WINE Lab Project Ideas

HCI Projects

Investigate how to incorporate audio, video and images from distributed sources in user interfaces.
Use mounted digital cameras to observe users using interfaces. This capability allows students to perform usability studies on the strengths and weaknesses of interface paradigms.
Test a variety of alternate input devices (voice, tablet, touch screen, space ball) to assess their effectiveness in supporting different dialogue styles.
Investigate the types and effects of service degradation which occur when computation intensive tasks, such as 3-D animation, are performed on a remote server with more computational power. This investigation which might lead to suggestions on changes to the forms of interactions allowed and the communication protocols employed.
Investigate distributed conferencing ("see you see me") interfaces using cameras and audio.
Compare the effectiveness in using 2-D graphical interfaces versus 3-D approaches employing virtual reality and tools such as VRML.
Develop collaborative applications employing multiuser control.

Characterize different types of network traffic (audio, video, images, text, real-time, interactive) resulting from interactive and multimedia applications.
Experiment with protocols for sending different types of data with differing quality of service requirements. Measure the performance of each protocol.
Monitor and troubleshoot a computer network. This project enables students to be network administrator on a small network, which can be separated from the campus network.
Configure a network router for a particular type of performance such as a firewall.
Experiment with connecting and configuring network components thus gaining hands-on experience with network hardware and software.

Develop CGI scripts as a paradigm to control applications and interfaces. Because the WINE lab will have its own server and will be separable from the rest of the campus network, students will have the opportunity to create, test, and evaluate their CGI scripts with minimal disruption to computers external to the lab.
Experiment with the features and limitations of HTML-based interfaces using current development tools.
Develop Web-based client/server applications relying on powerful middleware capabilities from the Networks area.
Experiment with the new technology, such as BlackBird technology from Microsoft for developing highly interactive Internet applications.
Experiment with the installation and administration of Web servers to understand how different types of data are handled.
Use webware as a basis for groupware application development, which can immediately be used in experiments regarding usability and other HCI concerns.
Study the relationship between Web page characteristics and loading time. Characteristics include the browser caching size and policy, number of colors used, size of graphics files and different types of documents.

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Last modified: Sep 27, 2006, 16:06 EDT