John R. and Pamela Egan Professor
of Computer Science
| |
James
Gips John R. and Pamela Egan Professor of Computer Science |
I am happy to meet with you. If my office door is open come on in. During the semester I usually am in my office M, T, W, F from 2:00 to 5:30. You can email for a definite appointment.
In case you miss winter (and Gasson Hall), here is a February view. Here is a July view. Here is an October view. Here was the view of Earth from Mars in March 2004. Here are some scenes from October 2007 and some highlights from October 2004.
Fall semester 2008 I am teaching MI 031 Computers in Management Honors. Here are the Fall 2007 MI 031 student evaluations and the Fall 2006 student evaluations.
Spring semester 2008 I taught MI 157 Programming for Management. Here are the Spring 2008 MI 157 student evaluations, the Spring 2007 student evaluations and the Spring 2006 student evaluations.
In June 2006, we formed an Information Systems Department in the Carroll School of Management. I serve as the chairperson of the department. (My primary appointment is in the Carroll School of Management, though my chair is in the College of Arts and Sciences.)
My research interests generally are in human-computer interaction, especially in developing technology to allow people with profound disabilites to interact with the computer. For a more detailed description of this work see the EagleEyes Project website.
The Winter 2008 edition of our EagleEyes Project newsletter, The BEAT, is available online, as are the Summer 2007 , Winter 2007, Winter 2006, Summer 2005, Winter 2005, Summer 2004, Winter 2004, Summer 2003, Winter 2003, Summer 2002, and Winter 2002 editions.
The original technology we developed is called EagleEyes. EagleEyes allows a person to control the computer by moving his eyes or head. The computer senses eye and head movements through electrodes placed around the eyes. The Opportunity Foundation of America, based in Salt Lake City, is working with us to build and distribute for free the miniaturized EagleEyes boxes originally developed by Bill Ames of the Computer Science Department.
Debbie Inkley, the Executive Director and Founder of the Opportunity Foundation of America, recently sent me this automated slide show of "EagleEyes kids". For a new two-part "Profiles in Caring" video on EagleEyes please look here and here.
The second major technology we developed is Camera Mouse, a program that uses a webcam to allow control of the computer by tracking small movements of the head. Camera Mouse 2008 is available for free download at www.cameramouse.org.
A free onscreen keyboard program for use with Camera Mouse is available at www.midastouch.org. A free two-level onscreen keyboard program for use with Camera Mouse and EagleEyes is available at www.staggeredspeech.org. The Staggered Speech program is based on the spelling method developed by Rick Hoyt and his brother.
Many children and young adults who are non-speaking and have complex disabilities are using EagleEyes and Camera Mouse on a regular basis at the Boston College Campus School and at other schools and facilities and in their homes. Camera Mouse use has been increasing dramatically since the website and the free program were made available in Spring 2007. Over 3,000 copies of Camera Mouse were downloaded in 2007 from www.cameramouse.org. Over 5,000 copies were downloaded during the month of August 2008.
Adam Brasel, of the Marketing Department, and I are examining aspects of new media using the eye tracker.
Spring semester 2004 I was a Visiting Professor at the Media Lab at MIT, where I did some work on design.
My background is in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Previous research has been quite eclectic, and has included founding work on shapegrammars and on algorithmic aesthetics and on grammatical inference and on ethical robots.
The EagleEyes Project was named a 2006 Technology Award Laureate by the Tech Museum of San Jose (see www.techawards.org). "The Tech Awards program inspires global engagement in applying technology to humanity's most pressing problems by recognizing the best of those who are utilizing innovative technology solutions to address the most urgent critical issues facing our planet. People all over the world are profoundly improving the human condition in the areas of education, equality, environment, health, and economic development through the use of technology. It is the goal of The Tech Awards to showcase their compelling stories and reward their brilliant accomplishments."
Technology Award Laureates recently were invited down to New York to help ring the closing bell at NASDAQ. [ photo ]
Undergraduates have been integrally involved in all phases of the work on EagleEyes and technologies that assist people with severe disabilites. Many students have made sustained, vital contributions. Several undergraduates are co-authors of papers listed below. Students usually begin not by developing technologies but rather by working directly with the children who will use the technologies.
