Symmetric and asymmetric action integration during cooperative object manipulation in virtual environments

Cooperation between multiple users in a virtual environment (VE) can take place at one of three levels. These are defined as where users can perceive each other (Level 1), individually change the scene (Level 2), or simultaneously act on and manipulate the same object (Level 3). Despite representing the highest level of cooperation, multi-user object manipulation has rarely been studied. This paper describes a behavioral experiment in which the piano movers' problem (maneuvering a large object through a restricted space) was used to investigate object manipulation by pairs of participants in a VE. Participants' interactions with the object were integrated together either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The former only allowed the common component of participants' actions to take place, but the latter used the mean. Symmetric action integration was superior for sections of the task when both participants had to perform similar actions, but if participants had to move in different ways (e.g., one maneuvering themselves through a narrow opening while the other traveled down a wide corridor) then asymmetric integration was superior. With both forms of integration, the extent to which participants coordinated their actions was poor and this led to a substantial cooperation overhead (the reduction in performance caused by having to cooperate with another person)

Ambient Gestures

We present Ambient Gestures, a novel gesture-based system designed to support ubiquitous ‘in the environment’ interactions with everyday computing technology. Hand gestures and audio feedback allow users to control computer applications without reliance on a graphical user interface, and without having to switch from the context of a non-computer task to the context of the computer. The Ambient Gestures system is composed of a vision recognition software application, a set of gestures to be processed by a scripting application and a navigation and selection application that is controlled by the gestures. This system allows us to explore gestures as the primary means of interaction within a multimodal, multimedia environment. In this paper we describe the Ambient Gestures system, define the gestures and the interactions that can be achieved in this environment and present a formative study of the system. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and future applications of Ambient Gestures in ubiquitous computing

"It's Weird That it Knows What I Want": Usability and Interactions with Copilot for Novice Programmers

Recent developments in deep learning have resulted in code-generation models that produce source code from natural language and code-based prompts with high accuracy. This is likely to have profound effects in the classroom, where novices learning to code can now use free tools to automatically suggest solutions to programming exercises and assignments. However, little is currently known about how novices interact with these tools in practice. We present the first study that observes students at the introductory level using one such code auto-generating tool, Github Copilot, on a typical introductory programming (CS1) assignment. Through observations and interviews we explore student perceptions of the benefits and pitfalls of this technology for learning, present new observed interaction patterns, and discuss cognitive and metacognitive difficulties faced by students. We consider design implications of these findings, specifically in terms of how tools like Copilot can better support and scaffold the novice programming experience.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, TOCH

Representing older people: towards meaningful images of the user in design scenarios

Designing for older people requires the consideration of a range of difficult and sometimes highly personal design problems. Issues such as fear, loneliness, dependency, and physical decline may be difficult to observe or discuss in interviews. Pastiche scenarios and pastiche personae are techniques that employ characters to create a space for the discussion of new technological developments and as a means to explore user experience. This paper argues that the use of such characters can help to overcome restrictive notions of older people by disrupting designers' prior assumptions. In this paper, we reflect on our experiences using pastiche techniques in two separate technology design projects that sought to address the needs of older people. In the first case pastiche scenarios were developed by the designers of the system and used as discussion documents with users. In the second case, pastiche personae were used by groups of users themselves to generate scenarios which were scribed for later use by the design team. We explore how the use of fictional characters and settings can generate new ideas and undermine rhetorical devices within scenarios that attempt to fit characters to the technology, rather than vice versa. To assist in future development of pastiche techniques in designing for older people, we provide an array of fictional older characters drawn from literary and popular culture.</p

Amplifying Quiet Voices: Challenges and Opportunities for Participatory Design at an Urban Scale

Many Smart City projects are beginning to consider the role of citizens. However, current methods for engaging urban populations in participatory design activities are somewhat limited. In this paper, we describe an approach taken to empower socially disadvantaged citizens, using a variety of both social and technological tools, in a smart city project. Through analysing the nature of citizens’ concerns and proposed solutions, we explore the benefits of our approach, arguing that engaging citizens can uncover hyper-local concerns that provide a foundation for finding solutions to address citizen concerns. By reflecting on our approach, we identify four key challenges to utilising participatory design at an urban scale; balancing scale with the personal, who has control of the process, who is participating and integrating citizen-led work with local authorities. By addressing these challenges, we will be able to truly engage citizens as collaborators in co-designing their city

Imagining a digital future: how could we design for enchantment within the special education curriculum?

The implementation of the new “Successful Futures” curriculum in the UK, means that learners between the ages of 3 to 16 will be challenged to use digital media to develop their life skills, personal confidence, work skills, career planning, health and well-being (Donaldson, 2015). Teaching staff, responsible for delivering this multi-faceted programme for learners with profound disabilities, have reported that the perceived benefits of technology are misaligned to individual needs and capabilities. This is particularly evident when combined with a developmental approach that favours the achievement of milestones rather than discovery-led, task free, interaction (Simmons, 2019). The work reported here aims to directly address these gaps. We describe a series of Digital Imagining workshops, which set out to encourage creative and co-productive relationships between teaching professionals, academic artists, makers and computer scientists. During the activities, we experimented with digital fabrication tools as a means to envision contingent, imaginative interactions between learners with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), other people and their environment. In collectively critiquing the ideas developed during the workshops participants recognized the benefit of simple contingent, cause and effect actions for drawing attention to the material properties of objects. Almost seamlessly, these sensory explorations became the trigger for more complex ideas for integrating the demands of the digital curriculum into more natural daily scenarios. The shared process of ideation and tinkering was reported to be vital in generating a shift toward inclusion as a creative, imaginative and expressive counterpoint to the pervasive emphasis on utility and function