Enactive interfaces: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Interactive systems that allow organization and transmission of knowledge}}

[[File:Enactive Human Machine Interface.png|thumb|300px|Enactive human-machine interface translating the aspects of a knowledge base into modalities of perception for a human operator. The auditory, visual, and tactile presentations by the system respond to tactile input from the operator, which user input in turn depends upon the auditory, visual, and tactile feedback from the system.<ref name=Bordegoni/><ref name=Fukuda/>]]

'''Enactive interfaces''' are [[interactive]] systems that allow organization and [[wiktionary:transmission|transmission]] of [[knowledge]] obtained through action. Examples are interfaces that couple a [[human]] with a [[machine]] to do things usually done unaided, such as shaping a [[Three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] object using multiple modality interactions with a database,<ref name=Fukuda/> or using [[interactive video]] to allow a student to visually engage with mathematical concepts.<ref name=Held/> Enactive [[Interface (computing)|interface]] [[design]] can be approached through the idea of raising [[awareness]] of [[affordances]], that is, optimization of the awareness of possible actions available to someone using the enactive interface.<ref name=Stoffregen/> This optimization involves visibility, affordance, and [[feedback]].<ref name=Stone/><ref name=Zudilova/>

The enactive interface in the figure interprets manual input and provides a response in [[Perception|perceptual]] terms in the form of images, [[Sound|sounds]], and [[haptic technology|haptic (tactile) feedback]]. The system is called enactive because of the feedback loop in which the system response is decided by the user input, and the user input is driven by the perceived system responses.<ref name=Bordegoni/>

Enactive interfaces are new types of [[Human–computer interaction|human-computer interface]] that express and transmit the enactive knowledge by integrating different sensory aspects. The driving concept of enactive interfaces is then the fundamental role of motor action for storing and acquiring knowledge (action driven interfaces). Enactive interfaces are then capable of conveying and understanding gestures of the user, in order to provide an adequate response in perceptual terms. Enactive interfaces can be considered a new step in the development of the human-computer interaction because they are characterized by a closed loop between the natural gestures of the user (efferent component of the system) and the perceptual modalities activated (afferent component). Enactive interfaces can be conceived to exploit this direct loop and the capability of recognizing complex gestures.

The development of such interfaces requires the [[Creativity|creation]] of a common vision between different [[research]] areas like [[computer vision]], [[Haptic perception|haptic]] and sound processing, giving more attention on the motor action aspect of interaction. An example of prototypical systems that are able to introduce enactive interfaces are reactive robots, robots that are always in contact with the human hand (like current play console controllers, [[Wii Remote]]) and are capable of interpreting the human movements and guiding the human for the completion of a manipulation task.

==Enactive knowledge==

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==ENACTIVE Network of Excellence==

The research on enactive knowledge and enactive interfaces is the objective of the ENACTIVE Network of Excellence. A Network of Excellence is a [[European Economic Community|European Community]] research instrument that provides fundings for the integration of the research activities of different research laboratories and institutions. The ENACTIVE NoE started in 2004 with more than 20 partners with the objective of ''the creation of a multidisciplinary research community with the aim of structuring the research on a new generation of human-computer interfaces called Enactive Interfaces.''. The aim of this NoE is not only the research on enactive interfaces by itself, but also the integration of the partners through a Virtual Laboratory and the spreading of the expertise and knowledge of the Network.

Since 2004, the partners, coordinated by the PERCRO laboratory, have improved both the theoretical aspects of enaction, through seminars and the creation of a [[lexicon]], and the technological aspects necessary for the creation of enactive interfaces. Every year the status of the ENACTIVE NoE is presented through an international conference.<ref name=PERCRO/>