Many of us at KLI are trying different ways of staying healthy: some of us do yoga, Crossfit, hiking- one of us is even on a rugby team. Swimming and running are my exercises of choice, and I usually choose to go for a run. In my time preparing for half marathons and 5ks, I have tried several apps to use while running. Recently I learned that one of my colleagues is also a runner, so we started talking about the different apps that we use or have tried in the past. We would continue to point out what worked really well and what didn’t which made me wonder what actually makes a running app great for runners?

BREAKING NEWS

The 2018 midterm elections are on November 6th!

….but it is unlikely that this is the first time that you are hearing about them. With all the news, coverage, and spin, we at KLI asked: “is UX being considered when covering politics?” We know that there are other places that you can find political opinions and hot takes, so you will not find any in this article.  I will be staying focused on the UX of communicating and understanding politics, specifically on how different news organizations and outlets have tried to cover the midterm elections.

       Here at KLI, we publish a bi-annual Home and Renters Insurance Mobile Competitive Index Report that reviews eight of the largest home and renters insurance companies in the US and their online and mobile app capabilities. Some of the capabilities and features that are assessed are features such as secure login process, ability to get a quote or locate an agent. The goal of our third-party syndicated report is to help provide consumer-driven data that can help insurance companies improve their user experience. It also helps to summarize how the insurance companies differentiate and help provide valuable forms of competitive intelligence for companies to help them stay ahead and on top of the current market.

       Pretty much everyone in the UX industry has come across a customer journey map at some point or another. A customer journey map is a useful tool that helps to outline the customers’ journey, from start to finish. It covers the customer's initial contact with the product, through their process of engagement and even covering longtime usage. Customer journey maps help provide useful insight into a user’s feelings, motivations, and questions when interacting with that product. Customer journey maps are usually carried out in similar ways and then presented as an infographic. However, there is a new and innovative take on the customer journey map that can offer ingenious insights into the customers’ journey and can help to create a brand new experience.

The idea of biometrics in XR isn’t a terribly new one. Methods like heart rate and eye tracking are pretty popular in the research community. Academic researchers have been using physiological signals to measure changes in user states for decades and some AR applications have begun integrating biosignals to inform changes to the system. What is a newer idea is using biosignals as a user controlled input method.

If the future of XR interaction means that users will communicate via customizable avatars, how can you trust that the user you’re interacting with is who they say they are? Part 2: Blockchain-based VR.

Read Part 1: AI Smart Avatars

Although augmented and virtual reality systems (which I will refer to globally as extended reality, or XR) have not yet reached the level of everyday ubiquity expected by some industry insiders, these technologies are being increasingly utilized in domains traditionally considered to be risky, such as aviation and medicine. This is Part 1: AI Smart Avatars.

AI and Zero UI are on the rise and are increasingly being used in all different kinds of industries. Part of this move is that a large part of making devices more accessible to all kinds of users is incorporating a way for them to interact with their devices in a way that does not rely on a screen (ZeroUI). It is clear that in 2018 there will be more of a focus on creating interfaceless designs in an effort to create simple, innovative and engaging user experiences.  However, looking towards the future, interfaceless designs will become more and more integrated into our daily lives. It is estimated that by the year 2020, 30% of all web browsing will be done through screenless designs and through interactions such as voice commands, gestures and eye tracking (Gartner https://www.gartner.com/).

"Where machine learning is reactive, artificial learning is proactive." - Jeff Catlin

Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two words that are being used a lot right now in the technological world, and will probably only continued to be used more and more. Often time these words are used interchangeably, or used together, which causes their distinct meanings to become fuzzy and unclear. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, while can be used together, are ultimately two distinct concepts. This article explores the difference between the two terms and why this difference is important to remember.

As Artificial Intelligence continues to evolve, it is important we look at the role of UX in AI. How can we anticipate the types of user challenges that may occur, and how can we try to mitigate those?