Human Performance and Cognitive Workload in Haptic, Audio and Visual Environments

The ability to efficiently perform a task in a human-in-the-loop system and in multi-sensory virtual environments is highly dependent on the type of sensory feedback the operator is receiving and the amount of workload the operator is exposed to. Despite the vast amount of research on Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) and Human Machine Interactions (HMIs), little is known about what type of feedback increases the performance of a human operator and what type of sensory feedback minimizes the amount of workload the operator is exposed to. While individual differences influence human performance outcomes, the physiological processes a human being set the fundamental guidelines for assessing human performance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of participants for a combination of sensory two feedback modes (audio-visual, haptic-visual or audio-haptic) in a primary task to find the optimum feedback model for CVE and HMI applications. A concurrent secondary task is also designed to evaluate workload of each feedback mode (audio, haptic or visual) and the effect of different levels of workload on task completion time and task accuracy. For example, a car driver performs a primary task by steering the car in the correct direction. A secondary task, in the same context, would be monitoring the fuel level or checking the speed limit. In the primary task, participants are required to press a virtual button from a set of three (right button, left button or up button). The secondary task evaluates the amount of workload the participant is exposed to in three different feedback modes (haptic, audio or visual). Each participant is required to recognize a Morse code. In this study, participants perform three trials. In first trial, participants perform one task the primary task alone. In the second and third trials, participants perform the primary task and the secondary task concurrently. The primary task evaluates human performance and includes combined sensory modalities as a feedback mode (audio-visual, haptic-visual or audio-haptic). The time it takes the participant to press the virtual button (primary task response time), the number of correct button presses (primary task accuracy), the time it takes the participant to recognize the Morse code (secondary task response time) and the number of the correct codes (secondary task accuracy) are all collected. In addition, NASA Task Load Index (TLX) questionnaire is used after each trial to assess the subjective performance and subjective workload of participants. The data collected is tested for normality using Lilliefors test, filtered using Grubb’s test to eliminate outlying data and analyzed using one-way ANOVA and multiple two-sample t-tests. A Tukey HSD is also used to show the differences between experimental conditions. The results of this study indicate that the hypothesis that all combinations of feedback provide the same performance can be rejected for the primary task response time. For instance, the results show that the there is a difference in response time between the audio-haptic and the audio-visual feedback modes in the first, second and third trials. The results of this study also indicate that the hypothesis that all sensory feedback modes provide the same workload can be rejected for the secondary task accuracy. Results show that there is a difference between haptic and auditory conditions and shows that visual condition has a lower accuracy than the other feedback modes

Selected Computing Research Papers Volume 2 June 2013

An Evaluation of Current Innovations for Solving Hard Disk Drive Vibration Problems (Isiaq Adeola) ........................................................................................................ 1 A Critical Evaluation of the Current User Interface Systems Used By the Blind and Visually Impaired (Amneet Ahluwalia) ................................................................................ 7 Current Research Aimed At Improving Bot Detection In Massive Multiplayer Online Games (Jamie Burnip) ........................................................................................................ 13 Evaluation Of Methods For Improving Network Security Against SIP Based DoS Attacks On VoIP Network Infrastructures (David Carney) ................................................ 21 An Evaluation of Current Database Encryption Security Research (Ohale Chidiebere) .... 29 A Critical Appreciation of Current SQL Injection Detection Methods (Lee David Glynn) .............................................................................................................. 37 An Analysis of Current Research into Music Piracy Prevention (Steven Hodgson) .......... 43 Real Time On-line Analytical Processing: Applicability Of Parallel Processing Techniques (Kushatha Kelebeng) ....................................................................................... 49 Evaluating Authentication And Authorisation Method Implementations To Create A More Secure System Within Cloud Computing Technologies (Josh Mallery) ................... 55 A Detailed Analysis Of Current Computing Research Aimed At Improving Facial Recognition Systems (Gary Adam Morrissey) ................................................................... 61 A Critical Analysis Of Current Research Into Stock Market Forecasting Using Artificial Neural Networks (Chris Olsen) ........................................................................... 69 Evaluation of User Authentication Schemes (Sukhdev Singh) .......................................... 77 An Evaluation of Biometric Security Methods for Use on Mobile Devices (Joe van de Bilt) .................................................................................................................. 8

Percepção háptica no design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador

