Tools Used in Ambient User Interfaces

Research of ambient user interfaces is popular among many researchers. The main idea is that a user interface would react onto its user and would execute reactions on his/her actions. Main problem with creating ambient user interface is that for different domains the human-computer interaction changes. In this article we investigate different tools that are employed in ambient user interface and the different approaches how they are used. We focus mainly on the use of the multi-display set-up, touch screens, kinect, eye-tracking devices and brain-computer interface technology. We propose approaches how they can be utilized in an ambient user interface, how they affect the user and how they can be used for the evaluation of ambient user interface. It is essential for future research that these measures evaluate the efficiency of the use of ambient user interface in different domains. We briefly analyze natural user interface and its association to ambient user interface. In the conclusion we establish the steps for the future research of this topic.