- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Summer Student Job or Independent Study For Undergraduate in CS The Pebbles project (see http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu) is looking for an undergraduate researcher for the summer, 2002, (with possibilities for continued work next year). The task will be to help enable the remote control of appliances, such as audio-visual equipment, from handheld computers, such as a Palm or PocketPC. We already have created a protocol by which the handheld can automatically create a user interface for the remote control from a specification, and we have hacked together hardware and software to connect this to two devices. The project for the undergraduate is to implement a real interface between our protocol and some existing device control standards. In particular, the first to be implemented will be using the HAVi standard for controlling devices connected using the IEEE 1394 (also called i.LINK and FireWire) protocol (see http://www.havi.org/). Next, the student will investigate implementing adapters so our protocol can be used with devices that accept other protocols such as uPnP, Salutation, Jini, and manufacturers' proprietary serial protocols. For more on the goals of this project, see: http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu/puc/ Qualifications for this position are substantial programming experience with Java, preferably also including some experience with programming network applications (e.g., with sockets). Some user interface programming (e.g., Swing or AWT) would be a plus. We prefer students in the Computer Science BS program. If interested, please send to Brad Myers 1) Your resume; 2) a description of your experience with programming in general, with Java programming, and with programming networks and user interfaces; 3) your grades in CS-related courses; and 4) your references including contact information. Contact: Prof. Brad Myers, bam@cs.cmu.edu, NSH 3601, x8-5150 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Summer Student Job or Independent Study with the Pebbles Project http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu The Pebbles project is investigating various uses of handheld devices, such as Palm pilots and Pocket PC devices. We have investigated a variety of issues and applications of handhelds in meetings, offices, homes, classrooms, etc. See http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu for more information. Previous undergraduate and graduate students on Pebbles have their names on publications and have shares in a commercial spin-off. For summer, 2001, we have a number of jobs, both for HCI students and for programmers. Either can be done for money or independent study credit, for full or part time. If interested, in any of these, please contact Brad Myers at bam@cs.cmu.edu. Please send: 1) Your resume, 2) A description of your experience with C++ and user interface programming, 3) Your grades in CS-related and HCI-related courses, and 4) your references including contact information. 5) Which job you are interested in - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1) For HCI Students: Laser Pointing We did a partial study of how well a laser pointer can be used as a pointing device when a camera is tracking it. We discovered a number of limitations, and want to try some variations. The summer student would help design the interaction techniques, and then help run and evaluate the experiments. The result is aimed to be a CHI paper. For more information, see study #2 in our earlier paper: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pebbles/papers/pebbleslasersnarf.pdf Applicants should have some experience running HCI or psychology experiments and/or analyzing the data from them. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2) For HCI Students: Assistive Technologies We have been working on adapting our handhelds to help people with disabilities. This semester, we worked with four people with Muscular Dystrophy. Over the summer, we want to continue these evaluations, and also see if our software can help people with ALS, Cerebral Palsy and other disorders. The student will help with contextual inquiries of the subjects' use of computers before and with our devices. The result is aimed at an ASSETS conference paper. For more information, see our preliminary results in: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pebbles/papers/pebbleshandicapped.pdf Applicants should have some experience with contextual inquiry and/or other HCI methods. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3) For Programmers: Here are some summer projects that might be performed by a programmer. * Implementing USB support on a PC so handhelds with USB can talk to the PC. * Porting our PC-side software to a Macintosh. * Implementing a direct-manipulation button editor on the PocketPC device. The buttons will perform various functions on the PC. This will essentially be a port of our Shortcutter application from the Palm. See http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu/shortcutter/ * Implementing an adaptable soft keyboard on the Palm and/or PocketPC for use by handicapped users. We have a number of people with Muscular Dystrophy who use our software to access a computer, but each person has individual needs for the keyboard. We would like an easily-adaptable keyboard layout that can be customized to each person. See http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu/handicapped/ Applicants must have substantial programming experience in C++ or C, and preferably substantial experience with Windows, Macintosh or Palm programming in C++ or C. ================================================= Posted on: cmu.cs.hcii.students cmu.misc.jobs cmu.cs.jobs to: hcii-students@cs.cmu.edu