Knowledge Navigator
Encyclopedia
The Knowledge Navigator is a concept described by former Apple Computer
CEO John Sculley
in his 1987 book, Odyssey
. It describes a device that can access a large networked database
of hypertext
information, and use software agent
s to assist searching for information.
Apple produced several concept videos showcasing the idea. All of them featured a tablet style computer with numerous advanced capabilities, including an excellent text-to-speech system with no hint of "computerese", a gesture based interface resembling the multitouch interface later used on the iPhone
and an equally powerful speech understanding system, allowing the user to converse with the system via an animated "butler" as the software agent
.
In one vignette a university professor returns home and turns on his computer, in the form of a tablet the size of a large-format book. The agent is a bow-tie wearing butler who appears on the screen and informs him that he has several calls waiting. He ignores most of these, from his mother, and instead uses the system to compile data for a talk on deforestation
in the Amazon rainforest
. While he is doing this, the computer informs him that a colleague is calling, and they then exchange data through their machines while holding a video based conversation.
In another such video, a young student uses a smaller handheld version of the system to prompt him while he gives a class presentation on volcanoes, eventually sending a movie of an exploding volcano to the video "blackboard". In a final installment a user scans in a newspaper by placing it on the screen of the full-sized version, and then has it help him learn to read by listening to him read the scanned results, and prompting when he pauses.
The videos were funded and sponsored by Bud Colligan, Director of Apple's higher education marketing group, written and creatively developed by Hugh Dubberly and Doris Mitsch of Apple Creative Services, with technical and conceptual input from Mike Liebhold of Apple's Advanced Technologies Group and advice from Alan Kay, then an Apple Fellow. The videos were produced by The Kenwood Group in San Francisco and directed by Randy Field. The director of photography was Bill Zarchy. The product industrial design was created by Gavin Ivester and Adam Grosser of Apple design. The Knowledge Navigator video premiered in 1987 at Educom, the leading higher education conference, in a keynote by John Sculley, with demos of multimedia, hypertext and interactive learning directed by Bud Colligan.
The astute bow tie wearing software agent
in the video has been the center of quite a few heated discussions in the domain of human–computer interaction
. It was criticized as being an unrealistic portrayal of the capacities of any software agent in the foreseeable future, or even in a distant future. Some user interface
professionals like Ben Shneiderman
of the University of Maryland, College Park
have also criticized its use of a human likeness for giving a misleading idea of the nature of any interaction with a computer, present or future.
The "professor" video was set in September 2011. In October 2011, Apple relaunched Siri
, a voice activated personal assistant software vaguely similar to that aspect of the Knowledge Navigator.
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
CEO John Sculley
John Sculley
John Sculley is an American businessman. Sculley was vice-president and president of PepsiCo , until he became CEO of Apple on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993...
in his 1987 book, Odyssey
Odyssey:Pepsi to Apple
Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple is an autobiography by John Sculley, former Apple CEO, and John A. Byrne in August, 1987, published by HarperCollins. In Odyssey, Sculley describes his time as CEO of PepsiCo and Apple during the late 1970's and early 80's...
. It describes a device that can access a large networked database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
of hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
information, and use software agent
Software agent
In computer science, a software agent is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin agere : an agreement to act on one's behalf...
s to assist searching for information.
Apple produced several concept videos showcasing the idea. All of them featured a tablet style computer with numerous advanced capabilities, including an excellent text-to-speech system with no hint of "computerese", a gesture based interface resembling the multitouch interface later used on the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and an equally powerful speech understanding system, allowing the user to converse with the system via an animated "butler" as the software agent
Software agent
In computer science, a software agent is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin agere : an agreement to act on one's behalf...
.
In one vignette a university professor returns home and turns on his computer, in the form of a tablet the size of a large-format book. The agent is a bow-tie wearing butler who appears on the screen and informs him that he has several calls waiting. He ignores most of these, from his mother, and instead uses the system to compile data for a talk on deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
in the Amazon rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. While he is doing this, the computer informs him that a colleague is calling, and they then exchange data through their machines while holding a video based conversation.
In another such video, a young student uses a smaller handheld version of the system to prompt him while he gives a class presentation on volcanoes, eventually sending a movie of an exploding volcano to the video "blackboard". In a final installment a user scans in a newspaper by placing it on the screen of the full-sized version, and then has it help him learn to read by listening to him read the scanned results, and prompting when he pauses.
The videos were funded and sponsored by Bud Colligan, Director of Apple's higher education marketing group, written and creatively developed by Hugh Dubberly and Doris Mitsch of Apple Creative Services, with technical and conceptual input from Mike Liebhold of Apple's Advanced Technologies Group and advice from Alan Kay, then an Apple Fellow. The videos were produced by The Kenwood Group in San Francisco and directed by Randy Field. The director of photography was Bill Zarchy. The product industrial design was created by Gavin Ivester and Adam Grosser of Apple design. The Knowledge Navigator video premiered in 1987 at Educom, the leading higher education conference, in a keynote by John Sculley, with demos of multimedia, hypertext and interactive learning directed by Bud Colligan.
The astute bow tie wearing software agent
Software agent
In computer science, a software agent is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin agere : an agreement to act on one's behalf...
in the video has been the center of quite a few heated discussions in the domain of human–computer interaction
Human–computer interaction
Human–computer Interaction is the study, planning, and design of the interaction between people and computers. It is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design and several other fields of study...
. It was criticized as being an unrealistic portrayal of the capacities of any software agent in the foreseeable future, or even in a distant future. Some user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
professionals like Ben Shneiderman
Ben Shneiderman
Ben Shneiderman is an American computer scientist, and professor for Computer Science at the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park...
of the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
have also criticized its use of a human likeness for giving a misleading idea of the nature of any interaction with a computer, present or future.
The "professor" video was set in September 2011. In October 2011, Apple relaunched Siri
Siri (software)
Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services...
, a voice activated personal assistant software vaguely similar to that aspect of the Knowledge Navigator.
See also
- Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
- Clippy
- DynabookDynabookThe Dynabook concept, created by Alan Kay in 1968, described what is now known as a laptop computer or a tablet or slate computer with nearly eternal battery life and software aimed at giving children access to digital media...
- HyperlandHyperlandHyperland is a 50-minute long documentary film about hypertext and surrounding technologies. It was written by Douglas Adams and produced and directed by Max Whitby for BBC Two in 1990...
- Knowledge visualization
- Office of the futureOffice of the futureThe office of the future is a concept dating from the 1940s. It is also known as the "paperless office". After sixty years of unfulfilled prophecies the phrase "paperless office" has been discredited somewhat...
- Starfire video prototypeStarfire video prototypeStarfire was a Sun Microsystems promotional video filmed in 1994, demonstrating Bruce Tognazzini's ideas for a 21st-century computer user interface. Inspired in part by Apple Computer's Knowledge Navigator film from 1987, Tognazzini and his team at SunSoft sought to create a more realistic look at...
- The Singularity
- SiriSiri (software)Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services...
External links
- Two extracts (47 seconds each) of the "professor" video
- The entire "professor" video (5 min 45 s)
- "Future Shock" a similar video, also made by Apple (11 min 54 s)