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University of Maryland Human–Computer Interaction Lab

{{Short description|Research lab at the University of Maryland, College Park}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Human-Computer Interaction Lab

| logo = HCIL logo cropped.png

| abbreviation = HCIL

| formation = 1983

| founder = Ben Shneiderman

| leader_title = Director

| leader_name = Jessica Vitak

| headquarters = Hornbake Library, College Park, Maryland

| parent_organization = University of Maryland, College Park

| affiliations = University of Maryland College of Information Studies,

University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS)

| website = {{url|https://hcil.umd.edu}}

}}

The Human–Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) at the University of Maryland, College Park is an academic research center specializing in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Founded in 1983 by Ben Shneiderman, it is one of the oldest HCI labs of its kind.{{Cite web|title=Biography {{!}} Niklas Elmqvist, Ph.D.|url=https://sites.umiacs.umd.edu/elm/about/biography/|access-date=2020-12-08|language=en-US}} The HCIL conducts research on the design, implementation, and evaluation of computer interface technologies. Additional research focuses on the development of user interfaces and design methods.{{Cite web|title=HCIL Overview|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/hcil-overview/|access-date=December 2, 2020}} Primary activities of the HCIL include collaborative research, publication and the sponsorship of open houses, workshops and annual symposiums.{{Cite web|title=Event Archive – HCIL|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/event-archive/|access-date=2020-12-06|language=en-US}}

Being interdisciplinary in nature, HCIL collaborates on a broader basis with several academic departments and schools, with faculty and students from Information Studies, Computer Science, Education, English, Business, and Psychology.{{Cite web|title=Collaborating Groups and People – HCIL|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/collaborating-groups-and-people/|access-date=2020-12-08|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Faculty – HCIL|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/faculty-staff/|access-date=2020-12-08|language=en-US}} Currently, the lab is jointly supported by the College of Information Studies (iSchool) and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS).

Research affiliated with the HCIL has led to several digital design principles based on Shneiderman's theory of direct manipulation. Early research contributions on hypertext, particularly hyperlinking, are popular UI design elements still widely used today.{{Cite journal|last1=Marchionini|first1=G.|last2=Shneiderman|first2=B.|date=January 1988|title=Finding facts vs. browsing knowledge in hypertext systems|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/222119|journal=Computer|volume=21|issue=1|pages=70–80|doi=10.1109/2.222119|s2cid=6069896 |issn=1558-0814|access-date=2020-12-08}}{{Cite web|title=The Invention of Hyperlinks|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/seeing-what-others-dont/201801/the-invention-hyperlinks|access-date=2020-12-08|website=Psychology Today|language=en-US}} In 1989, the lab developed high-precision touchscreen applications for small keyboards that are now widely used on smartphones.Sears, A., Shneiderman, B. (August 1989). International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, (1991) 34, 4, 593-613. [https://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/trs/89-17/89-17_revised.pdf "High precision touchscreens: design strategies and comparisons with a mouse"] HCIL-89-17, CS-TR-2268, CAR-TR-450 Information visualization research on dynamic queries in the early 1990s led to the commercial Spotfire product{{Cite web|title=Dynamic queries, starfield displays, and the path to Spotfire|url=https://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/spotfire/|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.cs.umd.edu}} and treemapping strategies.{{cite journal|doi=10.1145/102377.115768|title=Tree visualization with tree-maps: 2-d space-filling approach|journal=ACM Transactions on Graphics|volume=11|pages=92–99|year=1992|last1=Shneiderman|first1=Ben|hdl=1903/367|s2cid=1369287|hdl-access=free}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemap-history/index.shtml |title=Treemaps for space-constrained visualization of hierarchies ~ Including the History of Treemap Research at the University of Maryland|author=Ben Shneiderman |author2=Catherine Plaisant |date=June 25, 2009 |access-date=February 23, 2010|author2-link=Catherine Plaisant|author-link=Ben Shneiderman}} Notable developments in HCI within the 21st century include interfaces for digital libraries, multimedia resources for learning communities, and zooming user interfaces (ZUIs). Later contributions include technology design methodologies for children, mobile and pen-based computing, network analysis and visualization using NodeXL, and event analytics{{Cite web|title=EventFlow: Visual Analysis of Temporal Event Sequences and Advanced Strategies for Healthcare Discovery – HCIL|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/eventflow/}} for electronic patient histories.{{Cite web|title=HCIL History – HCIL|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/hcil-history/|access-date=2020-12-08|language=en-US}} Developments and research projects for each year are showcased at the lab's annual HCIL Symposium.{{Cite web|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/events/event/299/|title=2020 Symposium – HCIL}}

