Augmented Human-Computer Interaction – AHCI

Research Activity

The research activities of the Augmented HCI group focus on the design and experimentation of intelligent virtual and augmented reality environments, as well as advanced interfaces for human–computer interaction, tailored to specific uses and users. In pursuing this goal, the group explores the use of AI techniques both to enhance the user experience and to optimize AI itself. AI has the ability to adapt interfaces to suit individual users and specific scenarios and allowing for the creation of fully virtual biofeedback environments. Conversely, AI can also benefit from human input, as human experience and intuition can enhance its learning process, where using VR environments as training grounds can significantly shorten this learning phase.

In more detail, the planned research activities include:

 – Personalized human–computer interaction: leveraging AI techniques to identify optimal interface customizations for a specific user, based on personal preferences, emotional state, current context, and task requirements.

 – Virtual/augmented reality with AI-powered sensing & actuation: applying AI to enhance user perception within virtual environments and to optimize visual and auditory feedback. A key application is bio-feedback, where a bodily function is monitored, processed, and reproduced in the virtual environment to support the user in developing control strategies.

 – Human–AI collaboration with “human-in-the-loop” approaches: exploring models in which the human component contributes to solving computationally complex problems through experience and intuition. By heuristically selecting samples, enabled by dedicated interfaces, humans can guide AI, thereby reducing the complexity of the learning phase.

 – Virtual reality as a training ground for AI algorithms: VR can already serve as a simulation environment for training autonomous systems such as robots, drones, and diagnostic tools, before real-world deployment. The same approach applies to AI itself, where the aim is to drastically reduce AI learning time through highly realistic “faster-than-real-time” simulations, which can be instantiated repeatedly to parallelize training.

 – Interaction with cognitive agents emobodied in virtual environments or in social robotics platforms: designing and experimenting with cognitive agents, both disembodied (e.g., virtual assistants) and embodied (e.g., social robots or avatars in immersive environments), capable of interpreting context, recognizing user intentions, and dynamically adapting their behavior. The goal is to deliver personalized, proactive, and collaborative interaction, supporting users in task execution, with applications spanning education, healthcare, and cultural heritage.

Goals

The objective of the AHCI group’s activities is to define an “augmented” paradigm of human–computer interaction, achieved through the combined use of artificial intelligence and advanced interaction models and techniques. Our integrated approach enables: i) Multi-modal natural interaction mechanisms (gesture, voice, bio-feedback, etc.) within augmented, virtual, and mixed reality environments; ii) Learning and analyzing user interaction patterns to design precision interactive solutions tailored to individual preferences, as well as to cognitive and/or motor impairments.

Application Fields

– Cultural heritage: personalized fruition through augmented/mixed reality

– Healthcare: cognitive assessment and training in virtual reality

– Smart factory: augmented assistance for production activities

– Education: smart tutoring systems

Italian Universities:

·       Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II. Prof. Maurizio Guida.

·       Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Naples Federico II. Prof. Maria Romano.

·       Division of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic, Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery and Kidney Transplantation, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery University of Naples Federico II. Prof. Roberto Troisi

·       Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Section of Cardiology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples. Prof. Paolo Golino.

·       Department of Information Science and Technology, Pegaso University, Naples. Prof. Luigi Gallo.

·       Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics (BiND), University of Palermo. Prof. Salvatore Vitabile.

·       Department of Engineering, University of Basilicata. Prof. Ugo Erra.

·       Department of Engineering and Architecture, Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”. Prof. Salvatore Sorce.

·       Facultad de Informática de la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), San Sebastián. Prof. Elena Lazkano Ortega

 Foreign Universities:

·       Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine della Temple University di Philadelphia. Prof. Antonio Giordano.

·       AI Policy Lab, Umeå universitet. Prof. Virginia Dignum.

·       Technical University of Darmstadt. Dr. Dietmar Hildenbrand.

·       Brno University of Technology. Prof. Petr Vašík.

·       Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Prof. Sebastià Xambó Descamps.

·       Faculty of Medicine & Surgery – Department of Public Health, Universita Ta Malta. Prof. Neville Calleja.

Hospital Facilities:

·       Vanvitelli Cardiology and Intensive Care Unit, Monaldi Hospital,  Naples, Italy. Dott. Giovani Ciccarelli.

Other institutions:

·       Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica e SAIT (Società Astronomica Italiana)

Collaboration within the framework of the following experimental projects during the two-year period of upper secondary schools in the Sicilian territory on specific applications of artificial intelligence to support learning pathways, in collaboration with Universities and/or Research Institutions:

    • “VIRGIL – I.A. una guida per il nuovo apprendimento digitale”, ISIS Giuseppe Salerno, di Gangi (PA).
    • “Creamenti – costruire il futuro dell’apprendimento con l’intelligenza artificiale”, I.I.S. “G.B. ODIERNA”, Palma di Montechiaro (AG).
Back To Top