Computer hardware has always changed rapidly, but input/output devices, interaction techniques, and software for human-computer interaction have not experienced similar growth and improvement. The GUI-based style of interaction has made computers simpler and easier to use, especially for office productivity applications where computers are used as tools to accomplish specific tasks. However, as the way we use computers changes and computing becomes more pervasive and ubiquitous, largely due to advances in bandwidth and mobility, GUIs will not easily support the range of interactions necessary to meet users needs. In order to accommodate a wider range of scenarios, tasks, users, and preferences, we need to move toward interfaces that are natural, intuitive, adaptive, and unobtrusive. Perceptive media is an interdisciplinary initiative to combine multimedia display and machine perception to create useful, adaptive, responsive interfaces between people and technology. This article describes and investigates aspects of perceptive media and gives examples of work in one particular sub-area, Vision Based Interfaces.