One of the most interesting conversations I had at Renesas DevCon was about bringing 3-D to the medical sector. Representatives from the company's display business discussed it with me briefly as one of their emerging technologies. Specifically, they are looking to combine 2-D and 3-D visualization. For example, a menu or list of options would remain 2-D while the option the user selected would pop out from the screen in 3-D.
 
I envision a touch screen for this type of technology. Because as the panelists in a DevCon session on user interfaces said, capacitive sensing is a big area. Panelist Jason Clarke of Crank Software said that for customers, it's "hard for them to describe anything without saying iPhone."
 
The panel also addressed some basic principles of user interfaces outlined in ISO 9241:
 

• Effectiveness: Does the product do what is required?
• Efficiency: Can the user learn quickly?
• Satisfaction: Do the users express satisfaction with the product?

 
But eye candy is important. People who like the user interface are more likely to use it and figure things out without calling for help.
 
 
And have you ever wondered what response times are expected, or even ideal for touch screens? Apparently, people sense latency after about 50 milliseconds. If the response time is more than 100 milliseconds, you've got a problem. —Lawrence Lloyd