CAIP receives NSF award of $2.2 million
Archived article from Oct 23, 1998
By Margaret Sullivan
A team of Rutgers researchers has been awarded a three-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence in the Information Age (KDI) program. The research project aims to establish the basic understanding necessary for the creation and use of multimodal computer interfaces over wired and wireless computing networks.
"NSF's cultivation of this highly multi-disciplinary research arena will change the way scientists collaborate and the way they prepare to examine the world as they seek new frontiers for discovery," said NSF Director Rita Colwell.
Principal investigator on the project is James Flanagan, Rutgers' vice president for research and director of the Center for Computer Aids for Industrial Productivity (CAIP), an Advanced Technology Center of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. His collaborators include Rutgers' Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB) and Drexel University.
The project is one of 40 KDI proposals to receive funding out of some 700 submissions.
The researchers are exploring easy-to-use systems that will sense the existing computing environment and adapt to provide a prescribed quality of service.
"Evolving technologies promise greater naturalness in communication between human and machine," said Flanagan. "The methods we are developing at CAIP in the area of multimodal human/machine communication will enhance the naturalness, ease of use and functionality on networked computers, both wired and wireless."
Researchers expect to design architectures that support multiple collaborating clients, to develop continuous modeling of wireless access to adapt to changing characteristics, and to design a system for automatic information abstraction to maintain collaborative parity for disadvantaged users. A key element of the research will be the implementation of an experimental four-client (two wired, two wireless) test-bed system.
The goal of the research is to establish and demonstrate a system for multiuser collaboration across heterogeneous computing environments, a key to mass deployment of computing technology.
"As multimodal capabilities evolve, human performance must be addressed as a recognized component of the total system," said Flanagan. "Optimization of any design must include human-factors assessment."
Areas where wired and wireless multi-modal collaboration may provide new solutions include telemedicine, crisis management and mobile offices.
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