{"id":23139,"date":"2019-02-15T11:33:23","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T09:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/?p=23139"},"modified":"2023-08-08T16:03:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T14:03:35","slug":"what-is-human-computer-interaction-hci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/what-is-human-computer-interaction-hci\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) ?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The last decade has seen incredible leaps and bounds<\/strong> in the world of computing: 3D printers that can print other 3D printers, virtual and augmented reality applications can whisk a user away to new worlds, and voice-controlled devices can tell give you details about the weather and traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniela Rus, Professor and Director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), not only is a promoter of HCI, but believes wholeheartedly in its pivotal role in shaping our future. As she says; \u201cFuture human-computer interactions will make it much easier for people and machines to work together. It will make it possible for machines to support people in cognitive tasks as well as physical tasks. The future holds a lot of possibilities for people and machines working together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From automatically dishing out soap in the restroom to controlling the air-fuel ratio in your car\u2019s engine, computers are everywhere<\/strong>. We interact with them constantly\u2014some more than others\u2014and the interaction is, unfortunately, not always as easy as we hope for. Can you remember the last time you got frustrated with your phone for auto-correcting the wrong word, the coffee machine at work refusing to follow instructions, or that notoriously slow automatic door at the mall? If you can, that device suffered from poor Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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HCI is focused mainly on developing empirical understandings of users…<\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The definition of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) needs to remain quite broad, as it now covers almost all forms of information technology (IT).1<\/sup> HCI is the study of designing computers and machines so that they best serve their users (i.e. humans). HCI is closely related to the field of User Experience (UX) design and is considered by many to be the forefather of this more modern approach.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this common link, HCI differs from the more widely-recognised UX design<\/strong> in that its main focus is academic. Where UX designers will be charged with building new human-focused applications, products or services, HCI practitioners are more concerned with the research. This means HCI is focused mainly on developing empirical understandings of users, which can then help to inform the work of on-the-ground UX designers.3<\/sup> That\u2019s why HCI is the window through which the future of UX can be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does HCI matter?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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HCI is the study of how computers and machines can serve us better<\/strong>. It might sound simple, but this field is so fast-moving and exciting in the 21st century that it\u2019s helped to bring around some of our proudest inventions, like virtual reality, self-driving cars, and all of your beloved touch screen technology.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kind of information that HCI practitioners compile is used to constantly refine the world of UX design.5<\/sup> Without constant testing, polling, and data gathering, the concept of intuitive computer usability will stagnate, and IT products, like phones and laptops, will continue to be designed in ways that fall short in serving the end user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a strange thing that in software, perhaps we\u2019ve been so insensitive to our users that we\u2019ve had to invent this term. But the truth is that user interaction design is the very essence of design.\u201d \u2014 Daniel Jackson, Professor of Computer Science, MIT CSAIL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human-Computer Interaction enables UX and User Interface (UI) designers all over the world to produce better, more user-focused computers, helping every consumer of that product or service. From ensuring machines continue to operate in safe, secure and user-friendly ways, to allowing users of all abilities to interact with computers, HCI is invaluable in making sure that computers are designed for successful and intuitive human use<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did HCI develop and evolve?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The field of Human-Computer Interaction has grown tremendously since its inception…<\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The first personal computers (PCs) initially required extensive training to use them properly, and unsurprisingly suffered from a vast amount of user experience flaws<\/strong>. Simple tasks, such as moving the cursor or deleting text, were never-before-seen challenges presented to users\u2014all of which presented significant hurdles to the usability of the computer.6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is when HCI came along, in the early 1980s, as an attempt to study how and why computers could be made more user-friendly. The field of study quickly grew to cover almost all forms of IT. While it initially addressed issues that only first-time users of products would face, HCI evolved to include considerations for qualities such as:7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Fun\/user enjoyment<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Well-being (i.e. a device that enables addiction or simply creates too much dependency on it would be considered poor for a user\u2019s well-being)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Collective efficacy (meaning that \u201cthe assurance a person places in his or her team affects the team’s overall performance\u201d)8<\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Flow (how users make use of and\/or move through an interface)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Support for human development<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Although the field of Human-Computer Interaction has grown tremendously since its inception, it will continue to evolve as more is discovered about both users and computers. This is because HCI can only be so good as our understanding of ourselves is\u2014as philosophers and behaviour psychologists delve deeper into understanding how and why we as humans act, HCI can evolve accordingly, to create devices and machines that are ever more closely linked to our human psyches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What is the future of Human-Computer Interaction?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Looking into the potential of where HCI might lead us can feel as if you\u2019re diving into a sci-fi novel. That\u2019s because, naturally, HCI wants technology to be as normal and easily accessible in our day-to-day life as possible, which creates a window into a seemingly futuristic world.9<\/sup> The latest prototypes that companies around the world are using HCI theories to develop, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Dexta haptic gloves<\/strong> were invented to mimic touch sensations of hardness, softness, springiness, and more, when using virtual reality. The gloves simulate these sensations by locking and unlocking the user\u2019s fingers\u2019 joints to different degrees as they interact with objects with their VR experience.10<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n