I was reading through the latest Herman Trend Report this morning about the new souped up cubicles that are being developed by IBM and Steelcase. Yes, it sounds similar to customizing a Yugo, but there actually are some interesting ideas geared towards Millennial workers.
For instance:
Two new technologies facilitate people working in collaboration: “MyTeam” uses sensor data to connect team members and to broadcast availability awareness. One touch opens the preferred communication channel, whether it is e-mail, phone, or instant message. Their Everywhere Displays projector transforms any surface into a touch-screen.
Rather than gathering around a monitor, participants working together may project their work onto tables or walls. Users may interact with the system through simple gestures, detected through vision technology.
The thought of any surface becoming a touch-screen is amazing. Anyway, I enjoyed this paragraph the most:
Further adding to the experience, the BlueSpace occupant will have unprecedented control over his/her physical environment. The BlueScreen information panel provides touch-screen control of the lighting and temperature in the workspace. In addition, the space can sense and automatically adjust the environment to meet the physical preferences linked to identification badge.
I have worked in numerous offices where wars have broken out over the thermostat. One company, in particular, had to install those goofy looking, lockable plastic covers over the thermostat and tell everyone that the maintenance manager was in charge of the setting. Having a cube that adjusts the temp for the individual seems like an excellent idea.
On a marketing note, many of us are old enough to remember the phrase “blue screen of death” from the earlier versions of Windows. Honestly, it wasn’t that long ago. I’m chuckling at the “BlueScreen” information panel. My Pavlovian reaction to a blue screen is to launch expletives and start banging the keyboard. Apparently Gen Y hasn’t experienced such training.