Virtual Vouchers: Prototyping a Mobile Augmented Reality User Interface for Botanical Species Identification

Figure 1 : (a) Botanists gathering samples in the field. (b) View through a video see-though display of first prototype of the tangible augmented reality user interface. ABSTRACT As biodiversity research increases in importance and complexity, the tools that botanists require for field-work must evolve and take on new forms. Of particular importance is the ability to identify existing and new species in the field. Mobile augmented reality systems can make it possible to access, view, and inspect a large database of virtual species examples side-by-side with physical specimens. In this paper, we present prototypes of a mobile augmented reality electronic field guide and techniques for displaying and inspecting computer vision-based visual search results in the form of virtual vouchers. Our work addresses head-movement controlled augmented reality for hands-free interaction and tangible augmented reality. We describe results from our design and investigation process and discuss observations and feedback from lab trials by botanists

Personal photography and the personal computer

Thesis (M.S.V.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1985.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-85).A system for the capture and combination of video images is proposed as a prototype for a future personal computer that allows free manipulation and intermixing of information from the computer, video, and photography domains. The benefits in power, flexibility, and applicability to each area from combining with the others are explored. The history and development of the three media contributing to the work is briefly examined, as are the techniques usable in moving between and combining them. The "Moviecliptool" system is described. Moviecliptool's purpose is to allow the generation of high quality stills from a recorded video sequence; that is, moving from the video to the photography domain via the computer. It allows the user to capture a sequence of frames from conventional video equipment into the computer. the frames are brought up on an interactive display where the user can select among them, view them in detail, and, more importantly, begin to combine them to his taste. Moviecliptool provides tools for image enhancements to try to alleviate the noise problems inherent in the video medium, as well as interactive tools for manipulating the content of the images, either by direct modification or by selective combination of the images. The environment supporting moviecliptool is extensively described, as it has helped shape the design of the system. Future developments and directions for similar systems are discussed. The appearance in the commercial world of relevant systems is seen as heralding a promising future for tools which transcend media boundaries.by Leo Hourvitz.M.S.V.S

A Usability Approach to Improving the User Experience in Web Directories

Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Queen Mary, University of Londo

A usability approach to improving the user experience in web directories

PhDWeb directories are hierarchically organised website collections that offer users subjectbased access to the Web. They played a significant part in navigating the Web in the past but their role has been weakened in recent years due to their cumbersome expanding collections. This thesis presents a unified framework combining the advantages of personalisation and redefined directory search for improving the usability of Web directories. The thesis begins with an examination of classification schemes that identifies the rigidity of hierarchical classifications and their suitability for Web directories in contrast to faceted classifications. This leads on to an Ontological Sketch Modelling (OSM) case study which identifies the misfits affecting user navigation in Web directories from known rigidity issues. The thesis continues with a review of personalisation techniques and a discussion of the user search model of Web directories following the suggested directions of improvement from the case study. A proposed user-centred framework to improve the usability of Web directories which consists of an individual content-based personalisation model and a redefined search model is then implemented as D-Persona and D-Search respectively. The remainder of the thesis is concerned with a usability test of D-Persona and D-Search aimed at discovering the efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction of the solution. This involves an experimental design, test results and discussions for the comparative user study. This thesis extracts a formal definition of the rigidity of hierarchies from their characteristics and justifies why hierarchies are still better suited than facets in organising Web directories. Second, it identifies misfits causing poor usability in Web directories based on the discovered rigidity of hierarchies. Third, it proposes a solution to tackle the misfits and improve the usability of Web directories which has been experimentally proved to be successful

Data bases and data base systems related to NASA's aerospace program. A bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 1778 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system, 1975 through 1980