Embedded human computer interaction

In this paper, human interaction with embedded or ubiquitous technology is considered. The techniques focus on the use of what might be termed "everyday" objects and actions as a means of controlling (or otherwise interacting with) technology. While this paper is not intended to be an exhaustive review, it does present a view of the immediate future of human-computer interaction (HCI) in which users move beyond the desktop to where interacting with technology becomes merged with other activity. At one level this places HCI in the context of other forms of personal and domestic technologies. At another level, this raises questions as to how people will interact with technologies of the future. Until now, HCI had often relied on people learning obscure command sets or learning to recognise words and objects on their computer screen. The most significant advance in HCI (the invention of the WIMP interface) is already some 40 years old. Thus, the future of HCI might be one in which people are encouraged (or at least allowed) to employ the skills that they have developed during their lives in order to interact with technology, rather than being forced to learn and perfect new skills.     

Adaptively distributing cognition: a decision-making perspective on human - computer interaction

Two important phenomena in human - computer interaction (HCI) are considered: the reliance on external information rather than memory, and the interleaving of planning and action. These phenomena are important, it is argued, because they challenge some particular cognitive models. However, we reject those views, influential in the HCI literature, that phenomena like these require radically new conceptions of cognition or behaviour. It is shown that the phenomena are not universal laws of behaviour, but that instead people decide how much to remember and how much to plan according to a consideration of the costs and benefits of different strategies. Thus the classical cognitive conception of humans as adaptive decision makers is vital for a deep understanding of HCI.     

Implicit human computer interaction through context

In this paper the term implicit human-computer interaction is defined. It is discussed how the availability of processing power and advanced sensing technology can enable a shift in HCI from explicit interaction, such as direct manipulation GUIs, towards a more implicit interaction based on situational context. In the paper, an algorithm is given based on a number of questions to identify applications that can facilitate implicit interaction. An XML-based language to describe implicit HCI is proposed. The language uses contextual variables that can be grouped using different types of semantics as well as actions that are called by triggers. The term of perception is discussed and four basic approaches are identified that are useful when building context-aware applications. Two examples, a wearable context awareness component and a sensor-board, show how sensor-based perception can be implemented. It is also discussed how situational context can be exploited to improve input and output of mobile devices.     

Music composition by interaction between human and computer

This paper aims at constructing a music composition system that composes music by the interaction between human and a computer. Even users without special musical knowledge can compose 16-bar musical works with one melody part and some backing parts using this system. The interactive Genetic Algorithm is introduced to music composition so that users’ feeling toward music is reflected in the composed music. One chromosome corresponds to 4-bar musical work information. Users participate in music composition by evaluating composed works after GA operators such as crossover, mutation, virus infection are applied to chromosomes based on the evaluation results. From the experimental results, it is found that the users’ evaluation values become high over the progress of generations. That is, the system can compose 16-bar musical works reflecting users’ feeling. Muneyuki Unehara: He received his M.S. in Engineering in 2002 from Institute of Science and Engineering, University of Tsukuba. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate of Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba. His research interests include the construction of intelligent systems by considering soft computing techniques and human interface. Takehisa Onisawa, Ph.D.: He received Dr.Eng. in Systems Science in 1986 from Tokyo Institute of Technology. Currently, he is a Professor in the Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba. His research interests include applications of soft computing techniques to human centered systems thinking. He is a member of IEEE and IFSA.     

A human–computer interaction approach for healthcare

Universal Access in the Information Society -     

Eye-blink detection system for human–computer interaction

A vision-based human--computer interface is presented in the paper. The interface detects voluntary eye-blinks and interprets them as control commands. The employed image processing methods include Haar-like features for automatic face detection, and template matching based eye tracking and eye-blink detection. Interface performance was tested by 49 users (of which 12 were with physical disabilities). Test results indicate interface usefulness in offering an alternative mean of communication with computers. The users entered English and Polish text (with average time of less than 12s per character) and were able to browse the Internet. The interface is based on a notebook equipped with a typical web camera and requires no extra light sources. The interface application is available on-line as open-source software.     

3D hand tracking for human computer interaction

We propose a real-time model-based 3D hand tracker that combines image regions and the signal from an off-the-shelf 3-axis accelerometer placed on the user's hand. The visual regions allow the tracker to cope with occlusions, motion blur and background clutter, while the latter aids with the inherent silhouette-pose ambiguities. The accelerometer and tracker are synchronised by casting the calibration problem as one of principal component analysis. Based on the assumption that, often, the number of possible hand configurations is limited by the activity the hand is engaging in, we use a multiclass pose classifier to distinguish between a number of activity dependent articulated hand configurations. We demonstrate the benefits of our method, both qualitatively and quantitatively, on a variety of video sequences and hand configurations and show a proof-of-concept human computer interface based on our system.     

EOG-based eye movements codification for human computer interaction

This paper describes a new eye-control method for eye-based computer interaction using EOG. This work aims to resolve some of the problems encountered in current systems when used for long periods of time and users become tired. For this purpose, a new electrooculographic eye model based on wavelet transform and neural networks is proposed. The results obtained demonstrate the system’s reliability in detecting eye movements and show an error of less than 2° during long periods of use. The system proposed may be used to control any graphical interface using eye movements detected by electrooculography.     

