Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design technologies that allow humans to interact with computers in novel ways. A device that allows interaction between human being and a computer is known as a "Human-computer Interface (HCI)".
As a field of research, human–computer interaction is situated at the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design, media studies, and several other fields of study. The term was popularized by Stuart K. Card, Allen Newell, and Thomas P. Moran in their 1983 book, The Psychology of Human–Computer Interaction. The first known use was in 1975 by Carlisle. The term is intended to convey that, unlike other tools with specific and limited uses, computers have many uses which often involve an open-ended dialogue between the user and the computer. The notion of dialogue likens human–computer interaction to human-to-human interaction: an analogy that is crucial to theoretical considerations in the field. (Full article...)
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated 3D content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive (i.e. additive to the natural environment), or destructive (i.e. masking of the natural environment). As such, it is one of the key technologies in the reality-virtuality continuum.
This experience is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment. In this way, augmented reality alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas virtual reality completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one. (Full article...)
The following are images from various human–computer interaction-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Virtual Fixtures immersive AR system developed in 1992. Picture features Dr. Louis Rosenberg interacting freely in 3D with overlaid virtual objects called 'fixtures'. (from Virtual reality)
Image 2A VPL Research DataSuit, a full-body outfit with sensors for measuring the movement of arms, legs, and trunk. Developed c. 1989. Displayed at the Nissho Iwai showroom in Tokyo (from Virtual reality)
Image 4Robinson R22 Virtual Reality Training Device developed by VRM Switzerland (from Virtual reality)
Image 5A real hand (left) is interpreted as a collection of vertices and lines in the 3D mesh version (right), and the software uses their relative position and interaction in order to infer the gesture. (from Gesture recognition)
Image 7The user interacts directly with hardware for the human input and output such as displays, e.g. through a graphical user interface. The user interacts with the computer over this software interface using the given input and output (I/O) hardware. Software and hardware are matched so that the processing of the user input is fast enough, and the latency of the computer output is not disruptive to the workflow. (from Human–computer interaction)
Image 8Some alternative methods of tracking and analyzing gestures, and their respective relationships (from Gesture recognition)
Image 11The skeletal version (right) is effectively modeling the hand (left). This has fewer parameters than the volumetric version and it's easier to compute, making it suitable for real-time gesture analysis systems. (from Gesture recognition)
Image 14A child's hand location and movement being detected by a gesture recognition algorithm (from Gesture recognition)
Image 15Middleware usually processes gesture recognition, then sends the results to the user. (from Gesture recognition)
Image 16These binary silhouette(left) or contour(right) images represent typical input for appearance-based algorithms. They are compared with different hand templates and if they match, the correspondent gesture is inferred. (from Gesture recognition)
Image 17Paramount for the sensation of immersion into virtual reality are a high frame rate and low latency.
Image 18In theory, VR represents a participant's field of view (yellow area). (from Virtual reality)