Information Age
There has been a profound shift over the last few decades. The global economy has transformed from one based on industrial production to one based on information gathering and storage. A quick search of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization shows that the top 5 largest companies are in the Technology sector. We are fully immersed in the Information Age. With this transformation, there is fierce competition to collect information in an efficient and innovative manner.
Software As A Service
One of the biggest technological breakthroughs of the information age has been the use of Software as a Service (SaaS). Originally, companies like IBM used SaaS as a way to support banks and large organizations with computing power and data storage. With the growth of the internet, SaaS has now evolved into single applications that can serve multiple businesses and users. SaaS companies no longer are creating niche software for every company they work with. Instead, they have platforms that are visited by unique individuals and companies daily. This new distribution model has forced companies to have software with a strong user interface (UI) and a strong user experience (UX).
Today there are many different user interfaces. Look around. We are all interacting with machines in many different capacities. Audio interface and touch interface have been the most common intermediaries for our interactions with machines. However, the UI field is rapidly evolving and companies are looking for new ways to communicate with our electronic devices. What type of interface will gain popularity in the 2020s? There is a real possibility that the touchless interface gains ground within the SaaS world.
Touchless Interface Technology
Touchless Interface used to be very expensive, but now thanks to open source development the technology is rapidly improving at a lower cost. Considering that Covid-19 has caused a lot of fear and uncertainty about touching physical objects due to hygiene concerns, the demand for touchless interface technology has never been greater. Many SaaS industry leaders, including Ardas, are ready for the rush to touchless interfaces. Specifically, Ardas believes there are 4 well-defined use cases for touchless interface technology for Saas right now: Retail businesses, information projects, control systems for devices, and virtual training systems.
While touchless interface technology will continue to find new ways to add value to society, there are already specific features today that can be used. 99% of touchless interface capabilities come from a camera on a device. More devices today have a camera component, which will allow the touchless interface to play a larger role within SaaS. Some examples of these features include face detection, face recognition, and sight, emotion, age, and gender recognition. Ardas is currently working on a project that is tracking the gaze of a person standing in front of a monitor. With a cursor plugged in, a gaze can take the place of what a computer mouse does.
SaaS companies are always looking to innovate. With the emergence of touchless interface technology, it will be imperative that companies focus on this field. As society looks to define what a “new normal” will look like, the touchless interface looks poised to play a prominent role within the SaaS space.
