Toward Empirically Derived Methodologies and Tools for Human-Computer Interface Development

This term, unknown only a few years ago, now conjures up images of icons and objects, windows and words that comprise the human-computer interface. A UIMS is an interactive system composed of high-level tools that support production and execution of human-computer interfaces. UIMS have become a major topic of both academic and trade journal articles, conference technical presentations, demonstrations, and special interest sessions. Many commercial software packages and research products even tangentially related to the area of human-computer interaction now claim to be UIMS. As young and exciting as the field is, there are already signs of promises unfulfilled, due to a lack of both functionality and usability factors that can make the difference between whether UIMS are a passing fad or a viable tool. But what does the future hold for UIMS? All indications are that they are here to stay. We perceive a trend in UIMS evolution that we have divided into generations based primarily on common characteristics and only loosely on chronology

Towards automation of user interface design

This paper suggests an approach to automatic software design in the domain of graphical user interfaces. There are still some drawbacks in existing user interface management systems (UIMS's) which basically offer only quantitative layout specifications via direct manipulation. Our approach suggests a convenient way to get a default graphical user interface which may be customized and redesigned easily in further prototyping cycles

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 341)

This bibliography lists 133 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Complexity Metrics for Systems Development Methods and Techniques

So many systems development methods have been introduced in the last decade that one can talk about a ¿methodology jungle¿. To aid the method developers and evaluators in fighting their way through this jungle, we propose a systematic approach for measuring properties of methods. We describe two sets of metrics which measure the complexity of single diagram techniques, and of complete systems development methods. The proposed metrics provide a relatively fast and simple way to analyse the descriptive capabilities of a technique or method. When accompanied with other selection criteria, the metrics can be used for estimating the relative complexity of a technique compared to others. To demonstrate the applicability of the metrics, we have applied them to 36 techniques and 11 methods

Technology assessment of advanced automation for space missions

Six general classes of technology requirements derived during the mission definition phase of the study were identified as having maximum importance and urgency, including autonomous world model based information systems, learning and hypothesis formation, natural language and other man-machine communication, space manufacturing, teleoperators and robot systems, and computer science and technology

A smart end-effector for assembly of space truss structures

A unique facility, the Automated Structures Research Laboratory, is being used to investigate robotic assembly of truss structures. A special-purpose end-effector is used to assemble structural elements into an eight meter diameter structure. To expand the capabilities of the facility to include construction of structures with curved surfaces from straight structural elements of different lengths, a new end-effector has been designed and fabricated. This end-effector contains an integrated microprocessor to monitor actuator operations through sensor feedback. This paper provides an overview of the automated assembly tasks required by this end-effector and a description of the new end-effector's hardware and control software

Science of Digital Libraries(SciDL)

Our purpose is to ensure that people and institutions better manage information through digital libraries (DLs). Thus we address a fundamental human and social need, which is particularly urgent in the modern Information (and Knowledge) Age. Our goal is to significantly advance both the theory and state-of-theart of DLs (and other advanced information systems) - thoroughly validating our approach using highly visible testbeds. Our research objective is to leverage our formal, theory-based approach to the problems of defining, understanding, modeling, building, personalizing, and evaluating DLs. We will construct models and tools based on that theory so organizations and individuals can easily create and maintain fully functional DLs, whose components can interoperate with corresponding components of related DLs. This research should be highly meritorious intellectually. We bring together a team of senior researchers with expertise in information retrieval, human-computer interaction, scenario-based design, personalization, and componentized system development and expect to make important contributions in each of those areas. Of crucial import, however, is that we will integrate our prior research and experience to achieve breakthrough advances in the field of DLs, regarding theory, methodology, systems, and evaluation. We will extend the 5S theory, which has identified five key dimensions or onstructs underlying effective DLs: Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, and Societies. We will use that theory to describe and develop metamodels, models, and systems, which can be tailored to disciplines and/or groups, as well as personalized. We will disseminate our findings as well as provide toolkits as open source software, encouraging wide use. We will validate our work using testbeds, ensuring broad impact. We will put powerful tools into the hands of digital librarians so they may easily plan and configure tailored systems, to support an extensible set of services, including publishing, discovery, searching, browsing, recommending, and access control, handling diverse types of collections, and varied genres and classes of digital objects. With these tools, end-users will for be able to design personal DLs. Testbeds are crucial to validate scientific theories and will be thoroughly integrated into SciDL research and evaluation. We will focus on two application domains, which together should allow comprehensive validation and increase the significance of SciDL's impact on scholarly communities. One is education (through CITIDEL); the other is libraries (through DLA and OCKHAM). CITIDEL deals with content from publishers (e.g, ACM Digital Library), corporate research efforts e.g., CiteSeer), volunteer initiatives (e.g., DBLP, based on the database and logic rogramming literature), CS departments (e.g., NCSTRL, mostly technical reports), educational initiatives (e.g., Computer Science Teaching Center), and universities (e.g., theses and dissertations). DLA is a unit of the Virginia Tech library that virtually publishes scholarly communication such as faculty-edited journals and rare and unique resources including image collections and finding aids from Special Collections. The OCKHAM initiative, calling for simplicity in the library world, emphasizes a three-part solution: lightweightprotocols, component-based development, and open reference models. It provides a framework to research the deployment of the SciDL approach in libraries. Thus our choice of testbeds also will nsure that our research will have additional benefit to and impact on the fields of computing and library and information science, supporting transformations in how we learn and deal with information