{{As of|2021|9}}, the lab is directed by Jessica Vitak. Its previous directors are Ben Shneiderman (1983-2000), Ben Bederson (2000-2006), Allison Druin (2006–2011), Jen Golbeck (2011-2015), Mona Leigh Guha (interim director 2015), June Ahn (2015-2016), Niklas Elmqvist (2016-2021) and Catherine Plaisant (acting director 1996).

Contributions

= Direct manipulation =

Ben Shneiderman's theory of direct manipulation led to innovations in digital interface design, many developed under the HCIL. Direct manipulation interactions, in contrast to other interaction styles, require that objects of interest are represented as distinguishable objects in the UI and are manipulated in a direct fashion.{{Cite book|url=https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-glossary-of-human-computer-interaction/interaction-styles|title=Interaction Styles|language=en}} In other words, direct manipulation tools provide a user with a visually-intuitive method to manipulate that object. Direct manipulation is characterized by four main principles: continuous representation of the object of interest; physical actions instead of complex syntax; rapid, incremental, and reversible operations whose impact on the object of interest is immediately visible; and layered or spiral approach to learning that permits usage with minimal knowledge.Shneiderman, B. (1993). 1.1 direct manipulation: a step beyond programming languages. Sparks of innovation in human-computer interaction, 17, 1993. A famous example is the File Explorer, which is used to manage applications in the Microsoft Windows Operating System. In contrast to the command line interaction style, applications are abstractly represented as "files", while groups of files are collected in "folders". File abstractions, for instance, can be dragged and dropped into folders to manage and organize programs in an intuitive and visual manner.

= Touchscreens =

From 1988 to 1991, the HCIL worked on a series of projects regarding the use of touchscreens. These projects explored direct manipulation designs to improve the accuracy, precision, and usability of touchscreen technologies.{{Cite web|title=touchscreens|url=https://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/touchscreens/|access-date=2020-12-11|website=www.cs.umd.edu}} At the time, touchscreen technology was imprecise and was generally "limited to targets larger than the average finger". Originally, corresponding actions from the touch of a finger were performed immediately on the screen (known as the "first touch" or "land on" strategy"), which would frequently lead to wrong target selections and calibration issues. The "lift-off" strategy was developed as an alternative technique for selection; this technique provides feedback for selection when a user's finger is on the screen, and select that target when the finger is lifted. After implementing a cursor slightly above a user's finger during selection, this effectively allowed a user's finger to replace a computer mouse.{{cite conference|last1=Potter|first1=R.|last2=Weldon|first2=L.|last3=Shneiderman|first3=B.|title=Improving the accuracy of touch screens: an experimental evaluation of three strategies|conference=Proc. of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI '88|location=Washington, DC|pages=27–32|doi=10.1145/57167.57171|url=http://www.cs.umd.edu/localphp/hcil/tech-reports-search.php?number=88-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208121730/http://www.cs.umd.edu/localphp/hcil/tech-reports-search.php?number=88-04|archive-date=2015-12-08}} The "lift-off" strategy is still used in many touchscreen devices today, including the Apple iPhone.

In 1988, HCIL partnered with companies Elographic and Microtouch to build a high-precision touchscreen by integrating stabilizing techniques with the "lift-off" strategy into their touchscreen drivers. From then on, high-precision technology in touchscreens was possible.89-17 - Sears, A., Shneiderman, B. (June 1989). "High precision touchscreens: design strategies and comparisons with a mouse", International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, (1991) 34, 4, 593-613. Using a combination of hyperTIES and high-precision touchscreen technology, it's believed that the HCIL developed the world's first touchscreen museum kiosk. A large-scale test of touchscreens was conducted that spring for the Caesarea (King Herod's Dream) Exhibit, a Smithsonian exhibit on archaeology.90-09  Plaisant, C. (Nov. 1990). "Guide to opportunities in volunteer archaeology - case study of the use of a hypertext system in a museum exhibit", CS-TR-2559, CAR-TR-523 Hypertext/Hypermedia Handbook, Berk E. & Devlin, J., Eds., McGraw-Hill (1991) 498-505. Development with touchscreens continued the following year with development of the Online Public Access Catalog for the Library of Congress.Marchionini, G., Ashley, M., & Korzendorfer, L. (1993). 5.3 ACCESS at the Library of Congress. Sparks of Innovation in Human-Computer Interaction, 251.

Using direct manipulation interfaces through touchscreens, HCIL worked on two projects from 1988 to 1989: development of a home automation system in collaboration with American Voice and Robotics,89-18  Plaisant, C., Shneiderman, B. (revised Feb. 1991). "Scheduling home control devices: design issues and usability evaluation of four touchscreen interfaces", CS-TR-2352, CAR-TR-472. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies (1992) 36, 375-393. and experimentation with toggles (buttons, sliders, etc.) on touchscreens.90-08  Plaisant, C., Wallace, D. (Nov. 1990). "Touchscreen toggle switches: push or slide? Design issues and usability study", CS-TR-2557, CAR-TR-521 These projects introduced novel examples of how touchscreens can be used: selecting zones on maps, button type toggles, sliding toggles, and manipulation of calendar and time interfaces. In 2015, HCIL's "sliding" direct manipulation tool{{cite web|title=1991 video of the HCIL touchscreen toggle switches (University of Maryland)| website=YouTube | date=30 November 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFWbdxicvK0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/wFWbdxicvK0 |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|access-date=9 December 2020}}{{cbignore}} was cited as prior art in Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronic Co., Ltd, which contested the patents of the "slide-to-unlock" lock screen feature on Apple devices.{{cite web |url=http://cand.uscourts.gov/lhk/applevsamsung |title=Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al. |publisher=United States District Court, Northern District of California |access-date=August 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729022822/http://cand.uscourts.gov/lhk/applevsamsung |archive-date=July 29, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

= Information visualization =

HCIL developed three early applications of dynamic queries from 1991 to 1993.{{Cite web|title=Dynamic queries, starfield displays, and the path to Spotfire|url=https://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/spotfire/|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.cs.umd.edu}} These applications include a chemical table of elements,Ahlberg, C., Williamson, C., & Shneiderman, B. (1992, June). Dynamic queries for information exploration: An implementation and evaluation. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 619-626). a real estate HomeFinder,Williamson, C., & Shneiderman, B. (1992, June). The Dynamic HomeFinder: Evaluating dynamic queries in a real-estate information exploration system. In Proceedings of the 15th annual international ACM SIGIR conference on Research and development in information retrieval (pp. 338-346). and a cancer atlas.Plaisant, C. (1993). Facilitating data exploration: Dynamic queries on a health statistics map. In Proc. of the Government Statistics Section, Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Assoc. Conf. Proc, pg. These queries incorporate direct manipulation through dynamic sliders with a range of dates and a dynamically updating map. Chris Ahlberg, a major contributor on HomeFinder, left the lab and created Spotfire several years later in 1996.

Events and outreach

HCIL collaborates with other departments, centers and labs on campus. It hosts academic and industrial visitors, and works closely with project sponsors.

The HCIL has hosted its annual symposium every year since the lab's inception. The symposium showcases developments, publications, and research projects for that year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HCIL's 37th and 38th Annual Symposium were hosted virtually.

Notable current and former members <ref>{{Cite web|title=Past Members and PhD Alumni – HCIL|url=https://hcil.umd.edu/phd-alumni/}}</ref>

References

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Human-Computer Interaction Lab

Category:University and college laboratories in the United States

Category:Computer science research organizations

Category:Human–computer interaction

Category:Research institutes in Maryland