Core Area: Natural User Interactions
We know that interaction with visual interfaces is where the insight happens. In addition to creating new interactive visual environments for the web, mobile devices, and desktop applications, we explore emerging techniques for gesture and touch interfaces and new display hardware that brings our users closer to their data than ever before.
Research Topics and Products
NUI Interface Frameworks
Traditionally, Natural User Interactions (NUI) have only existed in the dreams of science fiction writers. NUI has not been pervasive in general purpose computing due to a number of limiting factors including high cost of hardware, inadequate computing power and lack of development frameworks. Researchers at PNNL are actively developing next-generation user interfaces, including contributing to Multi-Touch For Java (MT4j), an open-source NUI framework. MT4j allows developers to create immersive 2D and 3D multi-touch applications on any computing platform which supports a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Advanced features include hardware acceleration via OpenGL and backwards compatibility with existing Java GUI toolkits.
Precision Information Environments
The Precision Information Environments (PIE) project at PNNL is leading the effort to combine NUI with real-time collaborative environments, allowing users to naturally interact with both computer systems and each other.
PIE will provide access to information and decision support capabilities in a multi-platform system that supports multiple user roles, contexts, and phases of emergency management, planning, and response. These analytic and simulation capabilities will be provided through novel interactions that transform the way users engage with each other and with information.
For more information on PIE, visit http://precisioninformation.org/
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LiveWall
LiveWall is a prototype hardware and software solution for room-to-room video conferencing. Each side of the video conference is presented full screen and overlayed with a shared desktop environment both sides interact with via touch. The effect is as if the people you are meeting with are on the other side of an interactive piece of glass. LiveWall is being developed as a part of the larger Precision Information Environments projects, which seeks to improve interactions between people responding to emergency situations.
For more information, see the Precision Information Environments website.
Interactive Power Wall - MURAL
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Interactive Power Wall provides a unique capability to explore the boundaries of collaborative scientific and information visualization research on large, high-density displays. It is a multi-projector, multi-touch interactive display system with a total resolution of 15.4 million pixels (7.4 times 1080P HD) on a 7-ft high by 16-ft wide continuous high- quality glass display screen.
The Interactive Power Wall is located in the Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis Lab, or MURAL Room, of PNNL’s Computational Sciences Facility. MURAL is a general-purpose space that seats up to 60 people for research projects, meetings, working groups, and presentations. The Interactive Power Wall serves as an investigation and research tool supporting PNNL contributions to our clients’ critical mission areas.