ITR - (EVS+ASE) - (int+sim): Rapid Evaluation of User Interfaces in Multitasking Environments

在过去的十年里，我们目睹了计算设备和界面从桌面到真实的世界的多任务环境的惊人激增。 在这个项目中，PI将开发一个严格的计算架构，任务集成建模（TIM）架构，以及在复杂的多任务环境中评估用户界面的相关方法。 TIM架构集中于在多任务环境的上下文中将行为的认知模型与界面集成，使用“认知架构”来表示和模拟用户的认知和行为。 基于这些模型，该架构允许设计人员通过快速原型设计、任务演示、集成模型创建和计算仿真等阶段快速评估新接口。 架构背后的理论和系统本身不仅要考虑人类多任务处理的各个方面，还要考虑个体差异，从而促进对一系列用户群体的鲁棒建模。 作为该架构的测试领域，该项目将专注于驾驶领域，特别是车辆中设备接口的使用以及对不同驾驶员人群的研究（例如，年轻人与年长的司机）。 PI将为新的车载界面实施快速开发和评估系统，以尽量减少驾驶员对这些界面的潜在分心。 此外，还将建立软件应用程序、工具包和认知模型的互联网共享图书馆，以便向学术研究人员以及工业设计人员和开发人员传播和使用。通过与学术研究人员和行业专家的合作，PI将严格解决驾驶员分心的问题（目前是美国撞车事故的主要原因），帮助探索分心的来源，并帮助设计严格的方法来提高我们的车辆和道路的安全性。 开发的计算基础设施不仅将推进我们对人类认知的理论理解，而且还将在现实世界的实际系统中实现这些理论。 该项目将涉及不同的人群，直接包括在研究工作和夏季研讨会代表性不足的群体，并通过探索个体差异如何影响界面使用和多任务处理间接。 在当地，相关的教育计划将在德雷克塞尔大学开设人机交互，认知系统和非桌面计算的新课程，每年为大约40-50名学生提供统一的HCI课程，在HCI轨道上，甚至在整个计算机科学系和大学都有更多。 PI还将为费城西部的高中生举办年度教育和实践人机交互研讨会，重点关注这些社区代表性不足的少数族裔人口，希望激发和激励这些学生继续深造和职业生涯在与人和技术相关的领域。

Over the past decade we have witnessed an astounding surge in computing devices and interfaces off the desktop and into the multi-tasking environments of the real world. In this project, the PI will develop a rigorous computational architecture, the Task-Integrated-Modeling (TIM) architecture, and an associated methodology for evaluating user interfaces in complex multitasking environments. The TIM architecture centers on integrating cognitive models of behavior with the interface in the context of the multitasking environment, using "cognitive architectures" to represent and simulate user cognition and behavior. Based on these models, the architecture allows a designer to rapidly evaluate new interfaces through stages of rapid prototyping, task demonstration, integrated model creation, and computational simulation. The theory behind the architecture and the system itself will account not only for various aspects of human multitasking but also of individual differences, facilitating robust modeling of a range of user populations. As a test domain for the architecture, the project will focus on the domain of driving, particularly the use of device interfaces in the vehicle and the study of different driver populations (e.g., younger vs. older drivers). The PI will implement a rapid development and evaluation system for new in-vehicle interfaces that attempts to minimize potential driver distraction from these interfaces. In addition, shared Internet libraries of software applications, toolkits, and cognitive models will be created, for dissemination to and use by academic researchers as well as industry designers and developers.Broader Impacts: Through collaborations with academic researchers and industry experts, the PI will rigorously address the problem of driver distraction (currently the leading cause of crashes in the United States), helping to explore the sources of distraction and helping to devise rigorous methods of improving the safety of our vehicles and roadways. The computational infrastructure developed will not only advance our theoretical understanding of human cognition, but also realize these theories in real-world practical systems. The project will involve diverse populations, directly by including under-represented groups in research work and summer workshops, and indirectly by exploring how individual differences may affect interface use and multi-tasking. Locally, the related education plan will result in new courses in human-computer interaction, cognitive systems, and off-the-desktop computing at Drexel University, providing a unified HCI curriculum for roughly 40-50 students per year in the HCI track and even more across the Computer Science Department and the University as a whole. The PI will also initiate an annual educational and hands-on HCI workshop for high-school students in West Philadelphia, focusing on the under-represented minority populations in these neighborhoods, in the hope of exciting and inspiring these students to pursue further education and careers in fields related to people and technology.