The research of the Interactive Systems group aims at understanding and improving the myriad ways that computing now serves humanity. The group operates across traditional discipline boundaries, but crucially sees interactive systems from the point of view of their users. So one major aim is to understand how to make the experience of using computing systems both productive and pleasant.
The group's research has the following foci:
- The visual input to and output from systems: graphics, multimedia, animation, motion capture, virtual reality.
- Technology in human music making, and the creation of music with computers.
- The role of the human in a world increasingly dominated by interactions with computer systems of all kinds: pervasive/ubiquitous sensors, wireless networks, tangible and handheld devices.
- The development of technology to enhance learning: knowledge and skills, metacognition, motivation and affect.
These research foci are explored through various aspects of human computer interaction:
- The capture of the affective and cognitive experience of creating and appreciating music, of playing computer games, of engaging in learning, and of working within virtual and augmented reality environments.
- The design of systems and tools through user-centred methodologies that encourage joyful as well as effective interactions.
- The development of theory to account for both the human and the computer sides of interactivity.
The work spans a number of traditional academic disciplines, including computer science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, psychology, music, sociology and anthropology.
The group is organised into three labs: