Bill Buxton talks about natural user interfaces (NUI) what it means and how it would work if implemented in a product. He demonstrates how there are very fine and often missed details that go into what we do everyday. One of the things people do often is write notes and Buxton demonstrates that the process of writing a note is more nuanced then what we might initially believe. Buxton reveals with a desk sized piece of carbon copy paper that how we write has a lot to do with ergonomics how people manipulate the paper as well as the pen in order to write. I was surprised to see how how continuously a piece of paper will be moved during the process of writing on one page. As you write you unconsciously move the paper in the most ergonomic position for writing. What this example shows is that comfortable writing cannot occur with only the movement of the pen and this concept is what I believe Buxton was trying to convey in the meaning of Natural User Interfaces.
It seems that in order for a device to support a Natural User Interface we must carefully reconstruct how humans interact with everyday objects and recreate the same feeling in the digital realm. I think we are still at the point where most devices cannot be characterized as having a natural user interface. The typical user interface attempts to simulate some of the natural motions and activities but still feels a bit off from being completely intuitive and natural. This is still the case with touch screens which is a great technology but needs to be combined with new technologies in order for the leap to fully natural interfaces to take place. One such future step could be the implementation of tactile feedback and texture directly on the surface of the screen.
Buxton shows off some other interesting developments to enhance touch screen technology. By combining a digital compass, accelerometers and gyroscopes a user can pan and zoom on a mobile phone screen by simply moving the phone in space. This system is a great step as it replicates what a user already knows about how to look at a different part of an image which has been learned from the use of cameras, binoculars and similar devices.
I feel like we are making very fast progress towards creating devices which have interfaces that are completely intuitive and natural. I love the feeling when a device has an interface so obvious that I can simply 'know' the actions required to accomplish the tasks without any second thought or prior knowledge.