I’ve recently stumbled upon a fantastic idea, actually, I literally fell off my chair. Some guys came up with a new way of using markers for textiles (wash at 60°, dry clean only, do not iron, etc), but instead of printing them, they used an RFID tag into it. The new idea is that rather t and use the antenna to draw these devices. How cool is that? I think using one unique interface for communicate both with humans and computers is really the way to go.
RFID cloth tag, where the antenna is used to print the graphical information for usage.
I am fascinated by “smart” design that allows to embed feedback information directly into the device itself, with no need for additional information display apparatus. As an example, I loved the LED Faucet Light where a colored led informs you about the temperature of water (blue when cold and red when hot). Actually, the newest version not just displays binary information, but the color varies accordingly with the temperature, which was my biggest disappointment with the older version.
The LED Faucet Light
Sweet! You get right away information you need, and not only it impresses girls, but also is not invasive. I think this is clearly the way to go, and clever integration of feedback visualization with physical interaction is the way to go for ambient computing. One interface, to control them all.
