Every day, huge numbers of people interact with information, and each other, via a diverse set of systems that combine computing and communication. These systems include, but are not limited to, desktop computers, computer clusters, the internet, mobile devices (e.g. phones, tablets, smart watches), cameras, smart homes and vehicles. While the amount of digital information available inexorably increases, our systems remain less usable and useful than they should be, with problems at the interface between human and system unaddressed.
It is of critical importance to design and implement new interfaces and interactions that enable humans to communicate more efficiently with each other and with a range of technologies. This involves creating new kinds of human-machine interfaces based on new modalities such as gestures, biometric sensors and multi-modal input devices, developing new ways of displaying information so that people can understand and explore information to acquire insight, and studying how we design and implement interfaces.
Within Scotland, we have a range of world-leading expertise that address the difficult research problems in Human-Computer Interaction. There is a broad range of internationally leading research, published and presented at premier venues, considering new modalities of interacting and accessing information, representing information, and studying and new methodologies for information system design.
The SICSA HCI Theme encompasses over 36 individual research groups at 12 Scottish Universities. Among the activities that we carry out every year are workshops on specific topics, an all-hands meeting with external speakers and group presentations, a pre-CHI day in which ACM CHI contributions are previewed for the local community and a doctoral consortium for PhD students. We also maintain a low-traffic and high-relevance mailing list of over 300 academics and welcome proposals to fund local events in Scotland.
Please complete a proposal and email to sicsa@glasgow.ac.uk if you wish to organise a HCI theme activity or event.
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Human-Computer Interaction & Interactive Technology Theme Leads
Dr Mary Ellen Foster
University of Glasgow
Dr Mike Crabb
University of Dundee