3. 4. Intelligent Interfaces

Advanced user interfaces will bridge the gap between users and the future National Information Infrastructure. A wide range of new technologies that adapt to human senses and abilities must be developed to provide more effective human-machine communications. The IITA program must achieve a high level user interface to satisfy the many different needs and preferences of vast numbers of citizens who interact with the NII.

• Human-Computer Interface: This subelement supports work in a broad range of technologies and their integration to allow humans and computers to interact effectively, efficiently, and naturally. Work in this area includes development of technologies for speech recognition and generation; graphical user interfaces that allow rapid browsing of large quantities of data; user- sensitive interfaces that customize and present information for particular levels of understanding; language corpora for experimental research; and human-machine interaction via touch, facial expression, gesture, etc. The new IITA emphasis is on integration, real-time performance, and demonstration of these new communication modalities in multimedia, multi-sensory environments.

• Heterogeneous Database Interfaces: This subelement supports development of methodologies to integrate heterogeneously structured databases composed of multi-formatted data. To support NII information dissemination, a user will be able to issue a query to be broadcast to the appropriate databases. A timely response can then be returned and translated into the context of the user's query. Multi-formatted data may range from ASCII text to numerical time series, to multi-dimensional measurements, to time series of digital imagery, etc. Also of critical importance is the integration of metadata with the data and its accessibility across heterogeneous databases.

• Image Processing and Computer Vision: This subelement supports work in making images, graphics, and other visual information a more useful modality of human-computer communication. Research areas include all aspects of theory, models, algorithms, architectures, and experimental systems from low-level image processing to high level computer vision. Methodologies of pattern recognition will be further developed to allow automated extraction of information from large databases; in particular, digital image data. The new IITA emphasis is on integration, scalability, and demonstration of easy access and usability of visual information in real-world problems.

• User-centered Design Tools/Systems: This subelement consists of work in models and methodologies leading to interactive tools and software systems for design and other user-centered activities. User-friendly tools that combine data-driven and knowledge-based capabilities is one of the areas for new research. The new IITA emphasis is on supporting the development of ubiquitous, easy-to-use, and highly effective interactive tools.

• Virtual Reality and Telepresence: This subelement supports work that will provide tools and methods for creating synthetic (virtual) environments to allow real-time, interactive human participation in the computing and communication loop. Such interaction may be through sensors, effectors, and other computational resources. The IITA focus is creating shared virtual environments which can be accessed and manipulated by many users at a distance in support of National Challenge application areas.

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