Corinne Yates

CS 377C

HCI Pattern

# HUMAN'S DIGITAL REPRESENTATION **

...When humans and computers interact, people must in some way be able to represent themselves in the DIGITAL WORLD (#). This pattern gives a concrete digital depiction to aid the workings of the physical human being in the symbolic world of computer space.

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The Human's Digital Representation will give the user a concrete identifiable "body" (in the loosest sense of the word) to use in interactions with the computer. This "body" lets the human move through computer space and manipulate digital objects in a way that makes sense.

Think of human-computer interaction in terms of a spectrum. On one end, we have the human and all his or her thoughts, desires and goals for the interaction. On the other end, we have the computer and its own artificial coded language. Where the two come together, there must be some common ground for communication. This is the interface, which communicates with both sides of the spectrum. Within this interface, however, there is a digital representation of what exists in the computer "world," be it folders, documents or anything else. The user must be able to manipulate the objects in this world in order to accomplish his or her goals.

The simplest type of Human Digital Representation would be the pointer arrow controlled by the mouse. This arrow acts as a digital hand, letting the user "drag and drop." A more complex Human Digital Representation might be an avatar, used in deeper interactions like gaming and chat. The avatar is a "face" put forward for not only the person it represents, but also for which any other people involved can interact. Other types of Human Digital Representations might have to do with ALTERNATIVE INPUT DEVICES (#), where one might use, for example, a glove to control a digital hand on the interface, or a light pen to control a digital pen.

The concept of a Human Digital Representation is basic and natural. In video games, one relates to the character he or she controls, whether it is a racecar or the "hands" of a pinball game. Similar examples exist in the non-digital world, like children's play with action figures and dolls. Human's Digital Representation expands on these notions to create a useful and intuitive means of interaction and object manipulation.

Therefore:

Create digital representations of which the user will be familiar in order to give him or her some level of control over the interface.

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Use well-known MANIPULATE-ABLE OBJECTS (#) for the digital representations to control. Choose OPERATIONS MIMICKING REAL LIFE (#) and consider ALTERNATIVE INPUT DEVICES (#) to control the digital representations.