Many new forms of mobile interaction are on the horizon.
Mobile devices will allow us to connect with others in new
ways, as well as to access information in the environment. For
example, we will increasingly be able to use mobile devices to
interact with objects in the real world, acting more as if they
are extensions of our own hands, by pointing and gesturing
with them. While travelling, we can gesture with our mobile
device at a historic building and be offered up an audio or
visual history of its architecture. Taking a picture of a product
in the supermarket can send us back information about where
the product came from, its associated air miles, and ecological
credentials. Likewise, buying a piece of music by pointing at a
band’s poster and then sending it as a gift to a friend’s music
player can be as natural as a ‘cut and paste’ operation on a
desktop computer. As we move toward 2020, mobile devices
will increasingly offer flexibility in interaction and new kinds of
connections to both our local and remote world.