Advances in Human-computer Interaction 

About: Advances in Human-computer Interaction is an academic journal published by Hindawi Publishing Corporation. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Usability & Computer science. It has an ISSN identifier of 1687-5893. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 247 publications have been published receiving 5535 citations.

Assessment in and of serious games: an overview

Abstract: There is a consensus that serious games have a significant potential as a tool for instruction. However, their effectiveness in terms of learning outcomes is still understudied mainly due to the complexity involved in assessing intangible measures. A systematic approach--based on established principles and guidelines--is necessary to enhance the design of serious games, and many studies lack a rigorous assessment. An important aspect in the evaluation of serious games, like other educational tools, is user performance assessment. This is an important area of exploration because serious games are intended to evaluate the learning progress as well as the outcomes. This also emphasizes the importance of providing appropriate feedback to the player. Moreover, performance assessment enables adaptivity and personalization to meet individual needs in various aspects, such as learning styles, information provision rates, feedback, and so forth. This paper first reviews related literature regarding the educational effectiveness of serious games. It then discusses how to assess the learning impact of serious games and methods for competence and skill assessment. Finally, it suggests two major directions for future research: characterization of the player's activity and better integration of assessment in games.

A review of mobile robotic telepresence

Abstract: Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems incorporate video conferencing equipment onto mobile robot devices which can be steered from remote locations. These systems, which are primarily used in the context of promoting social interaction between people, are becoming increasingly popular within certain application domains such as health care environments, independent living for the elderly, and office environments. In this paper, an overview of the various systems, application areas, and challenges found in the literature concerning mobile robotic telepresence is provided. The survey also proposes a set terminology for the field as there is currently a lack of standard terms for the different concepts related to MRP systems. Further, this paper provides an outlook on the various research directions for developing and enhancing mobile robotic telepresence systems per se, as well as evaluating the interaction in laboratory and field settings. Finally, the survey outlines a number of design implications for the future of mobile robotic telepresence systems for social interaction.

The Impact of an Augmented Reality Application on Learning Motivation of Students

Abstract: The research on augmented reality applications in education is still in an early stage, and there is a lack of research on the effects and implications of augmented reality in the field of education. The purpose of this research was to measure and understand the impact of an augmented reality mobile application on the learning motivation of undergraduate health science students at the University of Cape Town. We extend previous research that looked specifically at the impact of augmented reality technology on student learning motivation. The intrinsic motivation theory was used to explain motivation in the context of learning. The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) model guided the understanding of the impact of augmented reality on student motivation, and the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey was used to design the research instrument. The research examined the differences in student learning motivation before and after using the augmented reality mobile application. A total of 78 participants used the augmented reality mobile application and completed the preusage and postusage questionnaires. The results showed that using an augmented reality mobile application increased the learning motivation of students. The attention, satisfaction, and confidence factors of motivation were increased, and these results were found to be significant. Although the relevance factor showed a decrease it proved to be insignificant.

A review of hybrid brain-computer interface systems

Abstract: Increasing number of research activities and different types of studies in brain-computer interface (BCI) systems show potential in this young research area. Research teams have studied features of different data acquisition techniques, brain activity patterns, feature extraction techniques, methods of classifications, and many other aspects of a BCI system. However, conventional BCIs have not become totally applicable, due to the lack of high accuracy, reliability, low information transfer rate, and user acceptability. A new approach to create a more reliable BCI that takes advantage of each system is to combine two or more BCI systems with different brain activity patterns or different input signal sources. This type of BCI, called hybrid BCI, may reduce disadvantages of each conventional BCI system. In addition, hybrid BCIs may create more applications and possibly increase the accuracy and the information transfer rate. However, the type of BCIs and their combinations should be considered carefully. In this paper, after introducing several types of BCIs and their combinations, we review and discuss hybrid BCIs, different possibilities to combine them, and their advantages and disadvantages.

Emotion on the road: necessity, acceptance, and feasibility of affective computing in the car

Abstract: Besides reduction of energy consumption, which implies alternate actuation and light construction, the main research domain in automobile development in the near future is dominated by driver assistance and natural driver-car communication. The ability of a car to understand natural speech and provide a human-like driver assistance system can be expected to be a factor decisive for market success on par with automatic driving systems. Emotional factors and affective states are thereby crucial for enhanced safety and comfort. This paper gives an extensive literature overview on work related to influence of emotions on driving safety and comfort, automatic recognition, control of emotions, and improvement of in-car interfaces by affect sensitive technology. Various use-case scenarios are outlined as possible applications for emotion-oriented technology in the vehicle. The possible acceptance of such future technology by drivers is assessed in a Wizard-Of-Oz user study, and feasibility of automatically recognising various driver states is demonstrated by an example system for monitoring driver attentiveness. Thereby an accuracy of 91.3% is reported for classifying in real-time whether the driver is attentive or distracted.