Interaction Techniques

Catalog description

This course will provide a comprehensive study of the many ways to interact with computers and computerized devices. An "interaction technique" starts when the user does something that causes an electronic device to respond and includes the direct feedback from the device to the user. Examples include physical buttons and switches, on-screen menus and scroll bars operated by a mouse, touch screen widgets and gestures such as flick-to-scroll, text entry on computers or touch screens, game controllers, interactions in 3D and virtual/augmented reality, consumer electronic controls such as remote controls, and adaptations of all of these for people with disabilities. We will start with a history of the invention and development of these techniques, discuss the various options used today, and continue on to the future with the latest research on interaction techniques presented at conferences such as ACM CHI and UIST. Appropriate design and evaluation methods for interaction techniques will also be covered. Guest lectures from inventors of interaction techniques are planned. Students will have a choice for final projects that can focus on historical or novel interaction techniques. Course Website: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bam/uicourse/05440inter/