Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Paper Reading #24: Intelligent understanding of handwritten geometry theorem proving

Comment 1: http://gspotblogspotblogspotblogspotblogspot.blogspot.com/2011/04/paper-reading-24-usage-patterns-and.html
Comment 2: http://chi-jacob.blogspot.com/2011/04/paper-reading-23.html

Intelligent understanding of handwritten geometry theorem proving
Yingying Jiang, Feng Tian, Hongan Wang
Intelligence Engineering Lab,
Institute of Software,
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaolong Zhang, Xugang Wang, Guozhong Dai
State Key Laboratory of Computer Science,
Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Intelligent User Interfaces

This paper focuses on a topic that is near to us at  Texas A&M, sketch recognition. This group tries to implement a system that provides dynamic and intelligent visual assistance in drawing and learning. The system wants to assist the user in drawing shapes on an interface and help the user to construct an answer to the geometric question they have provided. The system was originally designed to help users with geometric proofs and will assist in writing equations. There have been other computer based learning systems for geometry before but none have had all the features involved in identifying shapes and equations similar to this system, called PenProof. It also can assist the user in identifying potential mistakes that they have made while writing their answer. Essentially, as the user draws the figure they can identify that as their original question and then they can proceed to write equivalencies and other facts getting towards the proof of the figure. The system will then identify mistakes and other faults with the proof and identify them with red text or lines. The user can then systematically work towards their answer and will eventually have a proof that is completely correct. The users who tested the system were asked about their feelings when using the system such as enjoyment, comfort, and if the visual interaction was meaningful or not. They plan to extend their research and make a more robust algorithm for identifying mistakes and making a more meaningful recognition system for users. They did say that their original system was a success and they were happy with the testing and results made.



This paper was interesting enough and I like the idea of using systems like this in schools. I think that if we could incorporate these kinds of systems in the classroom that it would make subjects that are more difficult to understand (like geometry for some) easier to see and feel. The best part I like about this is that it shows you visually what is wrong with your picture or equation. I believe that math is a lot about finding patterns and recognizing how to identify how to respond to a problem so this system would help you learn how to visualize these kinds of things. I also like that the users want to improve this algorithm and make it expanded for more kinds of equations. I think that if this kind of software was going to be moved for public use that it needs to cover a very large amount of situations so that educators can effectively teach through the use of a sufficient amount of examples.I think that I would personally use this kind of system when studying for a test or trying to finish homework and I can think of a ton of uses for this kind of work. I want there to be more research and I also would like to know if I could be a tester if it is coming out soon.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you, there needs to be a large scope of uses of this application so that educators can use it to compliment their teaching methods instead of forcing them to adapt to the way of the system.

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  2. I agree that the scope of this application needs to be expanded. It'd be interesting to see where this line of research could go.

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