Zero-UI: A Comprehensive Beginners Guide to Zero UI
We’re addicted. Our smartphones are our only way to see the world. We spend a lot of time scrolling through rectangular backlit screens with our heads down and twitching. Because we are busy creating 140 characters for someone else on Twitter, the people across our table couldn’t be farther away than us. Users use screens to do everything, from checking the weather forecast to choosing what they’d like for dinner. This is good news for us and our children’s eyes. Design is changing the way we interact with our devices. Soon, our devices will become more familiar to us and allow us to be freer from screen addiction. We are starting to get rid of the screens we use every day with the help of chatbots and voice- and gesture-based interactions with our devices. Zero UI is a new concept. It’s a branch of UI Design. This concept makes the transition from the Graphical User Interfaces we are used to and transforms the way we interact with technology. Let’s look at the implications of Zero UI and how it affects UI design shared by the leading web design and development company Singapore. The current state of UI design We must examine how technology communicates with us to understand why this is necessary. Our devices are often accessed via a visual User Interface (GUI). GUI is a type of interface that allows users to interact with their devices using visual icons. This is in contrast to text-based interfaces, commands, or text navigation. We see this when we use our smartphones and computers for any task. GUIs are screens that require input via keyboard and mouse, swipes and taps or using a touchscreen to transmit information. Interfaces have come a long way since their humble beginnings. However, they still struggle to provide the best user experience. To complete our daily tasks, we use a variety of apps and navigate through many screens. It’s good to know that designers and developers are actively working to solve this problem. This is Zero UI, which represents the next step in computer-human interaction. An introduction to Zero UI “We believe that the next big move in the near future will be to eliminate the idea of the device. — Sundar Pichai, Google C.E.O Andy Goodman was the first to use the term Zero UI. It is defined as a “Zero User Interface,” which refers to an environment in which our thoughts, voices, and eyes can trigger systems to respond to our actions. The experts at web design company in Singapore says, instead of relying on typing or clicking, users can now use gestures, voices, and gestures to enter information. The focus of interaction will shift away from phones and computers to physical devices that we can interact with. Goals for Zero User Interface To allow users to live their lives, you must eliminate as much information as possible from their point of view You can reduce the time you spend on computers while still getting the same results Machines can interpret natural language gestures, actions, and words of users. Innovative ways to interact with devices Zero UI is not a new concept. It’s possible you have already experienced it. These devices rely on voice or gesture-based interfaces to communicate with each other. Let’s learn about the interfaces shared by experts offering web design services in Singapore. 1. Gestural Interfaces Gesture-based interfaces can be based on sensors, cameras, or a combination of both. They use sensors to detect specific movements and determine if they correspond to a particular movement. Examples: Xbox Kinect Magic Leap Project Soli 2. Voice-Based Interfaces “Xbox on. Alexa, What’s your temperature? Ok, Google”. These are some phrases that you may have used or heard in the past. Voice-based interfaces allow users to speak directly to the device, and it will respond (hopefully) by answering the question. Examples: Google Home Amazon Echo 3. Messaging Interfaces Every request can be sent to chatbots, which are now available via email. You basically text the chatbot, and it will respond to your request as if it were a real person. When you order pizza with the rest of the ingredients, you can send a send message. It’s already linked directly to your credit/debit cards, so that’s it. There is nothing else you need to do. Examples: Facebook M Google Assistant These new communication methods are driving the Zero UI movement. However, screens are unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Don’t worry; your screens will not disappear. We won’t be able to get rid of this screen. We’ll be surrounded by screens. Everything will be on a screen by Andy Goodman. It is unlikely that we will see a Zero UI world. We’ll likely see more screens around the globe that allow us to do our jobs faster. We can improve interaction by using gestures and voice commands to augment screens. This will allow us to be more present, doing what we want at the moment. Devices will be able to learn our needs by using contextual data and data zero UI. Data is the key to designing a zero-UX Goodman states that many interfaces will become more automated, predictive, and prescient as we move away from screens. The data will be presented in context to the user. Google Now is an example of contextual design. It can provide estimates of travel time between home and work, track details about their Amazon purchases, and update users on sites they frequent. The way a device responds to queries is also affected by contextual data. Google can ask you for context data, such as the name of the first man to orbit and land on the Moon. You can then ask Google “how tall was the guy?” Google will remember the context and give you the answer. Machines of the future will likely learn to filter out all noise and only provide us with the relevant data at the moment and place. Future of UI design Future interfaces will integrate