Chapter 11 - Multimode Interfaces: Two or More Interfaces to Accomplish the Same Task

Abstract

Technology is providing consumer and business users with an increasing array of devices and software applications that can be used to organize, entertain, and inform. Because these technology solutions have become more ubiquitous, flexible, and capable, it is reasonable to ask if the user interface (UI) that allows the user to take advantage of the technology has kept pace. The nature of the individual UIs that are a part of multimode UIs (MMUIs) is not different from the other UI modalities. One should note that elements are technology independent and focus on a user—or group of users—accomplishing tasks, although there may be variations on how this is implemented, depending on the exact device and UI technology. That is not to say that an MMUI is implemented without considering the specific UI technologies available. Any UI technology can be a candidate for an MMUI. Generally some combination of graphical, web, touch tone, speech recognition, and small-screen visual UIs is considered when designing MMUIs. It is possible that other modalities, such as tactile, olfactory, and gustatory, could be used, but these generally have not been considered because they lack the powerful input/output capabilities that the visual and auditory technologies have.