A new revolutionary multi-monitor system that can rat you out to your boss if you are distracted and not paying attention at work has been developed by UK scientists.
Researchers at the University of St Andrews said their new system could reduce workplace distractions, increase productivity and could even be of use in high pressured environments such as flight control rooms.
The new system, called “Diff Displays”, detects when its user is not looking at a display and replaces the regular screen image with a calm and non-distractive visualisation of the screen’s activity instead.
It reduces distractions by fading out the parts of the screen that remain static and by subtly visualising changes in the display over time.
When the user looks back at a display, the system quickly changes back from the visualisation to the actual screen content via different forms of animation.
The system works via a camera mounted on top of each computer screen which uses computer vision algorithms to identify the user’s eyes. Once the eyes have been identified, the system can determine which screen they are looking at.
The researchers believe the system would be useful in everyday work situations to reduce distractions and improve the quality of life of office workers.
However, it may also be particularly useful for those in high-pressure roles where they monitor a large number of screens, such as flight controllers or workers in nuclear power stations.
A study of the system in action during a single work week indicated it reduced the number of times someone switched their attention between the displays, the university said in a statement.
The researchers think this technology can eventually become a standard part of our operating systems.
“Diff Displays is an example of intelligent display technologies that can be rapidly deployed and have a positive impact on potentially billions of users,” said researcher Jakub Dostal who worked under the guidance of Per Ola Kristensson and Professor Aaron Quigley in the School of Computer Science.