Correcting menu usability problems with sound

Future human-computer interfaces will use more than just graphical output to display information. In this paper we suggest that sound and graphics together can be used to improve interaction. We describe an experiment to improve the usability of standard graphical menus by the addition of sound. One common difficulty is slipping off a menu item by mistake when trying to select it. One of the causes of this is insufficient feedback. We designed and experimentally evaluated a new set of menus with much more salient audio feedback to solve this problem. The results from the experiment showed a significant reduction in the subjective effort required to use the new sonically-enhanced menus along with significantly reduced error recovery times. A significantly larger number of errors were also corrected with sound

Human-computer interaction in e-business

E-business has brought much change to our daily life and will become a necessary part of business, economy, and society. At least for the foreseeable future, e-business will keep growing. Each study of this dissertation was devoted to human-computer interaction (HCI) in e-business to improve website usability. First, data input tools were compared and optimal design characteristics were suggested for usable web based interaction. When proper input tools are employed, higher usability can be achieved. Second, a practical design process and the use of web elements were studied through the simulation of an e-bookstore. Web design influences e-business traffic and sales. Third, a grid menu was designed and examined for situations in which a menu contains a larger number of options. The grid menu was observed to be both robust and efficient. Fourth, an interaction model for the pull-down menu, including perceptive, cognitive, and motor behavior processes, was studied. The resulting model fit the experimental data well. Fifth, problems with iconic interfaces on e-business websites were reported and a methodology suggested to improve user interface design

An Introduction to 3D User Interface Design

3D user interface design is a critical component of any virtual environment (VE) application. In this paper, we present a broad overview of three-dimensional (3D) interaction and user interfaces. We discuss the effect of common VE hardware devices on user interaction, as well as interaction techniques for generic 3D tasks and the use of traditional two-dimensional interaction styles in 3D environments. We divide most user interaction tasks into three categories: navigation, selection/manipulation, and system control. Throughout the paper, our focus is on presenting not only the available techniques, but also practical guidelines for 3D interaction design and widely held myths. Finally, we briefly discuss two approaches to 3D interaction design, and some example applications with complex 3D interaction requirements. We also present an annotated online bibliography as a reference companion to this article

Object Oriented Development Of A Mathematical Equation Editor

Computers since their inception have been used to solve engineering problems. Toward support of next-generation, customizable, generalized software, a mathematical equation editor has been designed, developed, and tested using object oriented (OO) programming techniques. The motivating purpose of this equation editor is to allow a user to graphically define mathematical equations to be solved in a computational partial differential equation-based problem solving environment. The OO scripting language Python was used in conjunction with the OO GUI toolkit Qt to create the editor. Analysis of the underlying abstraction of a general equation yielded the key concept of an information-holding bounding box. Such boxes hierarchically contain every character and symbol in an equation. Specific rules were formulated to spatially arrange a set of boxes into a properly formatted equation. Robust insertion logic of alphanumeric characters, mathematical symbols, and common function names was implemented for intuitive point-and-click equation building

Comparing Free Hand Menu Techniques for Distant Displays using Linear, Marking and Finger-Count Menus

Part 1: Long and Short PapersInternational audienceDistant displays such as interactive Public Displays (IPD) or Interactive Television (ITV) require new interaction techniques as traditional input devices may be limited or missing in these contexts. Free hand interaction, as sensed with computer vision techniques, presents a promising interaction technique. This paper presents the adaptation of three menu techniques for free hand interaction: Linear menu, Marking menu and Finger-Count menu. The first study based on a Wizard-of-OZ protocol focuses on Finger-Counting postures in front of interactive television and public displays. It reveals that participants do choose the most efficient gestures neither before nor after the experiment. Results are used to develop a Finger-Count recognizer. The second experiment shows that all techniques achieve satisfactory accuracy. It also shows that Finger-Count requires more mental demand than other techniques.</p

Parallelized Distributed Embedded Control System for 2D Walking Robot for Studying Rough Terrain Locomotion

Biped robots present many advantages for exploration over mobile robots. They do not require a continuous path, which allows them to navigate over a much larger range of terrain. Currently, bipeds have been successful at walking on flat surfaces and non-periodic rough terrain such as stairs, but few have shown success on unknown periodic terrain. The Jaywalker is a 2D walker designed to study locomotion on uneven terrain. It is a fully active robot providing actuation at every joint. A distributed, parallelized, embedded control system was developed to provide the control structure for the Jaywalker. This system was chosen for its ability to execute simultaneous tasks efficiently. The two level control system provides a first level to implement a higher level control strategy, and a second lower level to drive the Jaywalker's systems. The concept was implemented using the Parallax Propeller chip for its relative fast clock frequencies and parallel computing functionality. The chips communicate over a new variation of the I2C bus, which allows multiple slaves to listen to information simultaneously reducing the number of transmissions for redundant data transfers. The system has shown success in taking steps with open loop control. The success of the step is highly dependent on the initial step length using open loop control, but this dependency can be eliminated using closed loop control. The robust structure will provide an excellent platform for uneven terrain locomotion research

