Online avatar based interactions

The gridWorld project attempts to utilize 3D to develop an online multi-user visual chat system. GridWorld address ideas of how conversations in a virtual environment can be facilitated and enhanced by an abstract visual interface design. The visual interface was developed from research and examination of existing ideas, methodologies and application for development of user-embodiment, chat/virtual space, and interface useability towards the visualization of communication

Army-NASA aircrew/aircraft integration program. Phase 5: A3I Man-Machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) software concept document

This is the Software Concept Document for the Man-machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) being developed as part of Phase V of the Army-NASA Aircrew/Aircraft Integration (A3I) Progam. The approach taken in this program since its inception in 1984 is that of incremental development with clearly defined phases. Phase 1 began in 1984 and subsequent phases have progressed at approximately 10-16 month intervals. Each phase of development consists of planning, setting requirements, preliminary design, detailed design, implementation, testing, demonstration and documentation. Phase 5 began with an off-site planning meeting in November, 1990. It is expected that Phase 5 development will be complete and ready for demonstration to invited visitors from industry, government and academia in May, 1992. This document, produced during the preliminary design period of Phase 5, is intended to record the top level design concept for MIDAS as it is currently conceived. This document has two main objectives: (1) to inform interested readers of the goals of the MIDAS Phase 5 development period, and (2) to serve as the initial version of the MIDAS design document which will be continuously updated as the design evolves. Since this document is written fairly early in the design period, many design issues still remain unresolved. Some of the unresolved issues are mentioned later in this document in the sections on specific components. Readers are cautioned that this is not a final design document and that, as the design of MIDAS matures, some of the design ideas recorded in this document will change. The final design will be documented in a detailed design document published after the demonstrations

Directing animated creatures through gesture and speech

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75).by Joshua Bers.M.S

Mobile Auditory Guidance for Public Transportation

Helsingin seudulla on vapaasti saatavilla kattavaa tietoa julkisesta liikenteestä. Tietoa välitetään käyttäjille monien eri sovellusten avulla. Yleensä nämä sovellukset toimittavat tiedon pelkästään visuaalisessa muodossa, jättäen äänen potentiaalin (lisä)tiedon välityksessä täysin vaille huomiota. Graafinen ratkaisu voi olla epäkäytännöllinen ja tiedon saanti vaatia paljon keskittymistä, kun kyseessä on mobiililaite ja informaatio tarvitaan liikenteessä. Tässä työssä suunniteltiin ja kehitettiin täysin toiminnallinen mobiilisovellus reittisuunnittelua ja -opastusta varten. Sovelluksen tavoitteena on minimoida visuaalinen huomiointi ja tarkkailu, toimittaen äänen avulla tietoa perustuen aikatauluihin, kellonaikaan sekä käyttäjän sijaintiin. Päämääränä on tarjota informaatio merkityksellisessä ja helposti ymmärrettävässä muodossa, hyödyntäen muuta ääntä kuin puhetta, vapauttaen käyttäjän silmät ja kädet sekä poistaen tarpeen seurata kellonaikaa. Käytettyjen merkkiäänten tunnistettavuutta ja arvioita niiden ärsyttävyydestä testattiin epämuodollisesti pienellä määrällä koehenkilöitä. Sovelluksen tarkoitus ja äänten metaforat selitettiin lyhyesti, jonka jälkeen suurin osa käytetyistä auditiivisista symboleista tunnistettiin hyvin. Ylipäänsä mitään ääniä hyödyntävän sovelluksen käyttö julkisissa paikoissa ilman kuulokkeita herätti joissakin testihenkilöissä epäilyksiä. Kaiken kaikkiaan sovelluksessa todettiin olevan selviä mahdollisuuksia hyödylliseksi apuvälineeksi ja useimmat koekuuntelijoista havaitsivat ominaisuuksia, joiden he kokivat olevan itselleen käytännöllisiä.Comprehensive information for using public transportation in the Helsinki region is freely available and there are different applications that provide this. These applications, however, typically only provide information in the visual modality, completely neglecting the potential of using audio for conveying (additional) messages. In the context of mobile devices and requiring information while on the move, this can be cumbersome and requires the user to pay a lot of attention to the application in order to get the information. A completely functional mobile application for journey planning and guidance for travelling along a found route was designed and developed in this thesis. The aim for the application is to reduce the attention requirements to a minimum by using sound to deliver useful information to the user based on schedules, time, and the user's location. The objective is to provide the information by meaningful and easily understandable non-speech auditory cues to free the user's eyes and hands while, at the same time, removing the need to pay attention to the time. The recognizability of the used sounds, and estimation of whether they would be useful or annoying, was tested informally by a small number of people. After a brief explanation of the purpose and metaphors of the sounds in the application, most auditory icons were recognized well. Using an application with any sort of sound in public without headphones raised doubts in some. Overall the application was found to have potential for being a helpful aid and most of the test subjects saw elements that would be useful for themselves

Visual discussions : a visual representation of threaded discussion groups

Thesis (S.B. and M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41).This is an M.Eng thesis, based on software development work done in collaboration with Lotus Development Corp. In this project we are creating a visual overview of ongoing threads of a discussion database. This will allow users to quickly focus their attention to relevant areas of areas in a large information space.by Shiva S. Sandy.S.B.and M.Eng

CHORUS Deliverable 2.2: Second report - identification of multi-disciplinary key issues for gap analysis toward EU multimedia search engines roadmap

After addressing the state-of-the-art during the first year of Chorus and establishing the existing landscape in multimedia search engines, we have identified and analyzed gaps within European research effort during our second year. In this period we focused on three directions, notably technological issues, user-centred issues and use-cases and socio- economic and legal aspects. These were assessed by two central studies: firstly, a concerted vision of functional breakdown of generic multimedia search engine, and secondly, a representative use-cases descriptions with the related discussion on requirement for technological challenges. Both studies have been carried out in cooperation and consultation with the community at large through EC concertation meetings (multimedia search engines cluster), several meetings with our Think-Tank, presentations in international conferences, and surveys addressed to EU projects coordinators as well as National initiatives coordinators. Based on the obtained feedback we identified two types of gaps, namely core technological gaps that involve research challenges, and “enablers”, which are not necessarily technical research challenges, but have impact on innovation progress. New socio-economic trends are presented as well as emerging legal challenges

Dynamic magical environments : engaging interaction based on the art of illusion

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-61).by Ishantha Joseph Lokuge.M.S