Designing Explicit Numeric Input Interfaces for Immersive Virtual Environments

User interfaces involving explicit control of numeric values in immersive virtual environments have not been well studied. In the context of designing three-dimensional interaction techniques for the creation of multiple objects, called cloning, we have developed and tested a dynamic slider interface (D-Slider) and a virtual numeric keypad (VKey). Our cloning interface requires precise number input because it allows users to place objects at any location in the environment with a precision of 1/10 unit. The design of the interface focuses on feedback, constraints, and expressiveness. Comparative usability studies have shown that the newly designed user interfaces were easy to use, effective, and had a good quality of interaction. We describe a working prototype of our cloning interface, the iterative design process for D-Slider and V-Key, and lessons learned. Our interfaces can be re-used for any virtual environment interaction tasks requiring explicit numeric input

Systematic literature review of hand gestures used in human computer interaction interfaces

Gestures, widely accepted as a humans' natural mode of interaction with their surroundings, have been considered for use in human-computer based interfaces since the early 1980s. They have been explored and implemented, with a range of success and maturity levels, in a variety of fields, facilitated by a multitude of technologies. Underpinning gesture theory however focuses on gestures performed simultaneously with speech, and majority of gesture based interfaces are supported by other modes of interaction. This article reports the results of a systematic review undertaken to identify characteristics of touchless/in-air hand gestures used in interaction interfaces. 148 articles were reviewed reporting on gesture-based interaction interfaces, identified through searching engineering and science databases (Engineering Village, Pro Quest, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science). The goal of the review was to map the field of gesture-based interfaces, investigate the patterns in gesture use, and identify common combinations of gestures for different combinations of applications and technologies. From the review, the community seems disparate with little evidence of building upon prior work and a fundamental framework of gesture-based interaction is not evident. However, the findings can help inform future developments and provide valuable information about the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches. It was further found that the nature and appropriateness of gestures used was not a primary factor in gesture elicitation when designing gesture based systems, and that ease of technology implementation often took precedence

The Effects of Visual Affordances and Feedback on a Gesture-based Interaction with Novice Users

This dissertation studies the roles and effects of visual affordances and feedback in a general-purpose gesture interface for novice users. Gesture interfaces are popularly viewed as intuitive and user-friendly modes of interacting with computers and robots, but they in fact introduce many challenges for users not already familiar with the system. Affordances and feedback – two fundamental building blocks of interface design – are perfectly suited to address the most important challenges and questions for novices using a gesture interface: what can they do? how do they do it? are they being understood? has anything gone wrong? Yet gesture interfaces rarely incorporate these features in a deliberate manner, and there are presently no well-adopted guidelines for designing affordances and feedback for gesture interaction, nor any clear understanding of their effects on such an interaction. A general-purpose gesture interaction system was developed based on a virtual touchscreen paradigm, and guided by a novel gesture interaction framework. This framework clarifies the relationship between gesture interfaces and the application interfaces they support, and it provides guidance for selecting and designing appropriate affordances and feedback. Using this gesture system, a 40-person (all novices) user study was conducted to evaluate the effects on interaction performance and user satisfaction of four categories of affordances and feedback. The experimental results demonstrated that affordances indicating how to do something in a gesture interaction are more important to interaction performance than affordances indicating what can be done, and also that system status is more important than feedback acknowledging user actions. However, the experiments also showed unexpectedly high interaction performance when affordances and feedback were omitted. The explanation for this result remains an open question, though several potential causes are analyzed, and a tentative interpretation is provided. The main contributions of this dissertation to the HRI and HCI research communities are 1) the design of a virtual touchscreen-based interface for general-purpose gesture interaction, to serve as a case study for identifying and designing affordances and feedback for gesture interfaces; 2) the method and surprising results of an evaluation of distinct affordance and feedback categories, in particular their effects on a gesture interaction with novice users; and 3) a set of guidelines and insights about the relationship between a user, a gesture interface, and a generic application interface, centered on a novel interaction framework that may be used to design and study other gesture systems. In addition to the intellectual contributions, this work is useful to the general public because it may influence how future assistive robots are designed to interact with people in various settings including search and rescue, healthcare and elderly care

An Investigation of the Correlation Between Mental Workload and Web User’s Interaction

Mental Workload, a psychological concept, was identified as being linked with task’s and system’s performance. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, recent research has identified Mental Workload as an important measure in the designing and evaluation of web interfaces, and as an additional and supplemental insight to typical usability evaluation methods. Simultaneously, web logs containing data related to web users’ interaction (e.g. scrolling; mouse clicks) have been proved useful in evaluating the usability of web sites by analysing the data tracked for hundreds of users. In order to study if the potential of logs of user interaction can be applied in the study of Mental Workload in Web design, an online experiment with 145 participants was performed. Additionally, the experiment, composed of alternative interfaces, sought to assess the role of Mental Workload in the evaluation of interfaces using interactive Infographics, which were identified by literature as bringing new challenges and concerns in the field of Web Design. The online experiment’s results suggested that correlations between mental demands and users’ interaction can only be observed when taking in consideration the web interface used or the profile of the users. Moreover, the used measurement methods for assessing Mental Workload were not capable of predicting task performance, as previous research suggested (in the context of other types of web interfaces)

