An Evaluation Of Integrated Zooming and Scrolling On Small-Screens

Speed-dependent automatic zooming (SDAZ) has been proposed for standard desktop displays as a means of overcoming problems associated with the navigation of large information spaces. SDAZ combines zooming and panning facilities into a single operation, with the magnitude of both factors dependent on simple user interaction. Previous research indicated dramatic user performance improvements when using the technique for document and map tasks. In this paper we propose algorithmic extensions to the technique for application on small-screen devices and present a comparative experimental evaluation of user performance with the system and a normative scroll-zoom-pan interface. Users responded positively to the system, particularly in relation to reduced physical navigational workload. However, the reduced screen space reduced the impact of SDAZ in comparison to that reported in previous studies. In fact, for one-dimensional navigation (vertical document navigation) the normative interface out-performed SDAZ. For navigation in two dimensions (map browsing) SDAZ supports more accurate target location, but also produces longer task completion times. Some SDAZ users became lost within the information space and were unable to recover navigational context. We discuss the reasons for these observations and suggest ways in which limitations of SDAZ in the small-screen context may be overcome

Designing Map-Based Visual Storytelling for News Articles in Mixed Reality

This study investigates how we can design map-based visual storytelling of news articles for Mixed Reality Head-Mounted Displays (MR HMDs). It explores the significance of visual storytelling genres and interactive gestures in the design. The findings reveal that principles of storytelling and interaction cannot be directly transferred from traditional PC interfaces to MR HMDs due to fundamental differences in interface and interaction. The study highlights the effectiveness of the dynamic slideshow format and far-interaction in enhancing the storytelling experience. Participants favored hand interactions but expressed interest in alternative methods such as gaze- and voice-based interactions. The challenges faced during the project, including recruitment difficulties, testing environment limitations, and technical issues, influenced the findings. The study emphasizes the need for tailored design principles for MR storytelling and multiple interaction methods to cater to user preferences. Overall, the findings provide valuable insights into designing map-based interactions in MR for visual storytelling, with consideration for the encountered challenges and limitations.Masteroppgave i medie- og interaksjonsdesignMIX350MASV-MI

A Time Domain based Playback User Interface for Voice Communication Systems in Mission Control Room Environments

Voice Communication Systems for Mission Control Room environments are essential for multiple group communications in parallel. Current systems have a high demand on the user’s multitasking abilities. To support users, these systems have recording and playback capabilities but are not optimized for usability and not integrated in the user’s workflow. Playback capabilities are undervalued within current system designs. Within this paper we will focus on playback functionalities and propose a solution with a simplification of the playback workflow using a gesture controlled and time - domain based visualization for recordings. In this way users are able to replay missed or important communication parts of a specific user, for example an astronaut without the need of repetitive transmission. Combining real time functionality and providing access to past information via recordings within the same user interface may resolve conflicts between listening to live and previous communications in parallel. Interacting with recordings using a time domain based playback interface may enhance operation support, for example during debriefings, for staff training or as a source for verifying and validating unclear information. The shown solution may be used as an input for next generation system designs, which may improve capabilities and extend scenarios of playback for operation support

Developing a Multi-Touch Map Application for a Large Screen in a Nature Centre

The paper describes the development of a research prototype of a multi-touch map application for multi-use on a large multi-touch screen intended for a nature centre. The presented system and the development steps provide insight into what can be expected when similar systems are designed. A number of new considerations regarding multi-touch interaction, map browsing, and user needs for multi-use have been taken into account during the challenging ongoing development. These considerations include making a simple user interface used with intuitive, continuous and simultaneous gestures for map browsing, and taking different kinds of users and their needs to interact with each other into account. Since multi-user map applications in multi-touch environments are still rare, the given considerations may be helpful for the future development of similar map applications intended for public spaces

Universal Mobile Information Retrieval

International audienceThe shift in human computer interaction from desktop computing to mobile interaction highly influences the needs for new designed interfaces. In this paper, we address the issue of searching for information on mobile devices, an area also known as Mobile Information Retrieval. In particular, we propose to summarize as much as possible the information retrieved by any search engine to allow universal access to information

