The ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) series of academic conferences is generally considered the most prestigious in the field of
human–computer interaction
Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the process through which people operate and engage with computer systems. Research in HCI covers the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and comp ...
and is one of the top-ranked conferences in computer science. It is hosted by
ACM SIGCHI, the
Special Interest Group
A special interest group (SIG) is a community within a larger organization with a shared interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular f ...
on computer–human interaction. CHI has been held annually since 1982 and attracts thousands of international attendees.
History
The CHI conference series started with the ''Human Factors in Computer Systems'' conference in
Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...
, Maryland, US in 1982, organized by
Bill Curtis and
Ben Shneiderman
Ben Shneiderman (born August 21, 1947) is an American computer scientist, a Distinguished University Professor in the University of Maryland Department of Computer Science, which is part of the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathem ...
. During this meeting the formation of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer–Human Interaction (SIGCHI) was first publicly announced. ACM SIGCHI became the sponsor of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. The first CHI conference was held in Boston, Massachusetts, US, in 1983. The second conference took place in San Francisco, in 1985. Since then, CHI conferences have been held annually in spring each year. Until 1992 the conference was held in Canada or the US. In 1993 CHI moved to Europe for the first time and was held in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, the Netherlands.
Over the years, CHI has grown in popularity. The 1982 meeting drew 907 attendees. CHI 90 attracted 2,314. Attendance has been fairly stable since then. After the early years CHI became highly selective. Since 1993 the acceptance rate for full papers was consistently below 30 percent. After 1992 the average acceptance rate was around 20 percent. The number of accepted full papers is slowly increasing and reached 157 accepted papers with an acceptance rate of 22 percent in 2008. CHI reached over 3,300 attendees in 2013 and 3,855 in 2019.
CHI 2020, which was originally planned to take place on April, was cancelled due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, and CHI 2021 was held online as a virtual conference chaired by
Yoshifumi Kitamura and
Aaron Quigley. CHI 2021 “making waves, combining strengths” was originally scheduled to take place in
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
.
Tracks
The CHI conference consists of multiple tracks, including:
* Academic papers and notes (short papers) on a variety of topics, such as (
ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing (or "ubicomp") is a concept in software engineering, hardware engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear seamlessly anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing imp ...
,
visualization,
usability
Usability can be described as the capacity of a system to provide a condition for its users to perform the tasks safely, effectively, and efficiently while enjoying the experience. In software engineering, usability is the degree to which a softw ...
and
user experience design
User experience design (UX design, UXD, UED, or XD), upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research" (also known as UX Design Research), defines the experience a user would go through when interacting with a compa ...
)
* Posters and demonstrations
* Workshops and courses hosted by domain experts
* Invited panels on relevant topics
* Case studies from industry practitioners
Past and upcoming CHI conferences
Past and future
CHI conferences include:
Notes
References
External links
ACM SIGCHI website
Computer science conferences
Human–computer interaction
Association for Computing Machinery conferences
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