Natural user interface

One example of a strategy for designing a NUI not based in RBI is the strict limiting of functionality and customization, so that users have very little to learn in the operation of a device.

More generally, a class of musical instruments called "physiphones", so-named from the Greek words "physika", "physikos" (nature) and "phone" (sound) have also been proposed as "Nature-based user interfaces".

[4] In 2006, Christian Moore established an open research community with the goal to expand discussion and development related to NUI technologies.

[5] In a 2008 conference presentation "Predicting the Past," August de los Reyes, a Principal User Experience Director of Surface Computing at Microsoft described the NUI as the next evolutionary phase following the shift from the CLI to the GUI.

The 'desktop' and 'drag' for example, being metaphors for a visual interface that ultimately was translated back into the strict codified language of the computer.

"Now a new wave of products is poised to bring natural user interfaces, as these methods of controlling electronics devices are called, to an even broader audience.

[8] In 2010, Daniel Wigdor and Dennis Wixon provided an operationalization of building natural user interfaces in their book.

In a demonstration at TED in 2006, he showed a variety of means of interacting with on-screen content using both direct manipulations and gestures.

Microsoft PixelSense takes similar ideas on how users interact with content, but adds in the ability for the device to optically recognize objects placed on top of it.

In this way, users can trigger actions on the computer through the same gestures and motions as Jeff Han's touchscreen allowed, but also objects become a part of the control mechanisms.

Apple also seems to be taking a keen interest in “Immersive Touch” 3D natural user interfaces over the past few years.