Department of Applied Computing (Dundee University)
Founded in 1980, Dundee’s Department of Applied Computing contains one of the largest and most influential academic groups in the world researching into communication systems for disabled people. It also has strong international and national reputations in other aspects of human computer interaction research. It was awarded a top grade 5 in the 1996 RAE.
The Department has an engineering bias and brings together a unique blend of disciplines including computer scientists and engineers, psychologists, a therapist, a special education teacher, and staff who have benefited from interdisciplinary careers. It is committed to the principles of usability engineering with a focus on developing academic and practical insights, and producing software that can be commercialised.
The Department offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Applied Computing in a unique programme where the learning of HCI and usability engineering techniques is integrated throughout the courses.
Research
Research is funded from a wide portfolio of funding agencies and has licensed many software products to commercial companies in the USA and Europe, and collaborates in its research with commercial, academic and service organisations world-wide.
The research in the department covers the following broad themes:
- Multi-modal and Ordinary and Extra-Ordinary HCI
- Applied Telecommunications
- Remote Learning
- Health Informatics
- Interactive Communication Systems for Disabled People
- Computer Based Interviewing and Knowledge Elicitation
- Digital Signal Processing and Software Engineering
The Telecommunications Research Group
The Telecommunications Research Group (TRG) has been active since 1989. In that time it has been involved in a number of research projects that considered various aspects of the use of telecommunications systems and services by people with disabilities.
Two principal themes direct the work of this group.
- To improve the usability of new and existing telecommunications systems and services for disabled and elderly people
- To use telecommunications systems and services in novel ways to assist disabled and elderly people in maintaining their independence within society
The team conducts its research at three levels:
- Usability issues of telecommunications systems. To date this has involved research in the use and usability of ATM, ISDN, LAN, Wireless LAN, GPS and Cellular Mobile Phone technologies.
- Applying the knowledge to improve the usability of services enabled by these technologies. To date this has involved research in distance education and assistance to carers of disabled people within a 'Smarthome' environment.
- Developing new services specifically designed to meet the needs of disabled people. To date this has focused on the development of novel multimedia based Augmentative and Alternative Communications services, and the development of novel home automation services.
The group has primary interest in people with impaired speech. Deaf people and people with motor impairments have also been considered by the team.
Research disciplines within the group include:
- Telecommunications Engineering,
- Biomedical Engineering,
- Computer Science,
- Experimental Psychology
- Pedagogy
The additional multi-disciplinary input to the group comes from other members of the Department of Applied Computing, researchers from other departments at the University of Dundee, local agencies, and national and international research collaborators.
Research Projects have included: RAFT (EU 5th Framework project) VIP (UKERNA Videoconferencing Demonstrator), PEARL (EU 5th Framework project IST-1999-12550), RESORT (CEC TIDE Project DE 4208), IBDE (British Council/Slovakia Collaboration), UMPTIDUMPTI (CEC ACTS Project AC027), MORE (CEC TIDE Project DE 3001), TCALL (EPSRC/DTI Link Project), LEARN-ED (CEC Copernicus Project), IPSNI I & IPSNI II (CEC RACE Projects).
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