaborative work, whether it's immediately co-located

因此，协同工作始终是很重要的，

or distant and distinct, is always important.

不管是在同一个空间靠得很近还是相距遥远各不相同。

And again, that stuff

再强调一下，这些东西

needs to be undertaken in the context of space.

是需要在空间环境中操作的。

And finally, I'd like to leave you with a glimpse

最后，我想和大家一起

that takes us back to the world of imagery.

再回到图像世界。

This is a system called TAMPER,

这个系统叫作“摊牌（Tamper）”，

which is a slightly whimsical look

它稍微有点超前，想看看

at what the future of editing

未来的编辑和

and media manipulation systems might be.

媒体运用系统将是什么样的。

We at Oblong believe that media should be

作为欧布隆（Oblong）公司的成员，我们相信

accessible in much more fine-grained form.

应该能够更精细地运用和操作媒体素材，

So we have a large number of movies

所以这里面

stuck inside here.

有一大堆电影资料。

And let's just pick out a few elements.

现在我们从里面挑出一些素材。

We can zip through them

我们可以很快地

as a possibility.

浏览过去，

We can grab elements off the front,

把想要的素材抓出来放在最上面的一层，

where upon they reanimate, come to life,

在那里它们恢复成能活动的，

and drag them down onto the table here.

现在把它拖过来放到这个桌子上。

We'll go over to Jacques Tati here

然后我们到雅克•塔蒂这里来

and grab our blue friend

把这个蓝色的朋友

and put him down on the table as well.

也放在桌子上，

We may need more than one.

可能还要一个。

And we probably need,

老实说，我们可能

well, we probably need a cowboy

还需要一个牛仔，

to be quite honest.

对吧。

(Laughter)

（大家笑）

Yeah, let's

啊，在这里，

take that one.

就要这个。

(Laughter)

（大家笑）

You see, cowboys and French farce people

你们看，牛仔来了

don't go well together, and the system knows that.

那个法国搞笑片的角色就走了，系统知道他们在一起搞不来。

Let me leave with one final thought,

让我最后再谈一个想法，

and that is that

就是

one of the greatest English language writers

过去三十年一个最伟大的

of the last three decades

英语作家说的，

suggested that great art is always a gift.

伟大的艺术和造诣是需要天赋的。

And he wasn't talking about whether the novel costs 24.95 [dollars],

他谈的不是一本小说的价钱是24.95美元，

or whether you have to spring 70 million bucks

还是维米尔（Vermeer）的流失的名画

to buy the stolen Vermeer;

价值7000万美元，

he was talking about the circumstances of its creation

而是它们的创造过程

and of its existence.

和存在于社会的意义。

And I think that it's time that we asked

我认为，现在也正是我们

for the same from technology.

应该向科学技术提出同样的要求的时候。

Technology is capable of

科学技术

expressing and being imbued with

有表达的能力，也能够

a certain generosity,

慷慨地为人所用，

and we need to demand that, in fact.

实际上我们应该向技术要求这个。

For some of this kind of technology,

对于一些类似这种技术，

ground center is

它的核心是

a combination of design, which is crucially important.

设计的组合，这是极为重要的。

We can't have advances in technology any longer

我们不可能在技术上有任何的进步，

unless design is integrated from the very start.

除非在最开始就把设计集成在研发过程中，

And, as well, as of efficacy, agency.

以及功效和途径。

We're, as human beings, the creatures that create,

我们，作为人类，有创造力的生物，

and we should make sure that our machines aid us in that task

应该确保机器能在这方面帮助我们，

and are built in that same image.

并且按照人的形像来设计和制造机器。

So I will leave you with that. Thank you.

那么我今天就讲到这里。谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Chris Anderson: So to ask the obvious question --

克里斯•安德森：我来问一个直白的问题

actually this is from Bill Gates --

——实际上是比尔•盖茨问的——

when? (John Underkoffler: When?)

什么时候？ （约翰•安德可夫勒：什么时候？）

CA: When real? When for us, not just in a lab and on a stage?

克里斯•安德森：什么时候我们大家都能用上？不只是在实验室或者在这样的讲台上？

Can it be for every man, or is this just for corporations and movie producers?

这个界面是每个个人都能用上的还是只给企业和电影公司的？

JU: No, it has to be for every human being.

约翰•安德可夫勒：当然是每个人都能用上的。

That's our goal entirely.

这是我们的整个目标。

We won't have succeeded

我们要获得成功，

unless we take that next big step.

就必须迈出下一个重要的一步。

I mean it's been 25 years.

我的意思是我们已经研究了25年了，

Can there really be only one interface? There can't.

难道真的只能有一种用户界面？当然不是。

CA: But does that mean that, at your desk or in your home,

克里斯•安德森：但是这是否意味着在办公桌或家里，

you need projectors, cameras?

你需要有投影机，数码相机？

You know, how can it work?

对吧，怎么普及这个界面？

JU: No, this stuff will be built into the bezel of every display.

约翰•安德可夫勒：不用，这个界面会集成到每个显示屏，

It'll be built into architecture.

与计算机系统成为一体。

The gloves go away in a matter of months or years.

在几个月或几年之后就不用手套了。

So this is the inevitability about it.

这是毫无疑问的。

CA: So, in your mind, five years time,

克里斯•安德森：那么，你觉得5年之后，

someone can buy this as part of

这个东西会是

a standard computer interface?

一个普通计算机界面的一部分？

JU: I think in five years time when you buy a computer,

约翰•安德可夫勒：我认为五年之后你买电脑

you'll get this.

就会得到这样的界面。

CA: Well that's cool.

克里斯•安德森：嗯，这还不错。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

The world has a habit of surprising us as to how these things are actually used.

这个世界经常会产生一些让我们意想不到的方式来使用这之类的东西。

What do you think, what in your mind is the first killer app for this?

你觉得，在你的脑袋里面，这个界面的第一个最火爆的应用会是什么？

JU: That's a good question, and we ask ourselves that every day.

约翰•安德可夫勒：这是一个很好的问题，我们也每天问自己这个问题。

At the moment, our early-adopter customers --

目前，我们的早期客户，

and these systems are deployed out in the real world --

他们在现实世界中用这个系统，

do all the big data intensive, data heavy problems with it.

用它来做各种各样数据密集型的数据处理问题，

So, whether it's logistics and supply chain management

包括供应链管理中的物流，

or natural gas and resource extraction,

天然气等资源开采，

financial services, pharmaceuticals, bioinformatics,

金融服务，制药，生物信息，等等，

those are the topics right now, but that's not a killer app.

这些都是现在的应用，但是并不是火爆的杀手级应用。

And I understand what you're asking.

我明白你问的是什么。

CA: C'mon, c'mon. Martial arts, games. C'mon.

克里斯•安德森：直说吧，武术，游戏。坦白吧。

(Laughter)

（大家笑）

John, thank you for making science-fiction real.

约翰，非常感谢你把科幻做成真实。

JU: It's been a great pleasure.

约翰•安德可夫勒：很高兴做这个演讲。

Thank you to you all.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）