Instructions on Small Screens : Analysing the Multimodality of Technical Communication Through a Design Experiment

Tässä tutkielmassa analysoin teknisen viestinnän multimodaalisuutta kokeellisen suunnittelun avulla. Kokeessani suunnittelen ja konvertoin älylasien pienelle näytölle kolme lyhyttä KONE Oyj:n asennus- ja huolto-ohjetta. Vaikka käytän kokeessani älylaseja, tutkimuksen näyttö voisi periaatteessa olla mikä tahansa pieni näyttö, esimerkiksi älypuhelin tai älykello, jonka ajantasainen sisältö on teoriassa helpommin kuljetettavissa mukana kuin paperille tulostettu perinteinen PDF-ohje. Konvertoin ohjeet käyttäen kahta teoriaa: visuaaliset ohjeet (Gattullo et al. 2019) ja minimalismiheuristiikka (van der Meij ja Carroll, 1998). Ymmärtääkseni paremmin ohjeiden koko käyttökontekstia, rakennan konversioiden testaamiseen yhteistyönä KONE Oyj:ssä käyttäjätestiympäristön simuloimaan ammattimaista hissin asennus- ja huoltoympäristöä. Vaikka nykytekniikka mahdollistaa digitaalisten, pienten näyttöjen käytön, ohjeiden tarkoitus ei muutu: niiden pitää ymmärrettävästi auttaa lukijaa suorittamaan tehtävänsä. Täten konversio- ja suunnitteluteorioiden vastapainoksi multimodaalisuuden teoriat (esimerkiksi, Bateman, Wildfeuer ja Hiippala, 2017) auttavat analysoimaan konversioiden ymmärrettävyyden eroja systemaattisesti. Käytän tutkielmassani multimodaalisuuden teorioita ymmärtääkseni konversioiden vaikutukset ohjeiden ymmärrettävyyteen. Multimodaalisuuden teorioiden avulla tunnistan ohjeiden käyttötilanteen, käytetyn median (älylasit) ominaisuudet, sekä rajaan varsinaiseksi tutkimuskohteekseni konvertoiduilta ohjenäytöiltä tunnistamani semioottiset moodit ja niiden vaikutukset konvertoitujen ohjeiden ymmärtämiseen. Johtopäätöksinä esitän, ettei yksittäisiä konvertoituja ohjenäyttöjä tutkimalla synny mimimalismiheuristiikan osalta ymmärrettävyyden kannalta merkittäviä eroja lähtötilanteen PDF-ohjeeseen nähden, lukuun ottamatta muutamien helposti pääteltävien kohtien poisjättämistä. Yleisesti ottaen molemmissa konversioissa älylaseille siirtyy multimodaalisesti samankaltainen, kaksiulotteista sivunäkymää hyödyntävä ohje kuin lähtötilanteen PDF. Koska toinen tutkimani teoria, visuaaliset ohjeet, perustuvat verbien korvaamiseen symboleilla, symbolien ymmärrettävyys korostuu merkittävänä erona visuaalisten ohjeiden käytettävyydessä. Johtopäätöksiä selventää, etten hyödynnä älylasien kaikkia ilmaisukeinoja, kuten liikkuvaa kuvaa ja ääntä, koska kokeessani huomioin kustannustehokkaan, teollisten ohjeiden tuotantoprosessin. Lopuksi ehdotan erityisesti teknisen viestinnän viitekehyksessä jatkotutkimuksen aiheiksi uusien digitaalisten medioiden kaikkien ominaisuuksien ja niiden multimodaalisten käyttötilanteiden tutkimista ja hyödyntämistä, pienien näyttöjen sisällöntuotannon standardisoinnin tutkimista ja kehitystä, sekä symbolien ymmärrettävyyden tutkimista

Digital factory – virtual reality environments for industrial training and maintenance

This study evaluates the use of virtual reality (VR) platforms, which is an integrated part of the digital factory for an industrial training and maintenance system. The digital factory-based VR platform provides an intuitive and immersive human–computer interface, which can be an efficient tool for industrial training and maintenance services. The outcomes from this study suggested that use of the VR platform for training and maintenance of complex industrial tasks should be encouraged and use of the VR platform for that purpose should be further evaluated. This paper highlighted the generic concept of the application of virtual reality technique within the digital factory to industrial maintenance and to build a low-cost VR application for a training and maintenance system. An application case on virtual reality technique in a power plant operations and maintenance is demonstrated within the scope of this research. Overall research implications on virtual reality concept in industrial applications are concluded with future research directions.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Human-Machine Interfaces for Service Robotics

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

The Integration Of Audio Into Multimodal Interfaces: Guidelines And Applications Of Integrating Speech, Earcons, Auditory Icons, and Spatial Audio (SEAS)

The current research is directed at providing validated guidelines to direct the integration of audio into human-system interfaces. This work first discusses the utility of integrating audio to support multimodal human-information processing. Next, an auditory interactive computing paradigm utilizing Speech, Earcons, Auditory icons, and Spatial audio (SEAS) cues is proposed and guidelines for the integration of SEAS cues into multimodal systems are presented. Finally, the results of two studies are presented that evaluate the utility of using SEAS cues, developed following the proposed guidelines, in relieving perceptual and attention processing bottlenecks when conducting Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) control tasks. The results demonstrate that SEAS cues significantly enhance human performance on UAV control tasks, particularly response accuracy and reaction time on a secondary monitoring task. The results suggest that SEAS cues may be effective in overcoming perceptual and attentional bottlenecks, with the advantages being most revealing during high workload conditions. The theories and principles provided in this paper should be of interest to audio system designers and anyone involved in the design of multimodal human-computer systems

