Oh! No! Sony's "Mother of Remote Controls" for Google TV. 74 Buttons and Counting.

Today we switched from DISH to Time Warner Cable, and tonight I had to battle with a new remote control, the UR5U-8780L.  The experience with this remote led me to search for something better. What a coincidence!  In this day and age of touch-screens,  I was hoping for something better than....

Sony's Mother of Remote Controls!

-From the SonyStyle website: Television, meet internet., 

I first learned of this complex addition to the world of TV/Internet surfing from an article and a video in a recent article in Engadget:  Sony's Google TV controller outed on ABC's Nightline (video) Ross Miller,10/5/10.  Harry Brignull also posted about the new controller- Sony, Sony, what have you done?
(Harry is a UX Consultant at Madgex, and author of the 90percent of everything blog.)


ABC Video, via engadget

It is 2010, and with TVs connected to the internet, we'll be interacting with content in ways we could only dream of in the recent past.  Interactive TV is here.  Do I really have to push a lot of buttons in order to have the best "interactive" experience?  




OTHER OPTIONS
Xfinity Remote Prototype for the iPad


Turn Your iPhone into a TV Remote Samuel Axon, Mashable/Apple
L5 Remote: Turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote control:

Not Yet Available:  Vizio's XRT100 touchscreen remote

My Fancy New Remote, Instructions Included:

RELATED
Sony, Sony, what have you done? (Harry Brignull, 90percent of everything)
Usability of a Remote Control (my post)
Interactive TV Game Controllers- A variety of permutation for the present and future (iPhone, iPod Touch Wii-mote, XBox 360 Controller, Gesture ....
Usability Review of a Remote Control (Chris McEvoy)

iRiS: iPhone Remote Interaction System, Newly Updated

"We used Touch Projector to paint on a multimedia facade (here: Ars Electronica Center, Linz, Austria). Users simply aim their device at the facade causing the viewfinder to show the facade locally. In this local image, users can now draw with the selected color. The building then changes its color accordingly as if users directly painted on it."


iRiS Team:

Sebastian Boring (lead) (LINK:http://www.medien.ifi.lmu.de/team/sebastian.boring/) 
Sven Gehring

Alexander Wiethoff  http://www.medien.ifi.lmu.de/team/alexander.wiethoff/
Magdalena Blöckner
Johannes Schöning http://www.johannesschoening.de




Info about the iRiS team members - (will be updated)
Johannes Schöning works at the Innovative Retail Laboratory of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Saarbruecken.  His research interests include new methods and interfaces to intuitively navigate through spatial information, and ways new intelligent interfaces can help people to solve daily tasks more effectively.  Johannes recently completed his Ph.D. at the Saarland University.  He runs the multi-touch Google group. (LINK: http://groups.google.de/group/multi-touch) Johannes is involved in a range of interesting professional activities.  He's currently looking for new opportunities.


Sebastian Boring started his Ph.D. thesis in April 200 6 at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and expectes to graduate July 2010.  He's a member of the Fluidum. His research interests include user interfaces for ubiquitous computing and instrumented environments, especially in interaction techniques for multiple devices and displays. He is also interested in 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling and animation, and computer vision.  (Sebastian has worked on projects to benefit assisting young people with autism).



Alexander Wiethoff is a passionate interaction designer committed to developing and implementing visionary strategies that support architectural, industrial and interaction design objectives. He works as a researcher in the field of Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Munich. Currently his key research focus is the analysis of design processes in the area of pervasive computing, the creation of work process tools that support communication of multidisciplinary teams and the design of usability testing methods in this domain.

FYI: RELATED PUBLICATIONS


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Urban Screens Conference and  Exhibition:  Calls for Interactive Media and Video Art (2010) 
More Urban Screens and 3D Media Facades
Book:  Media Facades:  History, Technology, and Content (M. Hank Haeusler)
3D Projections on Buildings: A distinctive way of communicating
Communicating Through Architecture:  Media Facades and the Digital Infrastructure  The Rathous (Contains an assortment of videos and pictures)
Art and Commerce Meet on Building's Interactive Media Facades
Kelsey Keith, Fast Company, 10/2/2009