Orientador: Prof. dr. Adriano HeemannDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Parana, Setor de Artes, Comunicação e Design, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Design. Defesa: Curitiba, 20/02/2014Inclui referênciasÁrea de concentração : Design gráfico e de produtoResumo: Inserido no tema "Design Colaborativo", esta pesquisa investiga a importância da percepção háptica em sistemas colaborativos remotos síncronos. A pesquisa compreende a emergente necessidade de colaboração remota com times multidisciplinares para o alcance de resultados efetivos em projetos, na qual os ambientes virtuais colaborativos parecem uma aposta promissora ao design colaborativo. Neste cenário, o toque que é um componente essencial ao design de produto poderá ser quesito básico para a prática projetual virtual futura. Deste modo, delimitou-se o problema da presente pesquisa pelo seguinte questionamento: qual o papel da modalidade sensorial tato-pressão, estimulada por dispositivos hápticos, no design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador? A investigação técnica desta pesquisa foi executada com o uso metodológico de duas referências: uma revisão teórica-empírica, na qual utilizou-se do modelo estruturado de revisão bibliográfica RBS que é composto por uma revisão bibliográfica de documentos relevantes aos temas pesquisados: Colaboração, Ambientes Virtuais, Informação e Percepção, e Háptica; e uma pesquisa com a aplicação do método Delphi adaptado com as analogias da Sinética. O discurso obtido através destes métodos foi o articulador das conclusões desta pesquisa. Como objetivo geral esta pesquisa buscou determinar o papel da modalidade sensorial tatopressão, estimulada por dispositivos hápticos, no design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador. O produto final que estabelece tal determinação é composto por um mapeamento de características e propostas de pesquisa e aprimoramento do design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador apoiado por dispositivos hápticos. Dentre as conclusões observou-se que a háptica no desenvolvimento colaborativo ainda é um estudo incipiente que demanda avanços em tecnologia e pesquisa. Embora, seja uma prática em estágio inicial de desenvolvimento existe uma grande prospectiva de seu uso em sistemas futuros de desenvolvimento remoto.Abstract: Inserted on the theme "Collaborative Design", this research investigates the importance of haptic perception in synchronous remote collaborative systems. The research comprises the emerging need for remote collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to achieve tangible results in projects in which the collaborative virtual environments seem to be a promising bet to collaborative design. In this scenario, the touch which is an essential component to the product design can be a basic need for the future virtual design practice. Thereby the problem of this research is delimited by the following question: what is the role of sensory modality touch-pressure, stimulated by haptic devices in synchronous computer-mediated collaborative design? The technical investigation of this research was performed with the methodological use of two references: a theoretical and empirical review, in which was used a structured literature review RBS model that consists of a literature review of relevant documents to the topics surveyed: Collaboration, Virtual Environments, Information and Awareness and Haptics, and a research with the application of the Delphi method adapted with the analogies of Sinetica. The discourse obtained by these methods was the articulator for the conclusions of this research. As the main objective this study sought to determine the role of sensory modality touchpressure, stimulated by haptic devices in synchronous computer-mediated collaborative design. The final product that establishes this determination is made by a mapping features and proposals for research and improvement of synchronous computer-mediated collaborative design supported by haptic devices. Among the findings it was observed that the haptic collaborative development is still in an incipient study that demand advances in technology and research. Although, it is a practice in early stage of development there is a great prospect of its use in future systems for remote development

