(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04-26)
Starner, Thad
Dr. Starner is one of the pioneers of wearable computing and will talk about how
computers can be designed and used to be aware of what users are doing, and also to
assist them in doing it. His work includes a gloveless, real-time sign language recognizer;
various intelligent agents in support of everyday memory; several augmented realities;
and a computer-vision base interactive workbench. Dr. Starner’s current work researches
the use of computational agents for everyday-use wearable computers, and he has
personally worn a custom computer since 1993! Professor Starner has discussed his
research in such international public forums as CBS’s 60 Minutes, CNN, the BBC, the New
York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005)
Henderson, Valerie; Grinter, Rebecca E.; Starner, Thad
We present a qualitative, exploratory study to examine the space of electronic based communication (e.g. instant messaging, short message service, email) by Deaf teenagers in the greater Atlanta metro area. We answer the basic questions of who, what, where, when, and how to understand Deaf teenage use of electronic, mobile communication technologies. Our findings reveal that both Deaf and hearing teens share similar communication goals such as communicating quickly, effectively, and with a variety of people. Distinctions between the two populations emerge from language differences. The teenagers perspectives allow us to view electronic communication not from a technologist's point of view, but from the use-centric view of teenagers who are indifferent to the underlying infrastructure supporting this communication. This study suggests several unique features of the Deaf teens' communication as well as further research questions and directions for study.