Single-Touch to Multi-Touch System Conversion

Context: In recent years the education community has seen an acceleration in the adoption of multi-touch surfaces for educational purposes due to a number of features that these surfaces present. Some of these features include the facilitation of multi-user interaction and collaboration. However, an interesting problem exists with legacy, single-touch educational systems that lend themselves well to the features of multi-touch but have been developed with a single-user interface in mind. Objectives: This thesis investigates how to convert an existing single-user, single-touch system into a multi-user, multi-touch system while maintaining the existing educational aims and methods. The end result is a converted application called JLens and a list of goals for converting an educational system. Methods: This study analyses the interaction points and potential conversion factors of an existing education application and defines a set of 4 goals for converting a single-touch educational system into a multi-touch one. The final product is a converted educational system that is evaluated by representatives from the local education authorities, the educational software developers TimeMaps, multi-touch hardware developers and fellow researchers. A combination of questionnaires and observations are used for research methods and the evaluators are asked to freely explore the converted system and provide feedback. Results: The work identifies that the majority of the evaluators responded positively to the converted system. The observations show that the users understood how to operate the system very quickly and began collaborating by sharing data without any prompt. The quantitative analysis provides evidence that the conversion was successful and all of the research goals were met. Conclusion: This thesis has demonstrated that JLens provides a viable framework for converting existing single-user, single-touch systems into multi-user, multi-touch systems by allowing many users to navigate and explore educational applications in a collaborative way

Eignung von virtueller Physik und Touch-Gesten in Touchscreen-Benutzerschnittstellen für kritische Aufgaben

The goal of this reasearch was to examine if modern touch screen interaction concepts that are established on consumer electronic devices like smartphones can be used in time-critical and safety-critical use cases like for machine control or healthcare appliances. Several prevalent interaction concepts with and without touch gestures and virtual physics were tested experimentally in common use cases to assess their efficiency, error rate and user satisfaction during task completion. Based on the results, design recommendations for list scrolling and horizontal dialog navigation are given.Das Ziel dieser Forschungsarbeit war es zu untersuchen, ob moderne Touchscreen-Interaktionskonzepte, die auf Consumer-Electronic-Geräten wie Smartphones etabliert sind, für zeit- und sicherheitskritische Anwendungsfälle wie Maschinensteuerung und Medizingeräte geeignet sind. Mehrere gebräuchliche Interaktionskonzepte mit und ohne Touch-Gesten und virtueller Physik wurden in häufigen Anwendungsfällen experimentell auf ihre Effizienz, Fehlerrate und Nutzerzufriedenheit bei der Aufgabenlösung untersucht. Basierend auf den Resultaten werden Empfehlungen für das Scrollen in Listen und dem horizontalen Navigieren in mehrseitigen Software-Dialogen ausgesprochen

The calibration and evaluation of speed-dependent automatic zooming interfaces.

Speed-Dependent Automatic Zooming (SDAZ) is an exciting new navigation technique that couples the user's rate of motion through an information space with the zoom level. The faster a user scrolls in the document, the 'higher' they fly above the work surface. At present, there are few guidelines for the calibration of SDAZ. Previous work by Igarashi & Hinckley (2000) and Cockburn & Savage (2003) fails to give values for predefined constants governing their automatic zooming behaviour. The absence of formal guidelines means that SDAZ implementers are forced to adjust the properties of the automatic zooming by trial and error. This thesis aids calibration by identifying the low-level components of SDAZ. Base calibration settings for these components are then established using a formal evaluation recording participants' comfortable scrolling rates at different magnification levels. To ease our experiments with SDAZ calibration, we implemented a new system that provides a comprehensive graphical user interface for customising SDAZ behaviour. The system was designed to simplify future extensions---for example new components such as interaction techniques and methods to render information can easily be added with little modification to existing code. This system was used to configure three SDAZ interfaces: a text document browser, a flat map browser and a multi-scale globe browser. The three calibrated SDAZ interfaces were evaluated against three equivalent interfaces with rate-based scrolling and manual zooming. The evaluation showed that SDAZ is 10% faster for acquiring targets in a map than rate-based scrolling with manual zooming, and SDAZ is 4% faster for acquiring targets in a text document. Participants also preferred using automatic zooming over manual zooming. No difference was found for the globe browser for acquisition time or preference. However, in all interfaces participants commented that automatic zooming was less physically and mentally draining than manual zooming

Shakespeareʼs Complete Works as a Benchmark for Evaluating Multiscale Document-Navigation Techniques

International audienceIn this paper, we describe an experimental platform dedicated to the comparative evaluation of multiscale electronic-document navigation techniques. One noteworthy characteristics of our platform is that it allows the user not only to translate the document (for example, to pan and zoom) but also to tilt the virtual camera to obtain freely chosen perspective views of the document. Second, the platform makes it possible to explore, with semantic zooming, the 150,000 verses that comprise the complete works of William Shakespeare. We argue that reaching and selecting one specific verse in this very large text corpus amounts to a perfectly well defined Fitts task, leading to rigorous assessments of target acquisition performance. For lack of a standard, the various multiscale techniques that have been reported recently in the literature are difficult to compare. We recommend that Shakespeare's complete works, converted into a single document that can be zoomed both geometrically and semantically, be used as a benchmark to facilitate systematic experimental comparisons, using Fitts' target acquisition paradigm