Human computer interaction what is it

From the AI assistant on our phones to that speaker looking thing that can turn off the lights of your room on one single command of yours, technology has no barriers nowadays. The keyboard that was not easy to communicate with was suffering from a poor Human-computer interaction design.

Do you know what it is? This blog is all about the thing mentioned above. The word "computer technology" currently encompasses a wide range of devices, from traditional computers with displays and keyboards to smartphones, home appliances, in-car navigation systems, and even integrated sensors and actuators like automated lighting.

HCI is linked to a design field known as Interaction Design or User-Centered Design, which focuses on how to make computer technology as simple and enjoyable to use as possible.

The concept of "usability," which is generally characterised in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction, is an important part of the design profession. Because it currently encompasses practically all types of information technology , the definition of Human-Computer Interaction HCI must remain wide IT.

The study of creating computers and technologies to best serve their users is known as human-computer interaction HCI i. HCI is closely connected to User Experience UX design and is widely regarded as the forerunner of this more current approach. Must read: Dark side of IT. Since its beginning, the area of Human-Computer Interaction has expanded considerably. To operate the early personal computers PCs , you needed a lot of training and, predictably, there were a lot of problems in the user experience.

Simple operations like moving the mouse or erasing text faced users with never-before-seen problems, all of which posed major barriers to the computer's use. In the early s, HCI emerged as an attempt to understand how and why computers could be made more user-friendly. The subject of research soon expanded to encompass nearly all aspects of information technology. HCI is critical since it will be necessary for goods to be more successful, safe, helpful, and functional.

It will make the user's experience more enjoyable in the long term. As a result, having someone with HCI skills involved in all phases of any product or system development is critical.

HCI is also necessary to prevent goods or projects from failing completely. When creating clear intuitive systems that will be accessible by people with a wide variety of talents and knowledge, as well as those who have not finished any official training, HCI is critical. HCI is the study of how computers and machines can serve us better.

The kind of information that HCI practitioners compile is used to constantly refine the world of UX design. But the truth is that user interaction design is the very essence of design.

Human-Computer Interaction enables UX and User Interface UI designers all over the world to produce better, more user-focused computers, helping every consumer of that product or service. From ensuring machines continue to operate in safe, secure and user-friendly ways, to allowing users of all abilities to interact with computers, HCI is invaluable in making sure that computers are designed for successful and intuitive human use.

The field of Human-Computer Interaction has grown tremendously since its inception…. The first personal computers PCs initially required extensive training to use them properly, and unsurprisingly suffered from a vast amount of user experience flaws.

Simple tasks, such as moving the cursor or deleting text, were never-before-seen challenges presented to users—all of which presented significant hurdles to the usability of the computer. This is when HCI came along, in the early s, as an attempt to study how and why computers could be made more user-friendly. The field of study quickly grew to cover almost all forms of IT. While it initially addressed issues that only first-time users of products would face, HCI evolved to include considerations for qualities such as: 7.

Although the field of Human-Computer Interaction has grown tremendously since its inception, it will continue to evolve as more is discovered about both users and computers. This is because HCI can only be so good as our understanding of ourselves is—as philosophers and behaviour psychologists delve deeper into understanding how and why we as humans act, HCI can evolve accordingly, to create devices and machines that are ever more closely linked to our human psyches.

Attention to human machine interaction is important, because a poor interface can make it hard for users to benefit from even the simplest systems. In a corporate or factory setting, a poor user interface could have more severe consequences. By: Dr. By: Kaushik Pal Contributor.

Dictionary Dictionary Term of the Day. Random Forest. Techopedia Terms. Connect with us. The top 5 among these are discussed below:. The website has more perceivability if the users spend less time trying to work out what next to do. Therefore, most designers often obey the universal standards to achieve perceivability, such as placing the search box in the upper area on the right side of the website. Patience level in humans is very little, so to overcome this issue, some features are incorporated in the machines by the designers that give feedback.

For example, when a user searches for something, it takes a while. To stop the user from making errors, there are constraints in the forms. Besides forms, there are other examples of constraints, like disabling menu items when not used. Also, there are two kinds of constraints psychological and physical. The same goes for the interactive products. Because it has become a standard that the website menu is placed at the top of all website pages.

On the other hand, if the items in the menu link to different pages so each time when a user follows it, it would be almost impossible for the user to use the website and become inconsistent. There is a wide range of topics that HCI covers. The development of HCI relies on contributions from different disciplines. Here are some prominent disciplines where HCI is highly considered:. Currently, smell and taste are the two senses which are yet to be explored in human computer interaction.

New multi-sensory experiences are expected for HC interaction.