An investigation of the correlation between Mental Workload and Web User’s Interaction

Mental Workload, a Psychology concept, was identified as being linked with task’s and system’s performance. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, recent research has identified Mental Workload as an important measure in the designing and evaluation of web interfaces, and as an additional and supplemental insight to typical Usability evaluation methods. Simultaneously, web logs containing data related to web users’ interaction (e.g. scrolling; mouse clicks) have been proved useful in evaluating the Usability of web sites by levering the data tracked for hundreds of users. In order to study if the potential of logs of user interaction can be applied in the study of Mental Workload in Web design, an online experiment with 145 participations was performed. Additionally, the experiment, composed of alternative interfaces, sought to assess the role of Mental Workload in the evaluation of interfaces using interactive Infographics, which were identified by literature as bringing new challenges and concerns in the field of Web Design. The online experiment’s results suggested that correlations between mental demands and users’ interaction can only be observed when taking in consideration the web interface used or the profile of the users. Moreover, the used measurement methods for assessing Mental Workload were not capable of predicting task performance, as previous research suggested (in the context of other types of web interfaces)

Evaluating Visual Explanations for Similarity-Based Recommendations: User Perception and Performance

Recommender system helps users to reduce information overload. In recent years, enhancing explainability in recommender systems has drawn more and more attention in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). However, it is not clear whether a user-preferred explanation interface can maintain the same level of performance while the users are exploring or comparing the recommendations. In this paper, we introduced a participatory process of designing explanation interfaces with multiple explanatory goals for three similarity-based recommendation models. We investigate the relations of user perception and performance with two user studies. In the first study (N=15), we conducted card-sorting and semi-interview to identify the user preferred interfaces. In the second study (N=18), we carry out a performance-focused evaluation of six explanation interfaces. The result suggests that the user-preferred interface may not guarantee the same level of performance

On the notion of motor primitives in humans and robots

This article reviews two reflexive motor patterns in humans: Primitive reflexes and motor primitives. Both terms coexist in the literature of motor development and motor control, yet they are not synonyms. While primitive reflexes are a part of the temporary motor repertoire in early ontogeny, motor primitives refer to sets of motor patterns that are considered basic units of voluntary motor control thought to be present throughout the life-span. The article provides an overview of the anatomy and neurophysiology of human reflexive motor patterns to elucidate that both concepts are rooted in architecture of the spinal cord. I will advocate that an understanding of the human motor system that encompasses both primitive reflexes and motor primitives as well as the interaction with supraspinal motor centers will lead to an appreciation of the richness of the human motor repertoire, which in turn seems imperative for designing epigenetic robots and highly adaptable human machine interfaces

Físchlár on a PDA: handheld user interface design to a video indexing, browsing and playback system

The Físchlár digital video system is a web-based system for recording, analysis, browsing and playback of TV programmes which currently has about 350 users. Although the user interface to the system is designed for desktop PCs with a large screen and a mouse, we are developing versions to allow the use of mobile devices to access the system to record and browse the video content. In this paper, the design of a PDA user interface to video content browsing is considered. We use a design framework we have developed previously to be able to specify various video browsing interface styles thus making it possible to design for all potential users and their various environments. We can then apply this to the particulars of the PDA's small, touch-sensitive screen and the mobile environment where it will be used. The resultant video browsing interfaces have highly interactive interfaces yet are simple, which requires relatively less visual attention and focusing, and can be comfortably used in a mobile situation to browse the available video contents. To date we have developed and tested such interfaces on a Revo PDA, and are in the process of developing others

Applications of high and low fidelity prototypes in researching intuitive interaction

This paper addresses some of the issues involved in incorporating use of prototypes into a research program. Definitions, merits and uses of both low and high-fidelity prototypes are discussed and then the applications of prototypes in our research program into intuitive interaction are explored. It has previously been established that intuitive interaction is based on past experience, and can be encouraged by designing interfaces that contain familiar features (Blackler, 2006; Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2007b). Two aspects of the research program which are relevant to prototyping are: researching the issues of how intuitive use happens and how it can be better facilitated; and developing ways to help designers include investigations about users and their existing knowledge into their design processes in order to make interfaces more intuitive. The current and future planned applications of high and low-fidelity prototypes in each of these areas are explored. Then experiences with using high-fidelity touchscreen prototypes for experimental research into intuitive interaction are discussed, including problems with the prototypes, how they were addressed and what we have learned from the process. Next the potential for low-fidelity prototypes to elicit users’ tacit knowledge during the design process is explored. This has exciting possibilities due to the link between intuitive interaction and tacit knowledge. Finally, the challenges of developing prototype-based design tools for use by older people are discussed and future directions for using prototypes in our research program are considered. Keywords: Prototypes; intuitive interaction; experimental methodology; implicit or tacit knowledge</p