Tabletop tangible maps and diagrams for visually impaired users

En dépit de leur omniprésence et de leur rôle essentiel dans nos vies professionnelles et personnelles, les représentations graphiques, qu'elles soient numériques ou sur papier, ne sont pas accessibles aux personnes déficientes visuelles car elles ne fournissent pas d'informations tactiles. Par ailleurs, les inégalités d'accès à ces représentations ne cessent de s'accroître ; grâce au développement de représentations graphiques dynamiques et disponibles en ligne, les personnes voyantes peuvent non seulement accéder à de grandes quantités de données, mais aussi interagir avec ces données par le biais de fonctionnalités avancées (changement d'échelle, sélection des données à afficher, etc.). En revanche, pour les personnes déficientes visuelles, les techniques actuellement utilisées pour rendre accessibles les cartes et les diagrammes nécessitent l'intervention de spécialistes et ne permettent pas la création de représentations interactives. Cependant, les récentes avancées dans le domaine de l'adaptation automatique de contenus laissent entrevoir, dans les prochaines années, une augmentation de la quantité de contenus adaptés. Cette augmentation doit aller de pair avec le développement de dispositifs utilisables et abordables en mesure de supporter l'affichage de représentations interactives et rapidement modifiables, tout en étant accessibles aux personnes déficientes visuelles. Certains prototypes de recherche s'appuient sur une représentation numérique seulement : ils peuvent être instantanément modifiés mais ne fournissent que très peu de retour tactile, ce qui rend leur exploration complexe d'un point de vue cognitif et impose de fortes contraintes sur le contenu. D'autres prototypes s'appuient sur une représentation numérique et physique : bien qu'ils puissent être explorés tactilement, ce qui est un réel avantage, ils nécessitent un support tactile qui empêche toute modification rapide. Quant aux dispositifs similaires à des tablettes Braille, mais avec des milliers de picots, leur coût est prohibitif. L'objectif de cette thèse est de pallier les limitations de ces approches en étudiant comment développer des cartes et diagrammes interactifs physiques, modifiables et abordables. Pour cela, nous nous appuyons sur un type d'interface qui a rarement été étudié pour des utilisateurs déficients visuels : les interfaces tangibles, et plus particulièrement les interfaces tangibles sur table. Dans ces interfaces, des objets physiques représentent des informations numériques et peuvent être manipulés par l'utilisateur pour interagir avec le système, ou par le système lui-même pour refléter un changement du modèle numérique - on parle alors d'interfaces tangibles sur tables animées, ou actuated. Grâce à la conception, au développement et à l'évaluation de trois interfaces tangibles sur table (les Tangible Reels, la Tangible Box et BotMap), nous proposons un ensemble de solutions techniques répondant aux spécificités des interfaces tangibles pour des personnes déficientes visuelles, ainsi que de nouvelles techniques d'interaction non-visuelles, notamment pour la reconstruction d'une carte ou d'un diagramme et l'exploration de cartes de type " Pan & Zoom ". D'un point de vue théorique, nous proposons aussi une nouvelle classification pour les dispositifs interactifs accessibles.Despite their omnipresence and essential role in our everyday lives, online and printed graphical representations are inaccessible to visually impaired people because they cannot be explored using the sense of touch. The gap between sighted and visually impaired people's access to graphical representations is constantly growing due to the increasing development and availability of online and dynamic representations that not only give sighted people the opportunity to access large amounts of data, but also to interact with them using advanced functionalities such as panning, zooming and filtering. In contrast, the techniques currently used to make maps and diagrams accessible to visually impaired people require the intervention of tactile graphics specialists and result in non-interactive tactile representations. However, based on recent advances in the automatic production of content, we can expect in the coming years a growth in the availability of adapted content, which must go hand-in-hand with the development of affordable and usable devices. In particular, these devices should make full use of visually impaired users' perceptual capacities and support the display of interactive and updatable representations. A number of research prototypes have already been developed. Some rely on digital representation only, and although they have the great advantage of being instantly updatable, they provide very limited tactile feedback, which makes their exploration cognitively demanding and imposes heavy restrictions on content. On the other hand, most prototypes that rely on digital and physical representations allow for a two-handed exploration that is both natural and efficient at retrieving and encoding spatial information, but they are physically limited by the use of a tactile overlay, making them impossible to update. Other alternatives are either extremely expensive (e.g. braille tablets) or offer a slow and limited way to update the representation (e.g. maps that are 3D-printed based on users' inputs). In this thesis, we propose to bridge the gap between these two approaches by investigating how to develop physical interactive maps and diagrams that support two-handed exploration, while at the same time being updatable and affordable. To do so, we build on previous research on Tangible User Interfaces (TUI) and particularly on (actuated) tabletop TUIs, two fields of research that have surprisingly received very little interest concerning visually impaired users. Based on the design, implementation and evaluation of three tabletop TUIs (the Tangible Reels, the Tangible Box and BotMap), we propose innovative non-visual interaction techniques and technical solutions that will hopefully serve as a basis for the design of future TUIs for visually impaired users, and encourage their development and use. We investigate how tangible maps and diagrams can support various tasks, ranging from the (re)construction of diagrams to the exploration of maps by panning and zooming. From a theoretical perspective we contribute to the research on accessible graphical representations by highlighting how research on maps can feed research on diagrams and vice-versa. We also propose a classification and comparison of existing prototypes to deliver a structured overview of current research