Potential future development in HCI

I believe that in the future our ever-advancing knowledge and development of HCI technology will bring about invaluable and even live-saving new uses to existing technology. 

For instance, presently baby monitors are on the whole used to remotely listen to sounds made by an infant. Whilst the devices are commonly used, there is no evidence to suggest that they are able to prevent SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). This is because standard baby monitors are unable to detect any changes to a baby's wellbeing, they merely act as a receptor to sound. This is however set to change for the future. 

Advancements in this area will soon allow parents to monitor not only sound but also their baby’s position, movement, body temperature, pulse and respiration rate. This will allow carers to study the same vital signs routinely monitored by medical professionals in their own home on a regular, healthy basis. 

This technology has outstanding potential to save the lives of countless young children as parents may be instantly alerted to medical emergencies, allowing for far faster response times and diagnosis. There is even the potential for automatic contact to emergency services, as the device may send health information directly to paramedics should the vitals of an infant drop- potentially before a parent is even aware of a problem. In emergencies related to health, and particularly that of an infant, every second counts. 

The development of this HCI also has several potential benefits to the economy, with the technology likely to be advantageous to the NHS in particular. With such sophisticated monitoring technology available in their own homes at any time of the day, parents will no longer need to make as many generic GP appointments for their child in order to have a clear picture of their baby's health and wellbeing. The technology will also inevitably open up whole new markets as a result of the demand for 'smarter' baby monitoring technology. 

The technology will undoubtedly help to ease parental anxiety, particularly for parents with infants potentially suffering from health issues that require regular monitoring. Monitors could potentially be programmed to be made context-aware, with specialist settings in order to recognise a specific series of movements as cause for alarm (e.g. seizures). This personalisation has untold potential and could undoubtedly save the lives of children around the world.