Strip-TIC : exploring augmented paper strips for Air Traffic Controllers

International audienceThe current environment used by French air traffic controllers mixes digital visualization such as radar screens and tangible artifacts such as paper strips. Tangible artifacts do not allow controllers to update the system with the instructions they give to pilots. Previous attempts at replacing them in France failed to prove efficient. This paper is an engineering paper that describes Strip-TIC, a novel system for ATC that mixes augmented paper and digital pen, vision-based tracking and augmented rear and front projection. The system is now working and has enabled us to run workshops with actual controllers to study the role of writing and tangibility in ATC. We describe the system and solutions to technical challenges due to mixing competing technologies

Interactive Paper as a Mobile Client for a Multi-channel Web Information System

We describe how interactive paper can be used together with a multi-channel web information system to build a platform for experimenting with multi-modal context-aware mobile information services. As an application, we present a tourist guide for visitors to an international festival that was developed to investigate alternative modes of information delivery and interaction in mobile environments. The guide is based around a set of interactive paper documents—an event brochure, map and bookmark. The brochure and map are augmented with digital services by using a digital pen to activate links and a text-to-speech engine for information delivery. The digital pen is also used for data capture of event ratings and reviews. The bookmark provides access to advanced searches and ticket reservations. We describe the architecture and operation of the system, highlighting the challenges of extending a web information system to support both the generation of the paper documents and the interaction from these documents, alongside more traditional access channels. Finally, we discuss the range of context-aware interactions that is supported by our platfor

Child-centred technologies as learning tools within the primary classroom : exploring the role of tablets and the potential of digital pens in schools

This thesis provides insights into how technology can be and is used as child-centric learning tools within primary school classrooms. The conducted studies look closely at how tablet technology is integrated into the modern classroom, and considers how existing digital writing technologies could support handwriting-based learning exercises in future. This is achieved by conducting three in-the-wild studies, using different approaches, with a total of seventy-four children in school classrooms. In the first study, focus is placed on how tablets integrate into and with existing classroom practices, documenting when and how children use tablets in class. Relevant and complementary to this, the use of traditional writing tools is questioned and two further studies explore the potential and suitability of digital pens to support children’s handwriting-based learning. One looks in detail at how children’s handwriting is effected by different existing digital pen technologies. The other study, conducted through a creative, participatory design session, asks children to provide their opinions regarding desirable features for digital writing technology. The findings from this research classify and exemplify the role of tablets in the classroom, and explore potential design directions of digital writing tools which could be used by children in the future. This work may be useful and of interest to others who conduct research with children within the fields of Human Computer Interaction, Child Computer Interaction or education

Design and application of a contact barcode reader, for use on low-visibility printed conductive patterns

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis presents the design and development of a hand-held electronic reader, designed to decode conductive patterns printed on a paper substrate. Data read from the patterns, by the reader, is used to trigger events in the digital domain. The reader and associated conductive patterns are devices for linking paper documents with the digital world. The patterns are formed by masking conductive-coated paper with a non-conductive, printed lacquer. The reader is a low cost and ergonomic device, capable of transmitting the embedded data from the conductive paper to the computer. The first reader designed and developed was tethered to a computer by data cable, using the USB communication protocol. The second design was developed further, with transmission of data achieved by replacing the cable with short-range Bluetooth wireless technology. Both devices were designed and developed using embedded systems and low cost electronic components. Additional work was undertaken to optimise the device's mechanical structure, ergonomics and integration of hardware. Alongside the development of the reader, test and development work was carried out to optimise the printed media, in materials and design. User trials demonstrated that the complete printed and reading system was functional, with varied rates of success among participants. Further work is required to improve the conductivity of the coated paper, and the accuracy of the decoding algorithm.This work resulted from a research project funded by EU FP6

PAPIERCRAFT: A PAPER-BASED INTERFACE TO SUPPORT INTERACTION WITH DIGITAL DOCUMENTS

Many researchers extensively interact with documents using both computers and paper printouts, which provide an opposite set of supports. Paper is comfortable to read from and write on, and it is flexible to be arranged in space; computers provide an efficient way to archive, transfer, search, and edit information. However, due to the gap between the two media, it is difficult to seamlessly integrate them together to optimize the user's experience of document interaction. Existing solutions either sacrifice inherent paper flexibility or support very limited digital functionality on paper. In response, we have proposed PapierCraft, a novel paper-based interface that supports rich digital facilities on paper without sacrificing paper's flexibility. By employing the emerging digital pen technique and multimodal pen-top feedback, PapierCraft allows people to use a digital pen to draw gesture marks on a printout, which are captured, interpreted, and applied to the corresponding digital copy. Conceptually, the pen and the paper form a paper-based computer, able to interact with other paper sheets and computing devices for operations like copy/paste, hyperlinking, and web searches. Furthermore, it retains the full range of paper advantages through the light-weighted, pen-paper-only interface. By combining the advantages of paper and digital media and by supporting the smooth transition between them, PapierCraft bridges the paper-computer gap. The contributions of this dissertation focus on four respects. First, to accommodate the static nature of paper, we proposed a pen-gesture command system that does not rely on screen-rendered feedback, but rather on the self-explanatory pen ink left on the paper. Second, for more interactive tasks, such as searching for keywords on paper, we explored pen-top multimodal (e.g. auditory, visual, and tactile) feedback that enhances the command system without sacrificing the inherent paper flexibility. Third, we designed and implemented a multi-tier distributed infrastructure to map pen-paper interactions to digital operations and to unify document interaction on paper and on computers. Finally, we systematically evaluated PapierCraft through three lab experiments and two application deployments in the areas of field biology and e-learning. Our research has demonstrated the feasibility, usability, and potential applications of the paper-based interface, shedding light on the design of the future interface for digital document interaction. More generally, our research also contributes to ubiquitous computing, mobile interfaces, and pen-computing

Context-aware platform for mobile data management

Interaction design is a major issue for mobile information systems in terms of not only the choice of input/output channels and presentation of information, but also the application of context-awareness. To support experimentation with these factors, we have developed platforms to support the rapid prototyping of multi-channel, multi-modal, context-aware applications. The Java-based platform presented here is based on an integration of a cross-media link server and an object-oriented framework for advanced content publishing, along with a Client Controller and Context Engine. We also describe how this platform was used to develop a mobile tourist information system for an international arts festival where interaction was based on a combination of interactive paper and speech outpu