UCLIC Seminar, 3 July 2024. Markus Klar

*Summary of the Talk: "Simulating Interaction Movements with Optimal Feedback Control and Deep Reinforcement Learning"*
Wednesday, July 3, 2024, Markus Klar from the University of Glasgow.
#### Introduction and Context:
- **Speaker Introduction**: Markus Klar was introduced, detailing his background as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Glasgow, focusing on computational interaction.
- **Theme Overview**: The seminar explored the use of simulations to evaluate and optimize interaction techniques in VR and AR, reducing the need for extensive user studies.
#### Theoretical Background:
- **Optimal Control in HCI**: Klar framed human-computer interaction as an optimal control problem, using various feedback control methods to predict user behavior.
- **Deep Reinforcement Learning**: He contrasted traditional control methods with deep reinforcement learning, highlighting its potential to simulate realistic user movements and optimize interaction parameters.
#### Simulation Methods and Findings:
- **Optimal Feedback Control**: Klar discussed methods like LQR, LQG, and MPC to predict user behavior and optimize interaction techniques. He demonstrated simulations for simple tasks like 1D mouse pointing, showing how these models can approximate human movement.
- **Nonlinear Models and MPC**: He presented more complex models, including biomechanical simulations of the upper extremity using MPC, which provided more accurate predictions of user movements and ergonomics.
- **Deep Reinforcement Learning**: Klar introduced deep reinforcement learning agents trained on various interaction tasks, demonstrating their ability to perform complex tasks and incorporate visual and proprioceptive feedback.
#### Application and Evaluation:
- **Ergonomic Assessments**: The simulations allowed for ergonomic evaluations of interaction techniques without extensive user studies. Klar showed how different parameters, such as the orientation and position of virtual touchpads, could be optimized for better user comfort and performance.
- **Parameter Optimization**: By running simulations with different parameter sets, optimal values could be identified, potentially streamlining the development of interaction techniques before user testing.
#### Practical Implications:
- **Replacing User Studies**: Klar suggested that simulations could serve as a preliminary step in interaction design, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming user studies.
- **Constrained Environments**: He highlighted the potential for simulations to optimize interactions in constrained spaces, such as airplane seats, ensuring ergonomic feasibility.
#### Future Directions:
- **Generalization of Simulations**: Klar emphasized the need to generalize simulations to various tasks, users, and environments, enhancing their applicability in different contexts.
- **Incorporation of Cognitive Models**: He proposed integrating more sophisticated cognitive models into simulations, including aspects of social learning and emotional responses, to better mimic human behavior.
- **Real-Time Adaptation**: The potential for simulations to adapt interaction techniques in real-time, particularly in augmented reality applications, was discussed as a future research direction.
Q&A Highlights:
- **Replacing User Studies**: Klar explained that simulations could serve as a preliminary step to identify optimal parameters before conducting user studies, saving time and resources.
- **Ergonomic Simulation**: Simulations can predict the feasibility of interactions in constrained environments, such as airplane seats, ensuring ergonomic viability.
- **Social Learning in Models**: Future models could incorporate social aspects of learning, where agents learn from observing other agents, mimicking human social learning behaviors.
- **Simulation Precision**: While current models focus on arm movements, extending simulations to include precise hand and finger movements remains a complex challenge due to the intricacy of hand muscles.
- **Adaptation for Muscle Deterioration**: Klar mentioned that models could simulate muscle weakness or fatigue, potentially aiding in the design of interfaces for users with muscle deteriorating conditions.
- **Deep Reinforcement Learning and EEG**: Applying deep reinforcement learning to simulate brain activities, such as EEG responses, is currently limited by our understanding of the brain and the complexity of modeling neural processes accurately.
Conclusion:
Overall, Markus Klar’s seminar provided a comprehensive overview of using simulations to advance interaction techniques in VR and AR, advocating for more efficient and ergonomic design processes through computational models.