Debjyoti GHOSH

I believe, communication is a basic human need and the most natural form of human communication occurs through voice. So, how about we use voice to interact with technology? A simple question with not so simple answers! I have spent the past four years of my Ph.D. researching into a tiny aspect of this vast question.

On the go, we satisfy a large part of our communication needs by texting on a smartphone, so much so that we are turning into a race of smartphone zombies — zombies who see neither the surrounding nor the people around them (does it ring a bell, feel scary?). My research tries to find an alternative. Can voice-based text interaction be a feasible on-the-go solution to the zombie problem? If texting on a smartphone forces the user to constantly stay glued to the screen, can voice-based text interaction offer an EYES-FREE solution? But, we are visual beings, we need to see what we are typing, how do we edit the text completely eyes-free? Certainly then, eyes-free has its limitations, doesn’t it? Yes, it does and that is why I have tried to combine see-through smart glasses (that allows a digital overlay of the text on the physical surrounding) with the power of voice-interaction to come up with a more potent solution to the zombie problem. Trying to dig deeper and deeper into such minutely focused questions come with its own set of perks. I have actively published at major HCI conferences (CHI) and journals (TOCHI) and have managed to establish my own niche in research.

By the way, if at all it seemed like I am all geeky and nerdy, that’s not true! I do enjoy other stuffs, you know, cool stuffs like traveling, doing music, photographing the world around, swimming! But, somewhere at the corner of my curious brain, I am still thinking, will I be someday able to help develop a better technology that would enable human beings to satisfy all their digital communication needs even while doing all the cool stuffs in their lives? I am trying to find an answer, always…