An Intelligent Environment (IE) is a space where ordinary human activities mix seamlessly with computation in a way that enhances the functions of both. Such spaces are generally used to study different forms of natural, multimodal human-computer interaction (HCI) while using the system in ways that do not necessarily fit into the standard idea of a computing task.  In addition, we study ways in which ambiguous, multimodal input can be used reliably and in ways that increases the robustness of the system.

The motivation for building the IE lab is to provide a platform for studying a wide range of computer science and, specifically, artificial intelligence concepts in a way that frees the user from learning an interface.  As Michael Coen put it, “rather than make computer-interfaces for people, we want to make people-interfaces for computers.” The goal is to allow people to interact with the system in the same way they would with other people: through the use of their voice, gestures, facial expressions, and context.  Research is being conducted in several areas of AI and computer science including human-computer interaction, facial recognition, gesture recognition, emotion recognition, person tracking, image processing, multi-agent systems, autonomous agent control structures, wireless networking, multimodal interfaces, non-routine problem solving, dynamic action replanning, multimodal sensory integration, and others.

The IE lab currently consist of one wall projected display, a digital camera with controllable (by the computer) pan/tilt/zoom, a speaker system for audio output, and several computer systems to run the various pieces of software. The primary display contains a “talking head” that provides users with a focal interaction point that can elicit a personal feel that could not be exhibited by a standard computer display.

This lab provides a platform for numerous research initiatives in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and interdisciplinary projects. 

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