Vision & Cognition Laboratory

Department of Computer Science, Drexel University

  
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ACT-Simple

Cognitive modeling has evolved into a powerful tool for understanding and predicting user behavior. Higher-level modeling frameworks such as GOMS and its variants facilitate fast and easy model development but are sometimes limited in their ability to model detailed user behavior. Lower-level cognitive architectures such as ACT-R, EPIC, and Soar allow for greater precision and direct interaction with real-world systems but require significant modeling training and expertise. We have developed a modeling framework, ACT-Simple, that aims to combine the advantages of both approaches to cognitive modeling. ACT-Simple embodies a “compilation” approach in which a simple description language is compiled down to a core lower-level architecture (namely ACT-R). We have used this framework to explore rapid modeling of both standard user-interface tasks and secondary tasks while driving. We have also worked to incorporate the framework into Distract-R, a rapid evaluation tool for driver distraction, and CogTool, a rapid evaluation tool for graphical user interfaces developed by colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University.

Download

We are currently working on a new version of ACT-Simple as well as a new web interface to make it easy to explore and test the system. Until these are ready, the original ACT-Simple LISP code is available for download from the links below. Please note that the original version requires the installation of ACT-R 5.0, which is available at the main ACT-R web site, and is designed to run in the Macintosh Common Lisp environment. If you have any trouble with this original version, we hope to have the web-based interface available near the end of the summer 2003.

Primary Reference

Salvucci, D.D., & Lee, F. J. (2003). Simple cognitive modeling in a complex cognitive architecture. In Human Factors in Computing Systems: CHI 2003 Conference Proceedings (pp. 265-272). New York: ACM Press.

Related References

Salvucci, D. D., Zuber, M., Beregovaia, E., & Markley, D. (2005). Distract-R: Rapid prototyping and evaluation of in-vehicle interfaces. To appear in Human Factors in Computing Systems: CHI 2005 Conference Proceedings.

John, B.E., Prevas, K., Salvucci, D.D., & Koedinger, K. (2004). Predictive human performance modeling made easy. To appear in CHI 2004.