The Back of an Envelope: An Architecture for Knowledge Based Design Environment

人们画图表和素描来探索想法，理解问题，产生替代方案，并进行交流。然而，今天基于菜单和文本的人机界面并没有利用这种常用的方式。信封项目的背面旨在支持手绘作为基于知识的设计工具的接口。它采用了手势识别、视觉语言解释和基于笔的计算方面的进步，并探索了如何结合这些技术来为最终用户应用程序构建绘图界面。信封背面有三个具体目标：开发一个使用手绘与基于计算机的设计工具进行交流的框架，构建一个将绘图界面与设计工具联系起来的工作原型，以及评估原型在设计工作室和课堂环境中的性能。该项目还旨在阐明图形交流在解决问题和设计中所起的作用。该项目的意义在于，它扩大了终端用户可用模式的范围，通过手绘增强了传统的文本和菜单界面。这使设计师能够在设计过程的早期使用计算机辅助设计工具，当他们绘制草图和绘制图表时。除了计算机辅助设计，信封接口框架的背面还可以用于其他问题求解应用。

People draw diagrams and sketch to explore ideas, understand problems, generate alternatives, and communicate. However, today's menu and text based human-computer interfaces do not take advantage of this commonly used modality. The Back of an Envelope project aims to support freehand drawing as an interface to knowledge based design tools. It employs advances in gesture recognition, interpretation of visual languages, and pen based computing, and explores how to combine these technologies to build drawing interfaces for end user applications. The Back of an Envelope has three specific objectives: develop a framework for using freehand drawing to communicate with computer-based design tools, construct a working prototype that links a drawing interface with design tools, and assess the prototype's performance in design studios and classroom settings. The project also aims to elucidate roles that graphical communication plays in problem-solving and design. The project's significance is that it expands the range of modalities available to end users, enhancing traditional text and menu interfaces with freehand drawing. This enables designers to employ computer aided design tools earlier in a design process, when they are sketching and making diagrams. Besides computer aided design, the Back of an Envelope interface framework can be employed in other problem solving applications.