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It is a well-known fact that war brings on significant advances in technology (as well as medicine, social change etc.) and whilst not advocating the need for more wars there have been some interesting correlations between the two. WW2 brought the computer and microwave, the Cold War brought in the Internet and the War on Terror has brought us the Xbox Kinect. This full motion sensor device uses battlefield technology to deliver ground breaking user interaction with the games console. Okay a slightly tongue in cheek comment but my point is that the connection between advances in military technology (which benefits from massive R&D investment) and in consumer technology are almost on a par. Recall how the US GPS system was never available for consumer use until relatively recently and now everything has a GPS chip in it (including my dog). When I see images of pilotless drones in Afghanistan being flown by “pilots” in Colorado using what appears to be the Logitech Wingman 3 flight controller, I question whether it is now consumer technology leading the way and if so where to next?
Steve Blake is Head of TMT at Interim Partners.
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November 25th, 2011 at 7:45 am
The underlying requirements are the similar in both the drone and the gaming scenario and hence the technological solution is transferable.
However, having the right technology alone is not the complete answer, there needs to be the right blend of technical excellence and user elegance. The sensitivity to presenting the best user experience (UX) on the commercial side is ahead of the game simply because in the commercial world puts a larger focus and R&D spend on reducing the barriers to usage to drive up adoption rates and maximising adoption rates maximises current and future revenue stream potential. An example is the intuitive usability of Apple iOS and associated products against the competition.
I believe consumer UX excellence is leading the way here and the military are leveraging that to good effect.