People and machines

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Definition

People and machines is a concept that includes all of the issues that relate to how people interact with machines. The main issues include, User Interface Design, and usability. From a computer science perspective, the focus is on interaction, specifically on interaction between one or more humans and one or more computational machines.<ref>http://sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html#2_1</ref>

Layman's Definition

People and machines is the interaction between people and machines. It involves how products, like computers, are designed to help the user interact. In other words, it has to do with how people use technology.

Events

The mouse is an important device used in every day computer interaction.

Operating Systems are large examples of user interface design. Windows was a major landmark in the interaction between people and machines.

CAD allows users to sketch and design objects. This system shows how we can use computers to design other technologies.

User Interface Design

User Interface Design (UID) allows the user to interact with the machine, and makes communicating simpler. The relationship between people and machines involves the ways in which users interact with computers. A common example of how people interact with machines is a graphical user interface. GUIs allow for better interaction between the user and the machine by increasing usability. The main purpose of the interface is to allow a person to input information, and receive an output. For instance, a user inputs information, clicks a button, and gets some sort of response, which is the output. Most products are complex in design, and require a more basic interface to make it usable.<ref>http://www.usernomics.com/user-interface-design.html</ref>

Usability

An important aspect of interaction between humans and machines is the usability of the machine. Usability involves how efficiently a machine can be accessed by a user. Usability addresses the relationship between tools and their users.<ref>http://www.usabilityfirst.com/intro/index.txl</ref> Usability is one of the focuses of the field of Human-Computer Interaction. As the name suggests, usability has to do with bridging the gap between people and machines.<ref>http://www.usabilityfirst.com/intro/index.txl</ref>

Human-Computer Interaction

Companies use Human-Computer interaction (HCI) to sell their products. The easier and more efficient the machine is to use, the more the customer would want to buy it. The emphasis placed on Human-Computer interaction is to design products to make using a computer more efficient.

Human-Computer interaction is also a graduate program, offered at some universities. The goal of the program is to "understand and create technology that harmonizes with and improves human capabilities, goals, and social environments through interdisciplinary research and education in design, computer science, and behavioral and social sciences."<ref>http://www.hcii.cmu.edu/</ref>

See Also

List of Human-Computer Interaction Topics<br>

Green racing car

MADDEN 10 ON Iphone

HCI 2


[1]


Salt and Paper Battery

  • In Sweden they made a battery out of salt and cellulose that's going to replace the battery for the low-power devices.

References

Human-Computer interaction (HCI)<br> <references/>

Authors

Daniel Veizaga <br> Paul Vu