Final MA Portfolio

This portfolio is a compilation of graduate research and writing completed as the capstone project for the Master of Arts in English degree with a specialization in professional writing and rhetoric. The first selection is a research paper that reviews how embellishments in graphical representations and infographics affect viewer perception. The second research paper is a content analysis that explores the extent to which visual metaphors are used in ISO public information graphical symbols. The third research paper explores how to create effective video software tutorials and reorganizes existing guidelines into eighteen distinct guidelines in three major categories: accessibility, cognitive design, and affective design. The final selection is a teaching guide geared toward an introductory undergraduate technical writing course

Training for Open-Ended Drilling through a Virtual Reality Simulation

Virtual Reality (VR) can support effective and scalable training of psychomotor skills in manufacturing. However, many industry training modules offer experiences that are close-ended and do not allow for human error. We aim to address this gap in VR training tools for psychomotor skills training by exploring an open-ended approach to the system design. We designed a VR training simulation prototype to perform open-ended practice of drilling using a 3-axis milling machine. The simulation employs near "end-to-end" instruction through a safety module, a setup and drilling tutorial, open-ended practice complete with warnings of mistakes and failures, and a function to assess the geometries and locations of drilled holes against an engineering drawing. We developed and conducted a user study within an undergraduate-level introductory fabrication course to investigate the impact of open-ended VR practice on learning outcomes. Study results reveal positive trends, with the VR group successfully completing the machining task of drilling at a higher rate (75% vs 64%), with fewer mistakes (1.75 vs 2.14 score), and in less time (17.67 mins vs 21.57 mins) compared to the control group. We discuss our findings and limitations and implications for the design of open-ended VR training systems for learning psychomotor skills.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 9 table

Design For Auditory Displays: Identifying Temporal And Spatial Information Conveyance Principles

Designing auditory interfaces is a challenge for current human-systems developers. This is largely due to a lack of theoretical guidance for directing how best to use sounds in today\u27s visually-rich graphical user interfaces. This dissertation provided a framework for guiding the design of audio interfaces to enhance human-systems performance. This doctoral research involved reviewing the literature on conveying temporal and spatial information using audio, using this knowledge to build three theoretical models to aid the design of auditory interfaces, and empirically validating select components of the models. The three models included an audio integration model that outlines an end-to-end process for adding sounds to interactive interfaces, a temporal audio model that provides a framework for guiding the timing for integration of these sounds to meet human performance objectives, and a spatial audio model that provides a framework for adding spatialization cues to interface sounds. Each model is coupled with a set of design guidelines theorized from the literature, thus combined, the developed models put forward a structured process for integrating sounds in interactive interfaces. The developed models were subjected to a three phase validation process that included review by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assess the face validity of the developed models and two empirical studies. For the SME review, which assessed the utility of the developed models and identified opportunities for improvement, a panel of three audio experts was selected to respond to a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) validation questionnaire. Based on the SWOT analysis, the main strengths of the models included that they provide a systematic approach to auditory display design and that they integrate a wide variety of knowledge sources in a concise manner. The main weaknesses of the models included the lack of a structured process for amending the models with new principles, some branches were not considered parallel or completely distinct, and lack of guidance on selecting interface sounds. The main opportunity identified by the experts was the ability of the models to provide a seminal body of knowledge that can be used for building and validating auditory display designs. The main threats identified by the experts were that users may not know where to start and end with each model, the models may not provide comprehensive coverage of all uses of auditory displays, and the models may act as a restrictive influence on designers or they may be used inappropriately. Based on the SWOT analysis results, several changes were made to the models prior to the empirical studies. Two empirical evaluation studies were conducted to test the theorized design principles derived from the revised models. The first study focused on assessing the utility of audio cues to train a temporal pacing task and the second study combined both temporal (i.e., pace) and spatial audio information, with a focus on examining integration issues. In the pace study, there were four different auditory conditions used for training pace: 1) a metronome, 2) non-spatial auditory earcons, 3) a spatialized auditory earcon, and 4) no audio cues for pace training. Sixty-eight people participated in the study. A pre- post between subjects experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The measure used for assessing pace performance was the average deviation from a predetermined desired pace. The results demonstrated that a metronome was not effective in training participants to maintain a desired pace, while, spatial and non-spatial earcons were effective strategies for pace training. Moreover, an examination of post-training performance as compared to pre-training suggested some transfer of learning. Design guidelines were extracted for integrating auditory cues for pace training tasks in virtual environments. In the second empirical study, combined temporal (pacing) and spatial (location of entities within the environment) information were presented. There were three different spatialization conditions used: 1) high fidelity using subjective selection of a best-fit head related transfer function, 2) low fidelity using a generalized head-related transfer function, and 3) no spatialization. A pre- post between subjects experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The performance measures were average deviation from desired pace and time and accuracy to complete the task. The results of the second study demonstrated that temporal, non-spatial auditory cues were effective in influencing pace while other cues were present. On the other hand, spatialized auditory cues did not result in significantly faster task completion. Based on these results, a set of design guidelines was proposed that can be used to direct the integration of spatial and temporal auditory cues for supporting training tasks in virtual environments. Taken together, the developed models and the associated guidelines provided a theoretical foundation from which to direct user-centered design of auditory interfaces