I’m with you. I’ve always found my interests to lie at the intersection of technology and design, so interfaces, experiences, and (virtual) interactivity have become big interests for me in the past few years.
Obviously I get amped by the experimental/art-based projects like the Media Lab, Ivrea, and others are doing-- but I think what’s really exciting is that I can see practical applications stemming from these “Themed Interactive Environments”. An example of a product ‘bridging the gap’ might be the aforementioned Ambient Devices. Their earlier explorations were more ‘art-based’-- (the glowing orbs) but the executive dashboard hit the nail on the head and is gaining a lot of attention.
Maybe another example of business applications for abstact UI design could be pressure sensitive surafaces. I remember seeing experimental projects like this one, and thinking that they were interesting, but maybe not marketable. Recentrly I stumbled across “Ztiles”, a research project that could lead to all kinds of interesting interactive environments… think “Smart Homes”.
Another example would be a version of the motion-based interface used by Tom Cruise in Minority Report showing up in real life on ABC’s election coverage.
Anyway-- I’m with you, I’m really getting excited about the possibilities. Interactive Environments is truly exciting stuff, and the best part is that the practical applications of the technology is the designer’s job to figure out!