Representations of humans in virtual environments are called Avatars. This book brings together work from a variety of relevant disciplines to detail how humans interact in computer-generated environments. It contains contributions from several key people in the field, including Microsoft Researchs Virtual World Group, and presents their findings in a way that is accessible to readers who are new to the field. Coverage details Internet-based virtual worlds that have been widely used by the public as well as networked VR systems that have been primarily used in pilot studies and research.

This Handbook is concerned with principles of human factors engineering for design of the human-computer interface. It has both academic and practical purposes; it summarizes the research and provides recommendations for how the information can be used by designers of computer systems. The articles are written primarily for the professional from another discipline who is seeking an understanding of human-computer interaction, and secondarily as a reference book for the professional in the area, and should particularly serve the following: computer scientists, human factors engineers, designers and design engineers, cognitive scientists and experimental psychologists, systems engineers, managers and executives working with systems development.The work consists of 52 chapters by 73 authors and is organized into seven sections. In the first section, the cognitive and information-processing aspects of HCI are summarized. The following group of papers deals with design principles for software and hardware. The third section is devoted to differences in performance between different users, and computer-aided training and principles for design of effective manuals. The next part presents important applications: text editors and systems for information retrieval, as well as issues in computer-aided engineering, drawing and design, and robotics. The fifth section introduces methods for designing the user interface. The following section examines those issues in the AI field that are currently of greatest interest to designers and human factors specialists, including such problems as natural language interface and methods for knowledge acquisition. The last section includes social aspects in computer usage, the impact on work organizations and work at home.

Intelligent Speech Signal Processing investigates the utilization of speech analytics across several systems and real-world activities, including sharing data analytics, creating collaboration networks between several participants, and implementing video-conferencing in different application areas. Chapters focus on the latest applications of speech data analysis and management tools across different recording systems. The book emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of the field, presenting different applications and challenges with extensive studies on the design, development and management of intelligent systems, neural networks and related machine learning techniques for speech signal processing.

Voice user interfaces (VUIs) are becoming all the rage today. But how do you build one that people can actually converse with? Whether you’re designing a mobile app, a toy, or a device such as a home assistant, this practical book guides you through basic VUI design principles, helps you choose the right speech recognition engine, and shows you how to measure your VUI’s performance and improve upon it. Author Cathy Pearl also takes product managers, UX designers, and VUI designers into advanced design topics that will help make your VUI not just functional, but great.Understand key VUI design concepts, including command-and-control and conversational systemsDecide if you should use an avatar or other visual representation with your VUIExplore speech recognition technology and its impact on your designTake your VUI above and beyond the basic exchange of informationLearn practical ways to test your VUI application with usersMonitor your app and learn how to quickly improve performanceGet real-world examples of VUIs for home assistants, smartwatches, and car systems

Why attractive things work better and other crucial insights into human-centered design Emotions are inseparable from how we humans think, choose, and act. In Emotional Design, cognitive scientist Don Norman shows how the principles of human psychology apply to the invention and design of new technologies and products. In The Design of Everyday Things, Norman made the definitive case for human-centered design, showing that good design demanded that the user's must take precedence over a designer's aesthetic if anything, from light switches to airplanes, was going to work as the user needed. In this book, he takes his thinking several steps farther, showing that successful design must incorporate not just what users need, but must address our minds by attending to our visceral reactions, to our behavioral choices, and to the stories we want the things in our lives to tell others about ourselves. Good human-centered design isn't just about making effective tools that are straightforward to use; it's about making affective tools that mesh well with our emotions and help us express our identities and support our social lives. From roller coasters to robots, sports cars to smart phones, attractive things work better. Whether designer or consumer, user or inventor, this book is the definitive guide to making Norman's insights work for you.

Master the critical knowledge you need to design speech-enabled applications It's not just a far-fetched gizmo straight out of a sci-fi movie anymore. Speech interface technology, which allows a user to communicate with computers via voice instead of a keyboard or a mouse, is quickly becoming a main feature in new software. This straightforward guide provides traditional graphical user-interface designers, developers, usability engineers, and product managers with all the information they need to make a rapid transition in order to stay abreast of this monumental shift in technology. Weinschenk and Barker, two experts in state-of-the-art online communication, discuss the basics of speech interfaces and speech technology, hardware, and software. They clearly explain the interface design principles that are applied to S/GUI and AUI interfaces and describe the latest practices of leading experts. In addition to its in-depth look at speech technologies and the different types of user interfaces, this book: * Provides an overview of the field of human factors and defines the basic concepts of human computer interaction * Discusses the current state of speech technology applications * Explains the laws of human factors that apply to speech interfaces * Contains guidelines and examples for user control, human limitation, model integrity, accommodation, clear dialogue, and aesthetic integrity * Details the best practices in interface design and usability engineering * Explores the special issues involved in interface design for disabled persons Visit the companion web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/weinschenk/ for a categorized resource list of speech, speech interface, and human-computer interaction books, articles, and links.

Over the last 20 years, approaches to designing speech and language processing algorithms have moved from methods based on linguistics and speech science to data-driven pattern recognition techniques. These techniques have been the focus of intense, fast-moving research and have contributed to significant advances in this field. Pattern Reco