Current research

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Topics in human-computer interaction include the following:

User customizationedit

End-user development studies have shown how ordinary users could routinely tailor applications to their own needs and to invent new applications based on their understanding of their own domains. With their deeper knowledge, users could increasingly be important sources of new applications at the expense of generic programmers with systems expertise but low domain expertise.

Embedded computationedit

Computation is passing beyond computers into every object for which uses can be found. Embedded systems make the environment alive with little computations and automated processes, from computerized cooking appliances to lighting and plumbing fixtures to window blinds to automobile braking systems to greeting cards. The expected difference in the future is the addition of networked communications that will allow many of these embedded computations to coordinate with each other and with the user. Human interfaces to these embedded devices will in many cases be disparate from those appropriate to workstations.

Augmented realityedit

Augmented reality refers to the notion of layering relevant information into our vision of the world. Existing projects show real-time statistics to users performing difficult tasks, such as manufacturing. Future work might include augmenting our social interactions by providing additional information about those we converse with.

Social computingedit

In recent years, there has been an explosion of social science research focusing on interactions as the unit of analysis. Much of this research draws from psychology, social psychology, and sociology. For example, one study found out that people expected a computer with a man's name to cost more than a machine with a woman's name. Other research finds that individuals perceive their interactions with computers more positively than humans, despite behaving the same way towards these machines.

Knowledge-driven human–computer interactionedit

In human and computer interactions, a semantic gap usually exists between human and computer's understandings towards mutual behaviors. Ontology, as a formal representation of domain-specific knowledge, can be used to address this problem, through solving the semantic ambiguities between the two parties.

Emotions and human-computer interactionedit

In the interaction of humans and computers, research has studied how computers can detect, process and react to human emotions to develop emotionally intelligent information systems. Researchers have suggested several 'affect-detection channels'. The potential of telling human emotions in an automated and digital fashion lies in improvements to the effectiveness of human-computer interaction. The influence of emotions in human-computer interaction has been studied in fields such as financial decision making using ECG and organisational knowledge sharing using eye tracking and face readers as affect-detection channels. In these fields it has been shown that affect-detection channels have the potential to detect human emotions and that information systems can incorporate the data obtained from affect-detection channels to improve decision models.

Brain–computer interfacesedit

A brain–computer interface (BCI), is a direct communication pathway between an enhanced or wired brain and an external device. BCI differs from neuromodulation in that it allows for bidirectional information flow. BCIs are often directed at researching, mapping, assisting, augmenting, or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions.