Introduction to HCI

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is the cooperative relationship between human and machine. Machines are designed in such a way to make it easy for the human to interact with. In order to properly design a machine, relevant studies in communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, cognitive psychology and human performance are important. On the other hand, human needs to be specially trained in techniques like computer graphics, operating systems and programming languages to program a machine. I think most of the people in the class who are computer scientists or engineers, fall into the latter part. Extraordinary engineering and programming always supports a good HCI system, but no matter how sophisticated the engineering is, people always rejected if it is not user friendly (for example amazon kindle, macbook air, etc.). That’s why this lecture is so important as it will train us to design applications from users point of view.

I like the idea of how HCI can be compared with the supply and demand theory of economics. Design in HCI can be divided into 2 parts – user centered and activity centered. an existing model can be made more user friendly, achieving perfection. On the other side, some devices like scissor is made to perform its job, HCI doesn’t have much to do with this. HCI focuses on requirements i.e. to ascertain user needs.

 Let’s bring an example of a success story- Nintendo Wii! The recent unleashing of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation3 and Nintendo’s Wii  have started a new generation of game console war between the three giants in the video-gaming industry. But, Nintendo’s Wii has successfully differentiated itself from its rivals by an innovative motion-sensing controller (Wii Remote). Wii made gaming so intuitive that a 60-year-old grandpa can play games with 6-year-old grandson. One no longer needs to memorize button combinations while playing video games. The use of Wii is so versatile that it is now even used to warm up the surgeons before surgery or help a patient in rehab.

 But the hardcore gamers and game critics didn’t like this user friendly idea of wii. They still stick with Microsoft Xbox or Sony PS3 which have arguably the best raw computing power and the Blu-Ray feature which has the way better graphics than Wii.

Another example I can come up with is the treadmill. Last night, while working out I found this very sophisticated treadmill which has got all sort of workup program installed. But after standing on it, it took me around 5 minutes to program the desired workout and start running. This is definitely an HCI use which should have been solved while designing the control panel of the device.

Posted by Gazi