MIIH 2016 - 1st “Int. Workshop on Multimodal Interaction in Industrial Human-Machine Communication

Maria De Marsico, University of Rome, demarsico-AT-di.uniroma1.it
Giancarlo Iannizzotto, University of Messina, giancarlo.iannizzotto-AT-unime.it
Marco Porta, University of Pavia, marco.porta-AT-unipv.it
Focus:
While a few years ago one of the most recurrent keywords in the computing field was multimedia, another term is now contending with it for the first place: multimodal. On the one hand, the first term is especially devoted to define advanced communication modalities where more sensory channels are engaged at the same time to transmit information in a more effective way. In other words, it specifies the way contents are built/organized/displayed (output-only, from the machine to the user). Multimodal systems may include the use of multimedia data as well, but their main feature is to combine both multiple input modes ? generally more “natural” than traditional input devices, such as touch, speech, hand gestures, head/body movements and eye gaze ? and solutions in which different output modalities are used in a coordinated manner ? such as visual displays (e.g. virtual and augmented reality), auditory cues (e.g. conversational agents) and haptic systems (e.g. force feedback controllers). Besides handling input fusion, they can also manage output fission, in an essentially dynamic process. Sophisticated multimodal interfaces can integrate complementary modalities to get the most out of the strengths of each mode, and overcome weaknesses. In addition, they can support handling different environmental situations as well as different user (sensory/motor) abilities.
Although multimodal interaction is becoming more and more common in our everyday life, industrial applications are still rather few, in spite of their potential advantages. This workshop aims at gathering works presenting different forms of multimodal interaction in industrial processes, equipment and settings. Both proposals of novel applications and papers describing user studies are welcome.