Reality Based Interaction (RBI)

“Reality-Based Interaction: A Framework for Post-WIMP Interfaces” by Robert J. K. Jacob, Audrey Girouard, Leanne M. Hirshfield, Michael S. Horn, Orit Shaer, Erin Treacy Solovey, & Jamie Zigelbaum

Jacob et al. (2008) introduce Reality-Based Interaction (RBI) as a concept that will help the HCI community understand and analyze the similarities of emerging interaction styles, provide insight regarding how to improve the design of future emerging interaction styles and discover more opportunities for future research. They provide 4 themes (i.e. naïve physics, body awareness & skills, environment awareness & skills, and social awareness & skills) which make up the RBI framework that demonstrates how emerging interactions are becoming more similar to how users interact with the non-digital world. Furthermore, Jacob et al. (2008) provide substantial evidence and support through several literature reviews and case studies (e.g. iPhone, Visual Cliff) regarding how RBI can help the HCI community understand, communicate, evaluate, and research, as well as how these technologies have opted for less realistic interactions when other values are more important (e.g. expressive power, efficiency, versatility, ergonomics, accessibility, and practicality).

However, I believe that emerging interaction styles have drastically changed since this article was published and are continuing to change, especially in the fields of AR/VR. So I am curious how the RBI framework still hold ups in helping the HCI community continue the conversation and research about emerging interactions, and if it would still be as useful in helping us understand, analyze, compare, and bridge the gap between these types of tech. Additionally, I am curious if RBI should be the goal of these emerging interactions or should designers and developers focus more on the trade-off areas mentioned or possibly some new style of interactions that may not be reality based?