Microsoft Research
 
 

 

People

Projects

Muscle-Computer Interfaces

Muscle-Computer Interfaces

Muscle-computer interfaces directly sense and decode human muscular activity rather than relying on physical actuation or perceptible user actions. We believe that this is the first step towards tapping into the vast amount of information contained within the human physiology.

 
Brain-Computer Interfaces

Brain-Computer Interfaces

We are working on making brain sensing technologies accessible and useful to the mass consumer market. Our work in this area includes modeling cognitive state for interface evaluation and adaptive interfaces, and also using implicit cognitive processing to perform useful tasks such as image classification.

 
MySong

MySong

MySong automatically generates chords to accompany a vocal melody, and lets a user with no knowledge of chords or harmony manipulate those chords with intuitive parameters. Songwriting for everyone!

 
Interactive Machine Learning

Interactive Machine Learning

We are exploring the dynamic interaction of human users with machine learning systems. Examples include CueTIP, a mixed-initiative interface for correcting handwriting recognition errors, and CueFlik, a system that interactively reranks image search results based on visual properties of examples provided.

 
SuperBreak

SuperBreak

SuperBreak adds hands-free interactivity to traditional ergonomic break-reminder software, using vision-based input.

 
SearchBar

SearchBar

SearchBar is a browser history centered around search topics and queries, instead of the less-intuitive constructs like domain and date that current browsers use to organize Web history.

 
iSee

iSee Interactive Scenario Explorer for Entertainment

iSee is a system of interactive visualizations that allows players to project potential outcomes as well as explore future scenarios. This makes online tournament-style fantasy games vastly more compelling (socially and cognitively).

 
FacetLens

Faceted Browsing for Scalable Information Exploration

We are working on novel user interfaces that present faceted metadata to make searching and browsing data simpler and more informative. We’re particularly interested in an approach that works over a large range of display sizes, with a diverse collection of data domains, over many different sizes of dataset.

Publications

2008

Exposing Parameters of a Trained Dynamic Model for Interactive Music Creation

Dan Morris, Ian Simon, Sumit Basu

Proceedings of AAAI 2008

Demonstrating the Feasibility of Using Forearm Electromyography for Muscle-Computer Interfaces

T Scott Saponas, Desney S Tan, Dan Morris, Ravin Balakrishnan

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Feasibility and Pragmatics of Classifying Working Memory Load with an Electroencephalograph

David Grimes, Desney S Tan, Scott Hudson, Pradeep Shenoy, Rajesh Rao

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Human-Aided Computing: Utilizing Implicit Human Processing to Classify Images

Pradeep Shenoy, Desney S Tan

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

CueFlik: Interactive Concept Learning in Image Search

James Fogarty, Desney S Tan, Ashish Kapoor, Simon Winder

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

IMPROMPTU: A New Interaction Framework for Supporting Collaboration in Multiple Display Environments and its Field Evaluation for CO-located Software Development

Jacob Biehl, William Baker, Brain Bailey, Desney S Tan, Kori Inkpen, Mary Czerwinski

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

SuperBreak: Using Interactivity to Enhance Ergonomic Typing Breaks

Dan Morris, A.J. Brush, Brian Meyers

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

SearchBar: A Search-Centric Web History for Task Resumption and Information Re-finding

Dan Morris, Meredith Ringel Morris, Gina Venolia

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

MySong: Automatic Accompaniment Generation for Vocal Melodies

Ian Simon, Dan Morris, Sumit Basu

CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Predictability and Accuracy in Adaptive User Interfaces

Krzysztof Gajos, Katherine Everitt, Desney S Tan, Mary Czerwinski, Daniel Weld

Extended Abstracts of CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Brain-Computer Interfaces for Human-Computer Interaction and Games

Anton Nijholt, Desney S Tan, Brendan Allison, Jose del R Millan, Bernhard Graimann, Melody Moore Jackson

