CS 656 - Advanced Interactive Systems

Will cover advanced architectures and techniques for user interface design. In particular we will cover speech, gesture and textual interfaces. We will focus on digital ink, speech, camera and physical object interfaces. The underlying recognition and organizational algorithms will be discussed. An, of course, there will be lots of Java code to write.

The text materials are primary papers drawn from ACM's digital library. You will need a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader. The papers are also supplemented with chapters from an unpublished text. The reading assignments are given in the class calendar along with links to the materials online.

10% Class participation

Class time will primarily be spent in discussions. It will be assumed that each student has read the assignment for that day and thought about the issues in reading. A large part of class time will consist of the instructor asking questions of various students. If you are well prepared, this can be an enjoyable interchange. If you are not well prepared, it can be difficult. There are no wrong answers to the instructor's questions, only prepared or unprepared. If you didn't understand, we can learn together. If you are not prepared, we are wasting time.

For some reading assignments there is written homework due at the start of class. These count as part of your class participation. Check the class schedule for when these are due. They are marked with the icon. Each homework assignment consistes of writing 1/2 page (10 point font or less) that answers the following questions about the reading.

• What is the problem they are trying to solve?
• Why is the problem important and to whom is it important?
• What are the key insights, algorithms, data, experiments or techniques that they offer?
• How do they evaluate their solutions and is their evaluation flawed in some way

45% Programs

45% Exams

• 12% Exam 1
• 12% Exam 2
• 21% Final exam

For each exam you may bring an 8.5x11 sheet of paper with anything you want written on one side only.

• 3% - Simple ink input tool - due Jan 14
• 9% - Graffitti recognizer - due Feb 6
• 9% - Facades - due Feb 20
• 9% - Camera hand tracker - due Mar 10
• 10% - Hand gesture recognizer - due Mar 26
• 5% - Speech interface - due Apr 14

Computers:

It does not matter what machine you use to implement your assignments. However, your code must be passed off on a Windows PC. Java is supposedly portable but is actually not in subtle ways. DO NOT WAIT until the last minute to make certain your code runs under Windows.

Passoff

All programs are turned in through Blackboard. There is a mechanism to upload files attached to each assignment. You must submit a zip file containing the source code, the compiled class files and any other files necessary to run your program. Your zip file should be named [programnumber][lastname][firstinitial].zip. All submissions should contain a README.TXT file that contains: your name, your email address and the command line to run your program from your root directory.

Late Policy

Programs are due 1/2 hour before class starts on the day the assignment is due. Program loose 10% per week up to a maximum of 40%. There is no way to pass the class by putting everything off until the end. Employers want to know that you can get stuff done on time. Your grade will reflect that.

• ALL PROGRAMS ARE DUE BY NOON ON THE LAST DAY OF CLASS. No late submissions after that time.

Cheating Policy

All programming assignments (unless specifically indicated otherwise) are individual projects. They are designed to test your individual mastery of the material.

Students are encouraged to talk to each other, to the TAs, to the instructor or to search online for ideas and understanding that will help solve the programming assignment. However, the code should be your own. Copying from anyone else or from the internet is a violation of the Honor Code and will be dealt with as such.

 

Richard Arthur

Brian Whitmer

Office hours - 3331 TMCB

MWF - 10-2

TTh - 1-5

Role of Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants are provided to help you with your assignments and to do grading. They cannot debug your programs. They can answer questions and give explanations but your code is generally too complex for them to help much.

If you have a problem with how one of your assignments was graded, contact the TAs first and if you are not satisfied, talk to the instructor. If you have a question about requirements for a problem email the instructor. To prevent confusion, theTAs have been asked not to interpret requirements.