Map design for visually impaired people: past, present, and future research

International audienceOrientation and mobility are amongst the most important challenges for visually impaired people. Tactile maps can provide them with spatial knowledge of their environment, thereby reducing fear related to travelling in space. To date, raised-line paper maps have been used to make geographic information accessible, but these paper maps have significant limitations with regards to content and the presentation of information. Recent advances in technology may help to design usable interactive maps that overcome such limitations. In this paper, we first review different accessible map concepts. We then present our design of an interactive map prototype, and provide evidence of this interactive map’s high user satisfaction and efficiency as compared to a regular raised-line paper map. To conclude, we suggest that advances in interactive technologies (e.g., haptic touch surfaces) provide a unique opportunity to design usable maps in the near future

Human-Computer interaction methodologies applied in the evaluation of haptic digital musical instruments

Recent developments in interactive technologies have seen major changes in the manner in which artists, performers, and creative individuals interact with digital music technology; this is due to the increasing variety of interactive technologies that are readily available today. Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) present musicians with performance challenges that are unique to this form of computer music. One of the most significant deviations from conventional acoustic musical instruments is the level of physical feedback conveyed by the instrument to the user. Currently, new interfaces for musical expression are not designed to be as physically communicative as acoustic instruments. Specifically, DMIs are often void of haptic feedback and therefore lack the ability to impart important performance information to the user. Moreover, there currently is no standardised way to measure the effect of this lack of physical feedback. Best practice would expect that there should be a set of methods to effectively, repeatedly, and quantifiably evaluate the functionality, usability, and user experience of DMIs. Earlier theoretical and technological applications of haptics have tried to address device performance issues associated with the lack of feedback in DMI designs and it has been argued that the level of haptic feedback presented to a user can significantly affect the user’s overall emotive feeling towards a musical device. The outcome of the investigations contained within this thesis are intended to inform new haptic interface

Thinking through the tool: collaborative archaeological bodywork in immersive virtual reality

Thanks to currently available very high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) models via photogrammetric techniques as a primary method of archaeological documentation, constructing immersive, high-fidelity simulacra is imminently possible. This paper considers how the scale at which the human body interacts with immersive digital models is especially important for understanding the affordances and ergonomics of past things and places. The implications of this isometry between archaeological objects of analysis and emerging capabilities to interact with them through digital surrogates in the present are manifold. By enabling interaction with objects and contexts in immersive virtual space, such observational experiences create in silico engagements that are repeatable, distributable, and collaborative. In particular, it is the collaborative capacity of this technology that this paper explores using online immersive virtual reality (iVR). Collaborative online iVR is used in this research as a key instrument for enhancing understanding and reinterpreting the digital records of two archaeological sites under excavation in Peru. The case studies analyzed show a variety of cultural, geographic, and temporal contexts in the Andean region, which illustrates the broad potential of iVR for archaeological hermeneutics. Through iVR frameworks, the authors engage with embodied reconsiderations of Catholic ritual spaces within a planned colonial town in the southern Peruvian highlands and the pre-Columbian site of Huaca Colorada on the north coast. Synchronous scalar experiences that privilege the affordances of architectural space within digital models create opportunities for embodied experience and collaborative dialogue. A fundamental argument is the capacity to digitally inhabit these places and manipulate materials holds subtle as well as profound epistemological and hermeneutic implications for archaeological knowledge construction

Embodied gestures

This is a book about musical gestures: multiple ways to design instruments, compose musical performances, analyze sound objects and represent sonic ideas through the central notion of ‘gesture’. The writers share knowledge on major research projects, musical compositions and methodological tools developed among different disciplines, such as sound art, embodied music cognition, human-computer interaction, performative studies and artificial intelligence. They visualize how similar and compatible are the notions of embodied music cognition and the artistic discourses proposed by musicians working with ‘gesture’ as their compositional material. The authors and editors hope to contribute to the ongoing discussion around creative technologies and music, expressive musical interface design, the debate around the use of AI technology in music practice, as well as presenting a new way of thinking about musical instruments, composing and performing with them

Plataforma para a configuração de ambientes virtuais interativos

Mestrado em Sistemas de InformaçãoThis dissertation presents the creation of the Platform for Setting-up Interactive Virtual Environments (pSIVE). Bearing in mind the difficulty required to create virtual environments, the platform aims to allow non-specialists to benefit from virtual environments in applications such as virtual tours as marketing or training where one could interact with elements of the environment to extract contextual information. For this, several frameworks and technologies possible of been integrated into the platform are presented, as well as which ones are more suitable. The platform allows users, from a configuration tool, to create virtual environments and set up their aspects, modes of interaction and what hardware to use. The construction of the world is done by loading 3D models and associating multimedia information (videos, texts or PDF documents) to them. Alongside its development, a comparative study between two ray-tracing selection techniques was performed. Based on the results analysis, it is suggested which technique better fits the environments created with pSIVE. The study also demonstrates the flexibility of the platform, since it was adapted to serve as a test environment. A case of study is introduced where a step by step configuration of a virtual environment is shown, as well as its use within the PRODUTECH-PTI project. Finally, the conclusions are drawn, and suggestions for future work are presented.Este trabalho apresenta a criação da Plataforma para Configuração de Ambientes Virtuais Interativos (com o acrónimo em Inglês pSIVE). Tendo em mente a dificuldade necessária para a criação de ambientes virtuais, a plataforma tem como objectivo possibilitar a não especialistas tirarem proveito de ambientes virtuais, em aplicações genéricas, como por exemplo visitas virtuais que sirvam como publicidade ou treino onde seja possível interagir com elementos do ambiente para extrair informação contextualizada. Para isto apresenta-se um levantamento de tecnologias e frameworks passíveis de serem envolvidos no processo de criação e justifica-se a escolha dos mais adequados para integrar a plataforma. A plataforma permite que utilizadores, a partir de uma ferramenta de configuração, criem ambientes virtuais e seus aspectos, bem como modos de interação e indiquem o hardware a ser utilizado. Para a construção do mundo, é possível carregar modelos 3D associando-lhes informação multimédia (Vídeos, Textos ou Documentos PDF). Paralelamente ao desenvolvimento da plataforma, foi realizado um estudo comparativo entre duas técnicas de seleção por ray-tracing, que diferem quanto à origem do feixe. A análise dos resultados sugere qual técnica que melhor se adequa aos ambientes criados. O estudo também demonstra a flexibilidade da plataforma, uma vez que esta foi adaptada para servir como ambiente de teste. Apresenta-se ainda um caso de estudo, onde se mostra passo a passo a configuração de um ambiente virtual e a sua utilização no âmbito do projeto PRODUTECH-PTI. Por fim, são apresentadas conclusões e possíveis caminhos a serem seguidos para a evolução futura do trabalho