BioDigital Human Natural User Interface
Description
BioDigital Human is a web based appliaction for exploring and studying human anatomy. I have always been fascinated by human anatomy and loved studying it. As a result, I created this natural user interface.
With this natural user interface, you can use your hand to zoom, pan, and rotate the human organs.
Imagine sitting in a classroom studying anatomy where you see every organ in 3D. You can zoom in make close observations and study interactively. You can lift a model of an organ and relevant information will be projected on it. I envision this being a part of classrooms of tomorrow.
Later version will feature a tangible interface where physical models of human organs will be connected to digital interface and any manipulations on the physical organ will be reflected on the digital counterpart.
Imagine if such interfaces are used in sterile environments such as a surgery room for doctors can prove to be a boon.
Design Considerations and Lessons Learned
For this interface to be usable, interaction with low latency is of key importance. We cannot expect people using such interface continuously, but using it in a specific context such as a surgery room where the devices cannot be touched is more realistic. Interacting with 3D models in 3D space is natural with 3D interaction devices like the kinect. You can do the interactions in the application which involve the use of z-axis such as slicing through the human body or zooming with the help of gestural interactions which use the z-axis of the kinect. This can make it more usable.
My Contribution
I came up with the concept and sketched various interactions, developed 5 interaction prototypes using the Microsoft Kinect sensor and Visual C#, did user testing, and then iterated on the final interface which was more intuitive and easy to use.