"When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is the catalyst for solidarity which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection. Students, in the course of their formation, must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering and engage it constructively." -- Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach,S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
S. A. Brasel and J. Gips, "Points of View: Where Do We Look When We Watch TV?", submitted.
J. Magee, M. Betke, J. Gips, M. Scott, and B. Waber, "A Human-Computer Interface Using Symmetry between Eyes to Detect Gaze Direction", IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, in press.
S. A. Brasel and J. Gips, "Breaking Through Fast-Forwarding: Brand Information and Visual Attention", Journal of Marketing, November 2008 issue, in press.
J. Gips, Mastering Excel 2007: A Problem-Solving Approach, Pearson Custom Publishing, first edition (red cover), 2007. Second edition (blue cover), 2008. Third edition (green cover), published in August 2008.
J. Gips, "EagleEyes Technology for People with Profound Disabilities", keynote address, The 18th International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics, Baden-Baden, 2006.
P. DiMattia and J. Gips, "EagleEyes: Technologies for Non-Verbal Persons", Handbook of Human Development for Health Care Professionals, K. Thies and J. Travers (eds.), Jones and Bartlett, 2005, pp. 429-448.
J. Gips, "Creating Ethical Robots: A Grand Challenge", accepted for presentation at the AAAI Symposium on Machine Ethics, Washington, D.C., 2005.
J. Gips, "Ethical Robots: Do We Have 30 Years to Get Them Right?", abstract in Cognitive, Emotive and Ethical Aspects of Decision Making in Humans and in AI, Volume IV, The International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics, 2005.
S. Tai, J. Gips, and P. DiMattia, "Enabling Non-Verbal People with Quadriplegia to Interact through the Internet Using only Eye and Head Movement", Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, 2005.
A. Gips, P. DiMattia, and J. Gips, "The Effect of Assistive Technology on Educational Costs: Two Case Studies", in K. Miesenberger, J. Klaus, W. Zagler, D. Burger (eds.), Computers Helping People with Special Needs, Springer, 2004, pp. 206-213.
K. Grauman, M. Betke, J. Lombardi, J. Gips, and G. Bradski, "Communication via Eye Blinks and Eyebrow Raises: Video-Based Human-Computer Interfaces", Universal Access in the Information Society, 2(4), pp. 359-373, November 2003.
P. DiMattia and J. Gips, "Experiencing the Regular Classroom Curriculum by Use of an Access Technology", presented at the International Conference on Computers and Advanced Technology in Education, Rhodes, 2003.
H. Larson and J. Gips, "A Web Browser for People with Quadriplegia", presented at the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, Crete, 2003. Published in Universal Access in HCI: Inclusive Design in the Information Society, C. Stephanidis (ed.), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003, pp. 226-230.
J. Gips, "Ramona's Painting", about a painting by an elephant of an elephant, May 2003. Also, see http://www.ramonaspainting.com.
C. Fagiani, M. Betke, and J. Gips, "Evaluation of Tracking Methods for Human-Computer Interaction", IEEE Workshop on Applications in Computer Vision (WACV 2002), Orlando, 2002.
R. L. Cloud, M. Betke, and J. Gips, "Experiments with a Camera-Based Human-Computer Interface System", 7th ERCIM Workshop on User Interfaces for All (UI4ALL 2002), Paris, 2002.
M. Betke, J. Gips, and P. Fleming, "The Camera Mouse: Visual Tracking of Body Features to Provide Computer Access for People with Severe Disabilities", IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, Vol.10, No. 1, 2002, pp. 1-10.
J. Gips, P. DiMattia, and M. Betke, "Collaborative Development of New Access Technology and Communication Software", abstract in Proceedings of International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Conference (ISAAC 2002), Odense, 2002.
J. Gips, P. DiMattia, M. Curran, D. Lees, and M. Gates, "Accessing Internet Courses by Eye Movement and Head Movement", in Computers Helping People with Special Needs, K. Miesenberger, J. Klaus, and W. Zagler(eds.) Springer-Verlag, 2002.
J. Gips, Mastering Excel: A Problem Solving Approach (Second Edition), John Wiley,2002.
K. Grauman, M. Betke, J. Gips, and G. Bradski, "Communication via EyeBlinks -- Detection and Duration Analysis in Real Time", IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR 2001), 2001.
J. Gips, M. Betke, and P. DiMattia, "Early Experiences Using Visual Tracking for Computer Access by People with Profound Physical Disabilities", in Universal Access in HCI: Towards an Information Society for All,C. Stephanidis (ed.), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001.