Human–computer interaction viewed as pseudo-communication

Semiotics is considered fundamental to an understanding of human–computer interaction, and of all computer artifacts. Informatics should therefore be viewed as technical semiotics (or semiotics engineering). In particular, interaction between human and computer is characterized by features of communication, a sort of communication, however, that lacks decisive communicative features. It must be identified as a process of pseudo-communication. Interaction is viewed as the coupling of two autonomous processes: a sign process (carried out by the human user) and a signal process (carried out by the computer). Software appears as a semiotic entity in a duplicate way: calculated and calculating, i.e. both as a result and agent of calculations. This dialectics characterizes the class of signs on the computer medium. Problems of software design (functionality and usability design) are specific problems of the coupling of sign and signal processes.     

Soft computing based intention reading techniques as a means of human-robot interaction for human centered system

 Friendly interaction between robot and human is vital in the design of a human centered system. Among several interaction technologies, the intention reading of the user plays an important role for the human centered system. We focus on the aspect of intention reading in rehabilitation robots, and implement its capability for the wheelchair-based robotic arm system, called KARES (KAIST Rehabilitation Engineering Service System) II. An effective intention reading scheme is proposed on the basis of several soft computing techniques to handle uncertainty of the user's intention. Two application examples of intention reading in KARES II are discussed: one is visual servoing of the user's face, and the other is emergency stop of the robot by using EMG signals of the user's arm. This work is partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea as a part of Critical Technology 21 Program on “Development of Service Robot Technology”.     

Tasks for and tasks in human–computer interaction

It is argued that the engineering discipline of human–computer interaction (HCI) has developed over the last couple of decades in an ad hoc manner, driven by the need to solve real problems, rather than being informed by high level, general theories of the discipline. A retrospective role for general HCI theories is suggested. A start at such a general theory, which must be simple and able to encompass all the discipline of HCI's activities, is proposed, based on the concept of tasks. Tasks are characterised as the means by which work is performed. A general systems modelling approach is introduced which divides the assumed world it models into work systems and the application domains that are changed by work performance. The role of different work systems, defined by their differing boundaries and goals, to define different subtasks is introduced and illustrated with a number of simple examples.     

Learning probabilistic classifiers for human–computer interaction applications

Human–computer interaction (HCI) lies at the crossroads of many scientific areas including artificial intelligence, computer vision, face recognition, motion tracking, etc. It is argued that to truly achieve effective human–computer intelligent interaction, the computer should be able to interact naturally with the user, similar to the way HCI takes place. In this paper, we discuss training probabilistic classifiers with labeled and unlabeled data for HCI applications. We provide an analysis that shows under what conditions unlabeled data can be used in learning to improve classification performance, and we investigate the implications of this analysis to a specific type of probabilistic classifiers, Bayesian networks. Finally, we show how the resulting algorithms are successfully employed in facial expression recognition, face detection, and skin detection.     

基于BBN情感模型的和谐人机交互研究

提出了一种将个性、情感、情绪分层表示的思想,并且利用贝叶斯网络进行情感建模,通过虚拟人脸的面部表情来反映情绪的变化,旨在赋予机器类人的情感,达到更加真实和谐的人机交互。最后将此情感模型应用于情感虚拟人交互系统,实验证明,该模型简单、稳定,且易于实现。     

Ubiquitous computing and interaction

A short overview of the emerging field ubiquitous computing is given. It is argued, that this technology, characterized as highly distributed and interactive, requires a shift of focus from the traditional view of computer science as a domain of computable functions and turing machines (TM) to a cybernetic view of energy–signal–control cycles. This is accompanied by a reconsideration of interface-technology and the derivation of a new type of locally controlled signal to energy transformation based on the continuity of energy flow. It is shown how the concept of hyper-bonds could serve some requirements in this new field. Some applications in mixed reality and mechatronics are given and further perspectives for human–machine collaboration, human skills, and knowledge are presented.     

基于原型设计的人机交互课程实验方案

人机交互课程是实践性很强的一门课。实验是人机交互课程的重要组成部分。现阶段,国内高校的人机交互课程的学时数普遍不多。没有足够的学时造成无法通过软件开发项目实战来开展人机交互设计实践。一种对策是开展软件界面原型设计实验。描述基于原型设计的人机交互课程实验方案。首先描述了实验目的,接着描述实验任务和目标,再接着重点描述了实验流程,然后描述实验成果验收的办法。最后总结了该实验方案的优势和面临的问题。     

An approach to formal verification of human–computer interaction

The correct functioning of interactive computer systems depends on both the faultless operation of the device and correct human actions. In this paper, we focus on system malfunctions due to human actions. We present abstract principles that generate cognitively plausible human behaviour. These principles are then formalised in a higher-order logic as a generic, and so retargetable, cognitive architecture, based on results from cognitive psychology. We instantiate the generic cognitive architecture to obtain specific user models. These are then used in a series of case studies on the formal verification of simple interactive systems. By doing this, we demonstrate that our verification methodology can detect a variety of realistic, potentially erroneous actions, which emerge from the combination of a poorly designed device and cognitively plausible human behaviour.     

Community computing and citizen productivity

This article is about the development of a community network in an Atlanta, Georgia, neighborhood. The project was a long-term effort using community-based design with the goal of helping a community use information technologies to enhance more effectively the life of the community. The argument is about designing information technology tools in community contexts, developing new models of research for community-based work, and about the critical importance of engaging in community-based work that can be sustained over time. The argument also focuses on the necessity of designing community networks that both recognize the productive power and expertise of community residents as well as allow for productive practices to be developed and used in the future.