Design of VR app applied to cognitive training

L’objectiu principal d’aquest projecte és el disseny d’una aplicació de realitat virtual per millorar el tractament dels pacients amb deteriorament cognitiu lleu, així com estudiar els possibles avantatges que aquesta tecnologia pot proporcionar en aquest camp. Es va escollir la realitat virtual perquè permet augmentar la sensació d’immersió pel que fa a les tecnologies actuals. Actualment la realitat virtual s’està utilitzant amb aquest tipus de tractament i està aconseguint gran resultats amb els pacients. A més, mitjançant l’ús d’aquesta tècnica d’immersió visual, s’espera que ajudi a millorar la capacitat dels pacients davant nous problemes, com pot ser la iniciació a la realitat virtual, una qüestió fonamental que ajuda a la millora dels pacients que es troben en les primeres etapes de la malaltia. L’aplicació consisteix en un entorn de supermercat virtual on el pacient pot realitzar diverses proves. En aquesta hi haurà diferents nivells amb diverses complexitats, sempre després d’haver realitzat un tutorial previ. L’aplicació s’ha realitzat en dues fases diferents: primer es va crear el guió, amb col·laboració amb la unitat d’Alzheimer de l’Hospital Clínic. Els nivells de l’aplicació es van definir aquí. El següent va ser la realització de l’aplicació amb col·laboració amb la companyia Vysion 360. Per a la seva utilització per la unitat d’Alzheimer de l’Hospital Clínic, l’aplicació tenia que complir diferents criteris. En primer lloc, els nivells de dificultat tenen que ser suficients per realitzar un tractament a llarg termini. En segon lloc, per crear una bona experiència de immersió, l’entorn creat té que ser el més realista possible. Finalment, s’ha creat una base de dades local per guardar la informació de totes les sessions, utilitzat posteriorment en l’anàlisi de evolució dels pacients. Amb aquesta aplicació, s’espera que els resultats en els pacients amb deteriorament cognitiu lleu milloren respecte a les tècniques anteriors. Especialment gràcies a la gran experiència d’immersió aconseguida amb la realitat virtual, la qual ajuda a la concentració dels pacients durant el tractament

Split menus: Effectively using selection frequency to organize menus

When some items in a menu are selected more frequently than others, as is often the case, designers or individual users may be able to speed performance and improve satisfaction by placing several high-frequency items at the top of the menu. Design guidelines for split menus were developed and applied. Split menus were implemented and tested in two field studies and a controlled experiment. In the field study conditions performance times were reduced from 17 or 58% depending on the site and menus. In the controlled experiment split menus were significantly faster than alphabetic menus and yielded significantly higher subjective preferences. A possible resolution to the continuing debate among cognitive theorists about predicting menu selection times is offered. We conjecture and offer evidence that the logarithmic model applies to familiar (high-frequency) items and the linear model applies to unfamiliar (low-frequency) items. (Also cross-referenced as CAR-TR-649) ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, vol. 1, #1 (March 1994) 27-51 %I Human Computer Interaction Laborator

A Case study of value streams and lean implementation for a small print shop

The growing use of portable Internet devices (smart phones, iPads, laptops, etc.) has caused a huge shift toward digital distribution of content over traditional print processes. Poor economic conditions have contributed to increased customer price sensitivity and higher costs of goods involved in printing. These factors have changed demand for traditional printed products. Many printers have been unable to adapt to the new market environment, leading to dwindling profit margins and thousands of shop closures. Many strategies have been touted as the best way to stay profitable in the new market environment, including value-added services, new machinery, and software packages. However, according to the NAPL, productivity improvements, such as Lean, will now play the central role in differentiating the leaders in the industry. Printers, particularly small- and medium-sized printers, have been slow in their adoption of Lean or any of its variants. Lean organizations produce less waste (in its many forms), have improved product quality with shorter lead times, and have employees who are more engaged. Unfortunately small- and medium-sized printers are less likely to begin productivity improvement initiatives due to lack of knowledge, time commitment issues, fear of change, and lack of resources. The goal of this case study is to provide a theoretical framework and an in-depth example of how a small print shop\u27s production line operates and how to generate a tailored action plan for implementing Lean Manufacturing Principles. Specifically, the study focuses on the creation and usefulness of value stream mapping (graphically identifying the many forms of waste within a given system) for a small print shop. The case study is written with an easy to follow language as a guide to aide other small printers in creating their own Lean implementation plans. Careful, direct observation and documentation of a small 6-employee print shop occurred over a short period to gather data about the shop\u27s current value stream. Three product families were chosen for mapping: digital color printing, digital black and white printing, and offset press. Data collection focused on the workflow for jobs from creation to completion, how long each step takes, and how communication and materials move through production. Current value stream maps were generated using the collected data and were used to develop ideal and future maps. Detailed analysis of the current value stream revealed six key areas for the company to address that will provide the greatest benefit toward becoming Lean. The areas are: company culture, organization, bottlenecks, scheduling, communication and inventory. The following recommendations were made for the company to reduce waste and excess costs, improve value-added ratios, and reduce stress on employees. The current company culture has trust issues and does not encourage innovation. Management\u27s constant commitment to building and maintaining a new culture will be essential to creating change. Daily meetings and Kaizen events can help establish trust and empower employees to find and implement solutions. The shop floor needs 5S organization and will also require the implementation of an inventory system and reduction initiative. New suppliers may need to be found to accomplish just-in-time delivery. To alleviate bottlenecks in premedia and finishing, the graphic design stage should be removed from production to give production control the responsibilities of job scheduling and load leveling. Finishing then becomes the pacemaker process and dictates the flow, preventing push within the system. Kanban signals and supermarkets are recommended for maintaining a pull system. Communication across the shop can be improved through daily production meetings, utilizing exiting software for job tracking, establishing visual management boards, and establishing a sales department for handling customers