The next phase of digital technologies is here

While it's impossible to know what future digital technologies will look like, it's clear that touch, gesture and away-from-the-screen features are either already here or on their way, according to Professor Mark Apperley from the University of Waikato's Department of Computer Science.

Apperley is the first speaker for this month's Gibbons Lecture series hosted by the University of Auckland which, over the next month, will provide a showcase of the past, present and future of one of the fastest-developing aspects of our everyday life, that is human and computer interaction.

Apperley says the mouse was liberating for computer users when it first appeared, and while the mouse/keyboard combination is still firmly entrenched, the future is already here.

"Touch screens will only get more ubiquitous while the use of gesture rather than actual touch of a screen is likely to be one of the next things we see along with augmented reality, things like Google glass and similar technologies," Apperley says.

"We're also much more interacting with information and activities in our digital lives rather than physical devices, and there's a trend to interacting with technology from quite far away through devices such as Kinect cameras," he says.

This series of four lectures provides a chance for the general public to hear from leading researchers in the field as well as a view from Air New Zealand's Chief Architect on the role of technology within a company that deals directly with thousands of consumers each day.

The Gibbons Lecture Series is free and open to the public. It is held on Thursdays at 6pm (for 6.30pm start), beginning on April 30 and running until May 21.

This event is held in the Owen G Glenn Building, University of Auckland, 12 Grafton Rd, commencing in level 1 lobby and moving to Room OGGB3/260-092 on Level-0 for the lectures. Public parking is available in the basement of the Owen G Glenn Building.

The series will also be streamed live.

For more information and to see the lecture schedule, click here.