TAUCHI

Through constructive and experimental research, TAUCHI aims to obtain a profound understanding of the phenomena that affect and regulate human-technology interaction, to apply this knowledge in creating better ways of interaction, particularly utilizing less used modalities, and to improve the quality of life and inclusion of select user groups (including mobile users, physically challenged users, visually impaired, children and elderly people), enabling their use of information and communication technology.

Examples of our results include public transportation route information services that are accessible on mobile phones using spoken dialogue; the services are in public use in Tampere. Similarly, our basic research produces results that are applicable in general, when developing mainstream applications. For instance, we have developed methods that can utilize signals extracted from the human body for predicting emotional experiences. At the other end of the spectrum are prototypes developed for special user communities, such as children and users with severe disabilities. A novel multimodal media center application has been produced for physically and visually impaired users. Using eye tracking technology we have developed an application that more than doubled the text entry rate achievable for users with motor neuron disabilities. Haptics (feedback based on touch) are currently studied extensively to provide a communication mechanism for users with vision impairments – and for all users that are faced with communication in busy environments.