City University and Hub TV partner on video interaction
February 7, 2012
City University London and Hub TV – a multi-platform production company – are partnering to develop new technology that will hope will make online video more interactive, resulting in a better experience for users and increased revenues for brands.
Currently, online interactive video has limited capabilities – users can only click through to related content via surrounding menus or video-embedded prompts. The new project will take a more intuitive approach, enabling viewers to interact with the video content itself.
For example, in fashion retailing, a user could click on a garment as a model walks down a catwalk, giving them further information, a close-up from a different angle or the option to buy it.
The partnership will see Drs Simone Stumpf and George Buchanan from City’s Centre for Human Computer Interaction Design share their expertise with Hub TV’s production team, which works across a diverse range of brands and organisations.
Stumpf, the project’s Academic Supervisor, says: “User experience design plays a huge role in online customer satisfaction and conversion rates, but relatively little research has been done into how it applies to interactive video. Our new partnership will address this, creating a novel technology that will benefit both viewers and brands alike.”