Missing the Point: The Expanding World of Gestural Interaction

The paradigm of physical computing is well and truly here—sensors and microcontrollers are getting cheaper and more robust, and they are easily programmable. Long associated with gaming, these sensors are making their way into our everyday ‘utility’ devices. For example, think about the average smart phone: it likely contains a proximity sensor, an accelerometer/orientation sensor, an ambient light sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, and a moisture sensor. Cameras can recognize head motion and facial gestures; they can track body movements and compare them to motion models.

As these sensors become part of everyday interactive devices, we are ushering in new forms of gestural interaction, which is changing how we interact with digital experiences and data, and changing the nature of our computer-mediated communications. In this talk, Elizabeth will offer some observations and speculations on how the world of physical computing, broadly construed, is changing the way in which we interact with our devices, each other, and interactive digital experiences.

About the Speaker

Dr. Elizabeth Churchill is a Principal Research Scientist and manager of the Internet Experiences group at Yahoo! Research. Originally a psychologist by training, Elizabeth has focused throughout her career on understanding the ways in which people interact—whether their interactions are primarily face-to-face or are technologically mediated. She has published within the areas of theoretical and applied psychology, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and computer-supported cooperative work. Elizabeth has a BSc in Experimental Psychology and a MSc in Knowledge Based Systems, both from the University of Sussex, and a PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of Cambridge. She regularly teaches at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information. In 2010, she was recognized as a Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery. She is the current Vice President of the Association of Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction (SigCHI).