P. DiMattia, F. X. Curran, and J. Gips, An Eye Control Teaching Device for Students Without Language Expressive Capacity: EagleEyes, Edwin Mellen Press, 2001.
J. Gips and J. Gips, "A Computer Program Based on Rick Hoyt's Spelling Method for People with Profound Special Needs", Proceedings International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP 2000), Karlsruhe, pp. 245-250.
J. Gips, M. Betke, and P. Fleming, "The Camera Mouse: Preliminary Investigation of Automated Visual Tracking for Computer Access", Proceedings of RESNA 2000, RESNA Press, pp. 98-100.
J. Gips, "Teaching People with Profound Disabilities to Control the Computer with Eye Movements: The EagleEyes Project", Irish Workshop on Eye-Tracking, Trinity College Dublin, 2000.
J. Gips, "Computer Implementation of Shape Grammars", invited paper, Workshop on Shape Computation, MIT, 1999.
J. Gips, P. DiMattia, and F. X. Curran, "Progress with EagleEyes", Proceedings of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Conference (ISAAC '98), Dublin, 1998, pp. 458-459.
J. Gips, "On Building Intelligence into EagleEyes", in Lecture Notes in AI: Assistive Technology and Artificial Intelligence, V. Mittal, H.A. Yanco, J. Aronis, R. Simpson (eds.), Springer Verlag, 1998.
J. J. Tecce, J. Gips, P. Olivieri, L. Pok, M. Consiglio, "Eye movement control of computer functions", International Journal of Psychophysiology,vol. 29, no. 3, 1998, pp. 319-325.
H. A. Yanco and J. Gips, "Driver Performance Using Single Switch Scanning with a Powered Wheelchair: Robotic Assisted Control versus Traditional Control", Proceedings of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America Annual Conference (RESNA '98), RESNA Press, 1998, pp. 298-300.
J. Gips and P. DiMattia, "EagleEyes", invited presentation, U. S. Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication conference (USSAAC '97), Baltimore, August 1997.
H. A. Yanco and J. Gips. "Preliminary investigation of a semi-autonomous robotic wheelchair directed through electrodes", Proceedings of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America Annual Conference (RESNA '97), RESNA Press, 1997, pp. 414-416.
J. Gips, Mastering Excel: A Problem-Solving Approach, John Wiley, 1997.
J. Gips, "Towards an Intelligent Interface for EagleEyes", presented at the AAAI Symposium on Developing Assistive Technologies for People with Disabilities, MIT, November 1996.
J. Gips, P. DiMattia, F. X. Curran, and P. Olivieri, "Using EagleEyes -- an Electrodes Based Device for Controlling the Computer with Your Eyes -- to Help People with Special Needs", in Interdisciplinary Aspects on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, J. Klaus, E.Auff, W. Kremser, W. Zagler (eds.), R. Oldenbourg, Vienna, 1996.
J. Gips and P. Olivieri, "EagleEyes: An Eye Control System for Persons with Disabilities", presented at the Eleventh International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities, Los Angeles, March 1996.
J. Gips, "Towards the Ethical Robot", in Android Epistemology,K. Ford, C. Glymour and P. Hayes (eds.), MIT Press, 1995.
J. Gips, "Bringing the City into the Home: Trends in On-Line Services", Proceedings of the IFIP International Conference on Home-Oriented Informatics, Telematics and Automation (HOIT '94), Copenhagen, June 1994.
R. Keyes, P. Olivieri, and J. Gips, “Making the Grade: An Interactive Video Case for Teaching Ethics”, National Educational Computing Conference, Boston, 1994.
J. Gips, "Information Technology: Trends and Ethical Issues", in Corporate Ethics, T. A. Mathias (ed.), Allied Publishers, Bombay, 1994.
J. Gips and D. Green, "Trying to KISS* with the Robot Vacuum Cleaner (*Keep It Simple, Stupid)", Proceedings of the AAAI Symposium on Instantiating Real-World Agents, Raleigh NC, October 1993.
J. Gips, P. Olivieri, and J. J. Tecce, "Direct Control of the Computer through Electrodes Placed Around the Eyes", in Human-Computer Interaction: Applications and Case Studies, M. J. Smith and G. Salvendy (eds.), Elsevier, 1993, pp. 630-635.
J. Gips, "On Algorithmic Aesthetics", invited paper, Symposium on Determinacy and Indeterminacy in Complex Systems Behavior, Wharton, Philadelphia, March 1992.