Creating Augmented and Virtual Realities

Chapter 2. Designing for Our Senses, Not Our Devices

Silka Miesnieks

Imagine a future in which our relationship with technology is as rich as reality. We don’t often rave about how much time is spent in front of screens, and fortunately, most technology companies feel the same way. They have invested heavily in sensors and AI to create sensing machines. By utilizing speech, spatial, and, biometric data, fed into artificial intelligence they are developing technologies into more human-relatable forms. But not much is understood about how to design sensing machine driven technologies that are engaging, accessible, and responsible. Because of this, the technology industry needs to invest more in understanding humanly responsive design along with the engineering practices, policies, and tools needed.

We all want better solutions for a happier future, but how do we get it right in the today’s technology evolution? In this chapter, we’ll explore this topic and hopefully inspire further exploration.

As Head of Emerging Design at Adobe, I work with several teams across the company to bring emerging technologies into products and services to solve real human and societal challenges. Over 25 years of pushing design forward through three major technology shifts, I’ve seen the internet powering our knowledge economy, and mobile computing transforming how we communicate. In the future, spatial computing, powered by AI, will dramatically expand our means for collaborating with one another ...