Topic outline

  • General

    Important notice!

    Teaching has been moved mainly online until further notice. In this course this applies to lectures and tutoring of group work. However, as the projects require prototyping and experiments with various electronic devices, some physical meetings with the groups will be necessary. Due to the demands of this situation, the number of participants is limited to ca. 20 students. Preference will be given to those for whom this course is mandatory (CCIS/HCI, EIT/HCID) or recommended in their study programme.

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    Objectives of the course

    The graphical user interface (GUI) with keyboard and mouse has dominated in offices since the 1980's. For other situations the touch-screen interaction represents the current mainstream paradigm for interaction with computer systems. Although it has only been with us for about 10 years, there are already clear situations where the "app" model doesn't work. From games and entertainment, through to particular user groups, touchscreen interaction is not the only or best way to interact.  

    This course provides an overview of novel and unconventional human-computer interaction techniques. These include for example touch, tangibility,  gestures and use of various physical sensors, currently typically applied in games and 3D virtual environments. Many of these will emerge into the mainstream of interaction in the next few years, so the course provides a good head-start to start thinking about them and how they will be used. The course also focuses on how all human senses including touch, sound, taste and smell can be incorporated into computer interaction and the issues in doing so.  

    The course is largely composed of a group project, where groups of students (preferably from different disciplines) identify, develop and construct a novel user interface using physical computing (e.g. Arduino). 

    The course provides both a theoretical and practical understanding of the area of Experimental User Interaction.

    Professor In Charge
    Tassu Takala (tapio.takala@aalto.fi)
    http://www.cs.hut.fi/~tta/