Workshop at CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

2007

AdaptiviTree: Adaptive Tree Visualization for Tournament-Style Brackets

Desney S Tan, Greg Smith, Bongshin Lee, George G. Robertson

IEEE InfoVis 2007, pp.1113-1120

Supporting Human Memory with a Personal Digital Lifetime Store

Desney S Tan, Mary Czerwinski, Gordon Bell, Emma Berry, Jim Gemmell, Steve Hodges, Narinder Kapur, Brian Meyers, Nuria Oliver, George Robertson, Ken Wood

Personal Information Management: Challenges and Opportunities (eds. William Jones and Jaime Teevan), University of Washington Press, 2007

Investigating the Querying and Browsing Behavior of Advanced Search Engine Users

Ryen White, Dan Morris

Proceedings of ACM SIGIR 2007

Instrumenting the Dynamic Web

Andy Edmonds, Ryen White, Dan Morris, Steven Drucker

Journal of Web Engineering (JWE), Vol. 6, No. 3 (2007), 243-260.

New Frontiers in Desktop Task Management

George Robertson, Greg Smith, Patrick Baudisch, Mary Czerwinski, Eric Horvitz, Brian Meyers, Daniel Robbins, Desney S Tan

Beyond the Desktop Metaphor: Designing Integrated Digital Work Environments (eds. Victor Kaptelinn and Mary Czerwinski), MIT Press, 2007

FASTDash: A visual dashboard for fostering awareness in software teams

Jacob Biehl, Mary Czerwinski, Greg Smith, George Robertson, Brian Bailey

CHI 2007 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Using Job-Shop Scheduling Tasks for Evaluating Collocated Communication

Desney S Tan, Darren Gergle, Regan Mandryk, Kori Inkpen, Melanie Kellar, Kirstie Hawkey, Mary Czerwinski

Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (Special Issue on User-Centered Design and Evaluation of Services for Human-Human Communication and Collaboration), 2007

InkSeine: In Situ Search for Active Note Taking

Ken Hinckley, Shen Zhao, Raman Sarin, Patrick Baudisch, Ed Cutrell, Michael Shilman, Desney S Tan

CHI 2007 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 251-260

An Evaluation of Extended Validation and Picture-in-Picture Phishing Attacks

Collin Jackson, Dan Simon, Desney S Tan, Adam Barth

Usable Security 2007

Understanding Memory Triggers for Task Tracking

AJ Brush, Brian Meyers, Desney S Tan, Mary Czerwinski

Extended Abstracts at CHI 2007 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 947-950.

Health-OS: A Position Paper

Darko Kirovski, Nuria Oliver, Mike Sinclair, Desney S Tan

Poster at the 1st International Workshop on Systems and Networking Support for Healthcare and Assisted Living Environments (HealthNet07)

Playing with your Brain: Brain-Computer Interfaces and Games

Anton Nijholt, Desney S Tan

Organizing paper for Brainplay Workshop at Advances in Computer Entertainment 2007

2006

FacetMap: A Scalable Search and Browse Visualization

Greg Smith, Mary Czerwinski, Brian Meyers, Daniel Robbins, George Robertson, Desney S Tan

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 12(5), pp. 797-804, 2006

An Exploration of User Interface Designs for Real-time Panoramic Photography

Patrick Baudisch, Desney S Tan, Drew Steedly, Eric Rudolph, Matt Uyttendaele, Chris Pal, Richard Szeliski

Australian Journal of Information Systems, 13(2), pp. 151-166, 2006

Large Displays Enhance Optical Flow Cues and Narrow the Gender Gap in 3D Virtual Navigation

Desney S Tan, Mary Czerwinski, George Robertson

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 48(2), pp.318-333, 2006

Physically Large Displays Improve Performance on Spatial Tasks

Desney S Tan, Darren Gergle, Peter Scupelli, Randy Pausch

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 13(1), pp. 71-99, 2006

Using a Low-Cost Electroencephalograph for Task Classification in HCI Research

Johnny C Lee, Desney S Tan

19th ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 81-90, 2006

CueTIP: A mixed-Initiative Interface for Correcting Handwriting Errors

Michael Shilman, Desney S Tan, Patrice Simard

19th ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 323-332, 2006

FaThumb: A facet-based interface for mobile search

Amy Karlson, George Robertson, Daniel Robbins, Mary Czerwinski, Greg Smith

CHI 2006 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

SWISH:Semantic Analysis of Window Titles and Switching History

Nuria Oliver, Greg Smith, Chintan Thakkar, Arun Surendran

International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2006)

