The normal way that a computer functions manually is through a person that controls the computer. An individual generates computer actions with the use of either a

computer mouse A computer mouse (plural mice, sometimes mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows a smooth ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

. However the latest technology and computer innovation might allow a computer to not only detect

body language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...

but also respond to it. Modern devices are being experimented with, that may potentially allow that computer related device to respond to and understand an individual's hand gesture, specific movement or

facial expression A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are ...

Relating to computer science

Being able to read body language is an example of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

. As stated by the man who came up with the term, John McCarthy, artificial intelligence is "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines". In relation to computers and body language, research is being done with the use of mathematics in order to teach computers to interpret human movements, hand gestures and even facial expressions. This is different from the normal way people generally communicate with computers for example with the click of the mouse, keyboard, or any physical contact in general between the user and the computer.

Background information on research being done

MIAUCE and Chaabane Djeraba

This type of research is being done by a group of European researchers and other scientists as well. There is also a project called MIAUCE (Multimodal interactions analysis and exploration of users within a Controlled Environment). This project has scientists working on making this sort of new advance in

computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

a reality. Chaabane Djeraba, the project coordinator stated "The motivation of the project is to put humans in the loop of interaction between the computer and their environment."

Aims and motives of this project

Researchers and scientists are trying to use their innovation and ideas in a way that can help them apply these modern technological devices to the daily needs of businesses and places people visit such as the mall or an airport. The project coordinator of MIAUCE stated "We would like to have a form of ambient intelligence where computers are completely hidden…this means a

multimodal interface Multimodal interaction provides the user with multiple Modality (human–computer interaction), modes of interacting with a system. A multimodal interface provides several distinct tools for input and output of data. Introduction Multimodal hu ...

so people can interact with their environment. The computer sees their behavior and then extracts information useful for the user." This specific research group has developed a couple of different real life models of computer technology that will use body language as a means of

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

and way to function.

Prototypes created by scientists and researchers

General personal use

Scientists and researchers experimented with people and computers. A certain number of

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s were gathered to test out if computers could function by interpreting what the individual was physically doing without actually having to touch the computer itself. In this specific experiment researchers asked the volunteers to try to control the computer using nothing but their

eye movement Eye movement includes the voluntary or involuntary movement of the eyes. Eye movements are used by a number of organisms (e.g. primates, rodents, flies, birds, fish, cats, crabs, octopus) to fixate, inspect and track visual objects of interest ...

. The science behind this involves the use of

electrooculography Electrooculography (EOG) is a technique for measuring the corneo-retinal standing potential that exists between the front and the back of the human eye. The resulting signal is called the electrooculogram. Primary applications are in ophthalmol ...

, also referred to as EOG. This is basically a technique used to examine someones eye movements. This is then made into a

cursor Cursor may refer to: * Cursor (user interface), an indicator used to show the current position for user interaction on a computer monitor or other display device * Cursor (databases), a control structure that enables traversal over the records in ...

on the computer screen for the individual, in this case the volunteers. The volunteers were then shown a display on the

computer screen A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises a visual display, support electronics, power supply, housing, electrical connectors, and external user controls. The di ...

of the letters in the alphabet. With their eye movements, the volunteers were now able to use this cursor on the computer screen and perform tasks such as typing words.

Security purposes in busy and overcrowded areas

An example of the applied version of this computer technology is controlling the safety of people in heavily populated areas such as bus terminals, airports or even

shopping complex A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

es. To monitor such places you definitely need a

security camera A closed-circuit television camera can produce images or recordings for surveillance or other private purposes. Cameras can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Walter Bruch was the inventor of the CCTV camera. The main purpose o ...

at the site itself. However, researchers are trying to make use of computers to manage such areas aside from just

video camera A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of oth ...

s alone. Basically a

video stream Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

is evaluated and examined which involves a bit of math, for example a description of shapes, the flow of people and their movements. Then that data is analyzed in terms of

crowd density Crowd analysis is the practice of interpreting data on the natural movement of groups or objects. Masses of bodies, particularly humans, are the subjects of these crowd tracking analyses that include how a particular crowd moves and when a movement ...

, their pace and the direction in which they are moving. At last is when the use of the computer comes in. The computer aids in evaluating any type of activity in these types of crowded areas that seems fairly irregular. The information that the computer gives will help provide an alert or warning that something is not going the way it should. In the example of a mall, this sort of computer will provide an alert to something like an individual that has fallen from an

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...

Marketing purposes

Helping businesses and local stores analyze how their customers behave while shopping is another example of how this type of computer technology will be implemented. The scientists and researchers that are creating a computer that runs on this type of technology are making use of the idea of body language being used to work with computers for reasons relating to marketing purposes. This involves monitoring how many people there are in the street next to that certain shop as well as the use of a

heat map A heat map (or heatmap) is a data visualization technique that shows magnitude of a phenomenon as color in two dimensions. The variation in color may be by hue or intensity, giving obvious visual cues to the reader about how the phenomenon is c ...

generator. The heat map generator will basically allow the manager or staff at a store to observe how exactly people are moving. It will also allow staff workers to see what things in the store are attracting the attention of the customers the most.

Controversy and privacy concerns

Although this sort of technology does seem helpful and practical, certain issues and concerns arise among everyday people who are doubtful about how such computers are going to be used. Some people debate on the issue of security and privacy with such computer technologies. With this new technology comes a bit of concern with the public. Therefore, researchers and scientists have to take into perspective that such computer devices that can read body language have to give people a warning of that kind of a capability. So when building and putting into effect this type of computer, so to say as a means of security, there has to be concern over whether or not to take into consideration if this kind of computer technology would be accepted by the

general public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlic ...

. That includes people who are possibly going to be observed and monitored by a kind of computer that analyzes their body movements and gestures when they are doing something as simple as shopping at a mall or traveling through airports.

References

* Moursund, David. Brief Introduction to Educational Implications of Artificial Intelligence. Oregon: Dave Moursund, 2006. Print. * Braffort, Annelies. ''Gesture-based Communication in Human-computer Interaction: International Gesture Workshop'', GW '99, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, March 17–19, 1999 : Proceedings. Berlin: Springer, 1999. Print. * Fred, Ina
"Gates: Natal to Bring Gesture Recognition to Windows Too."
Cnetnews 14 July 2009: 1. http://news.cnet.com. Ina Fred, 14 July 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. . * Hansen, Evan

CNET News. CNET, 2 Oct. 2002. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. . * Unknown

EUROPA - European Commission - Homepage. 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . * Braffort, Annelies. ''Gesture-based Communication in Human-computer Interaction: Proceedings''. Berlin tc.: Springer, 1999. Print. * Yang, Ming-Hsuan, and Narendra Ahuja. ''Face Detection and Gesture Recognition for Human-computer Interaction''. Boston: Kluwer Academic, 2001. Print.

External links

Computers Detecting Body Language

Artificial Intelligence

Subfields of Computer Science

Online Artificial Intelligence Resource

Mathematics and Computer Science
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110717201127/http://www.faculty.iu-bremen.de/llinsen/publications/theses/Alen_Stojanov_Guided_Research_Report.pdf * http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-human-computer-music-links-musical-gestures.html * {{Nonverbal communication Human–computer interaction