Tracy Anne Hammond Office: HRBB 414C Email: hammond at cs.tamu.edu Phone: 979/862-4284 Fax: 979/847-8578 Assistant Professor and Director of the

Research Interests:

Education:

Overarching Research Question

Can a computer recognize a human's intention if we allow that human to interact naturally with the world, where ''naturally'' implies effectively as well as harnessing skills already learned through human-human interaction without losing effectiveness? Further, can a computer use that knowledge of intention to empower the human?

1. Sketch recognition: Can computers understand freely-drawn hand-drawn sketches drawn by a human, as well as, or possibly, even better than, another human can? How can this understanding be used to empower the human?
2. Gesture recognition: Can computers understand hand gestures made by a human to empower the human?
3. New Devices/Modes of Human-Computer Interaction: What new modes or devices of interaction could exist to better human-computer interaction?

Research on Sketch Recognition

Sketching is a natural way of devising and communicating ideas. Graphical diagrams can convey ideas that would be difficult to describe using only text. Graphical diagrams pervade education, being an important, if not vital part of multidisciplinary fields such as economics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, document editing, and even Asian languages. Pen and paper provide a freedom of interaction that is still preferred to a computer automated design tool, even though users want the sophistication of analysis and simulation that a computer-understood diagram can provide.

Sketch recognition is the automated understanding of a drawn diagram, attempting to recognize the intent of the user while allowing the user to draw in an unconstrained manner. Sketch recognition combines advances in artificial intelligence with the natural interaction of a pen and paper. The automated understanding of naturally drawn diagrams has clear benefits across education, design, and human-computer interaction.

2004 video showing general sketch recognition results developed by Hammond applied to the domain of Mechanical Engineering

Research on Gesture Recognition

New Devices for / Modes of Human-Computer Interaction

Joining the Sketch Recognition Lab / Research Position / Assistantships

Assistantship positions in my group are very selective. As part of that selection process all students are required to first have taken a course with me and excelled in that course before such a position is possible. The course functions as a trial period to determine if our personalities fit well together, and is an advantage to both the student and me.

Writing Guidelines