Phosphor: Explaining Transitions in the User Interface using Afterglow Effects

Patrick Baudisch, Desney S Tan, Maxime Collomb, Dan Robbins, Ken Hinckley, Maneesh Agrawala, Shengdong Zhao, Gonzalo Ramos

19th ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 169-178, 2006

Tumble! Splat! Helping Users Access and Manipulate Occluded Content in 2D Drawings

Gonzalo Ramos, George Robertson, Mary Czerwinski, Desney S Tan, Patrick Baudisch, Ken Hinckley, Maneesh Agrawala, Daniel Robbins

Advanced Visual Interfaces 2006, pp. 428-435

Exploring the Design Space for Adaptive Graphical User Interfaces

Krzysztof Gajos, Mary Czerwinski, Desney S Tan, Daniel Weld

Advanced Visual Interfaces 2006, pp. 201-208

Clipping Lists and Change Borders: Improving Multitasking Efficiency with Peripheral Information Design

Tara Matthews, Mary Czerwinski, George Robertson, Desney S Tan

CHI 2006 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 989-998

Large Display Research Overview

Mary Czerwinski, George Robertson, Brian Meyers, Greg Smith, Daniel Robbins, Desney S Tan

Extended Abstracts at CHI 2006 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 69-74, 2006

Before 2006

Large Display User Experience

George Robertson, Mary Czerwinski, Patrick Baudisch, Brian Meyers, Dan Robbins, Greg Smith, Desney S Tan

IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 25(4), pp. 44-51, 2005

Panoramic Viewfinder: Providing a Real-time Preview to Help Users Avoid Flaws in Panoramic Pictures

Patrick Baudisch, Desney S Tan, Drew Steedly, Eric Rudolph, Matt Uyttendaele, Chris Pal, Richard Szeliski

OZCHI 2005 Conference for the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of the Human Factors Society of Australia

Display space usage and window management operation comparisons between single monitor and multiple monitor users

Dugald Hutchings, Greg Smith, Brian Meyers, Mary Czerwinski, George Robertson

Advanced Visual Interfaces 2004, pp. 32-39

Scalable Fabric: Flexible task management

George Robertson, Eric Horvitz, Mary Czerwinski, Dugald Hutchings, Patrick Baudisch, Daniel Robbins, Greg Smith

Advanced Visual Interfaces 2004, pp. 85-89

GroupBar: The TaskBar Evolved

Greg Smith, Patrick Bausdich, George Robertson, Mary Czerwinski, Brian Meyers, Daniel Robbins, Donna Andrews

(2003) OZCHI 2003 Conference for the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of the Human Factors Society of Australia

Toward characterizing the productivity benefits of very large displays

Mary Czerwinski, Greg Smith, Tim Regan, Brian Meyers, George Robertson, Gary Starkweather

(2003) Interact 2003

Press

An Algorithm to Turn Melodies Into Songs

IEEE Spectrum, July 2008

Microsoft creates 'instant backing band' for singers

The New Scientist, April 2008

Giving Back to the Machines

digit, 22 January 2007

Microsoft's Investigation into the Subconscious

MarketWatch from DowJones, 18 January 2008

The Year in Hardware

MIT Technology Review, 26 December 2007

I Spy with my AI, Something Beginning with T(hought)!

Information Technology Magazine, 1 October 2007

Work on Paralysis Shows Just How Hard it is to Read Minds

Wall Street Journal, 26 September 2007

Teaching Computers to Read Minds

MIT Technology Review, 15 August 2007

Human-Aided Computing: Microsoft Researchers are Trying to Harness Untapped Brain Power

MIT Technology Review, 22 June 2007

Computer Will Try to Adjust to Your Moods: This is your Brain Plugged In

Puget Sound Business Journal, 19 May 2006

Software Notebook: Helping Users Peer into the Minds of Users

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 13 March 2006