Ongoing Research at UE-HCI Lab
3-D USER INTERFACES FOR VIRTUAL and MIXED REALITY
This research project aims at developing 3D interfaces to assist users with several complex tasks in a virtual reality environment. Various input modalities like gaze pointing and hand-presence are being explored. The goal is come up with a set of design guidelines for developing such 3D interfaces.
SMART CITY – IOT – URBAN DESIGN
List of Research project under the Smart City and IOT:
- Networked Wearable for Elderly communities. (under the Govt. of India) - Smart Cites project Coordinated by IIT Kharagpur. (http://www.facweb.iitkgp.ernet.in/~foc/events.html)
- Household Energy Panel: IOT - Interfaces for Urban Communities
- Urban Flash Flood Information System.
- Ambient Intelligence - Urban Crowd Management Systems.
- Urban Public Space Design.
Technologies surrounding IOT- Internet of Things will eventually contribute towards building Smart Cites wherein in Public Service, Governance and a host of other urban management aspects require 'knitting ' stake holders into a digitally connected network of information communication devices, services and systems. UE lab at IITG is currently working on user centered aspects of IOT devices wherein User Behavior Research, User mental modeling, GUI, User Experience mapping, Information Architecture and Information Systems design are carried out to conceptualize and simulate viable Innovative demonstration solutions for an 'urban unit’. Learning's from modeling an urban unit is intended to give insights into pattern replication at a larger scale.
Networked IOT Wearable for Elderly communities
Domestic Energy Display: IOT - Interfaces for Urban & Rural Communities
Energy is an Urban Currency – which will eventually be traded, exchanged and shared. As part of Smart Cites a IOT enabled Energy Panel is under development. Initial Research points out the need for at least two distinct Energy panels – one for Urban Centers and the other for Rural areas. The Energy Panel being envisaged is not only an energy consumption and billing device but also an assistant in planning and conserving energy by encouraging per-planning of its USE. This Will even out the peak loading of the grid and also act as exchange for gifting or trading extra energy to friends in need. For the Rural farmer such a Panel is intended to be a window to the farm wherein energy used for pumping water for irrigation if well managed will result in savings in the farmers solar harvesting unit.
Understanding crowd behavior patterns to predict stampede
STANDARDIZATION OF VIRTUAL KEYPAD IN INDIC LANGUAGES
Axhomiya (Assamese Language)
Executed as part of a consortium led by CDAC+IITB+IITKGP+IITM+ IITG for the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology - Department of Information Technology –DeITy, Government of India.
Usability Tests for Assamese Key boards were conducted to evaluate them under the Standardization of Indian key boards program of GOI. Two new Assamese Key board layouts were also designed and tested.
Principle Investigator at IITG : Dr. Pradeep Yammiyavar.
Co-PI : Dr. Samit Bhattacharya, Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering - IITG
Existing Keyboards Benchmark Testing for Standardization.
SWARACHAKRA: Contribution to Assamese Language keypad design and inclusion.
Swarachkara has been designed and Developed by IDC- IIT B for Indian Languages. UE-HCI Lab, IITG assisted IDC – IITB team on ASSAMESE language fonts and language integration resulting in the Assamese keypad for their SWARACHAKRA keyboard.
Design and Standardization of Keypad Layout for New Meetei Script of Manipuri Language
Existing Key boards developed by CDAC for Meetei language have been tested for benchmarking towards standardization.
Manipur's Meetei language having a new script has also been coded into a new keyboard layout shown below and tested for a mobile platform at the UE-HCI Lab at IITG.
Unicode layout for Meetei. Project sponserd by DeitY.
AUGMENTED REALITY APPLICATIONS IN E-LEARNING
VIRTUAL REALITY IN E-LEARNING 
COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN DESIGN
Be it Embedding Artificial Intelligence onto everyday use objects or embedding the living and working environments with digital intelligence - Designers are increasingly required to integrate Design Thinking via Computational Techniques into everyday objects making them for more Easy, Efficient and Effective to use to create joyful experience for users interacting with such objects.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SMART OBJECTS
This research aims to enrich learning experiences of students in complex educational environments like basic Electronics engineering practical laboratories sessions by exploring the potential of augmented reality and physical smart objects. Methods of embedding artificial intelligence into commonly used objects in settings like practical laboratory sessions are being explored to achieve this goal and aid usability for both students and instructors while using these objects.
WELLNESS AND M-HEALTH APPLICATIONS
EMBEDDED INTELLIGENT SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTS
This project on adaptive intelligent textile intends to deal and understand advance phenomenon found in natural systems and their articulation and implementation in artificial systems. Development of a textile that can function like leaves was attempted. A curtain that can carry out photosynthesis or a curtain that coils back when touched by human hands or a textile that can help regenerate fuels in fuel cells. Nano technology manufacturing for coating textiles with nano-tubes is proposed.
This project won A' Design Innovation Award.
HERITAGE CONSERVATION
Crafts industry is largely dependent on skills of highly proficient employees. The traditions and practices are transferred from one generation to another and are often confined to families or communities. Several instances of a line of crafts having died out due to there being few craftsmen left to continue the tradition which has been documented in literature. With decrease in artisan numbers and onslaught of mechanization & mass production crafts are likely to lose out. This work posits that if there is a way to capture and preserve as well as transfer tacit knowledge of the craftsmen it is possible to slow down the disappearance of crafts. The techniques developed in this work holds the promise to be developed further into a research tool & method to capture tacit knowledge in Design.
KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING AND INNOVATION
Make in India - Modeling Product Innovation strategies for Small Scale Industry
This research has taken the state of art in the field of Small and Medium Enterprises related to Design and Innovation knowledge management, design intervention, product, process, quality, cost etc., in Indian context. The intention of this research is to bring the design and innovation in existing SMEs. Investigation on the role of design in amplifying growth of small and medium scale enterprises through innovation strategies is in progress.
