Visual search and VDUS

This wide-ranging study explored various parameters of visual search in relation to computer screen displays. Its ultimate goal was to help identify factors which could result in improvements in commercially available displays within the 'real world’. Those improvements are generally reflected in suggestions for enhancing efficiency of locatabolity of information through an acknowledgement of the visual and cognitive factors involved. The thesis commenced by introducing an ergonomics approach to the presentation of information on VDUs. Memory load and attention were discussed. In the second chapter, literature on general and theoretical aspects of visual search (with particular regard for VDUs) was reviewed. As an experimental starting point, three studies were conducted involving locating a target within arrays of varying configurations. A model concerning visual lobes was proposed. Two text-editing studies were then detailed showing superior user performances where conspicuity and the potential for peripheral vision are enhanced. Relevant eye movement data was combined with a keystroke analysis derived from an automated protocol analyser. Results of a further search task showed icons to be more quickly located within an array than textual material. Precise scan paths were then recorded and analyses suggested greater systematicity of search strategies for complex items. This led on to a relatively 'pure' search study involving materials of varying spatial frequencies. Results were discussed in terms of verbal material generally being of higher spatial frequencies and how the ease of resolution and greater cues available in peripheral vision can result in items being accessed more directly. In the final (relatively applied) study, differences in eye movement indices were found across various fonts used. One main conclusion was that eye movement monitoring was a valuable technique within the visual search/VDU research area in illuminating precise details of performance which otherwise, at best, could only be inferred

Analysis of graphical user interface design in the context of human-computer interaction (with a case study on oven control panel)

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Industrial Design, Izmir, 2005Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 95)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxi, 98 leavesIn this era that the popularity of digital products has risen, computer and its tools affect every part of our lives. New technologies provide extraordinary powers to those people who master them. Digital products and their graphical user interfaces are still new technologies that are being rapidly disseminated. Human performance in the use of digital product will remain a rapidly expanding research and development topic in the coming decades. For this reason, theimportance of interaction between digital product and user should be considered.The term .Graphical user interface. is the layer where the digital productcommunicated with human and human communicated with digital product. A well-designed product can fail with an unsuccessful interface. Conversely, a product has not good design values can become successful with its well-designed interface. To get best interaction between digital product and user, the graphical interface design itself has some rudimentary design values like user-friendliness, usability, easy to learn, etc.At an individual level, user interfaces change many people.s lives. For instance, At an individual level, user interfaces change many people.s lives. For instance, and technicians can manipulate their job more safely. Some changes, however, are disruptive; too often, users must cope with frustration, fear, and failure when they encounter excessive complexity, incomprehensible terminology, or chaotic layouts.Designers are exploring how best to organize information graphically. They are developing query languages and visually attractive facilities. Techniques such as direct manipulation, telepresence, and virtual realities may change the ways that we interact with and think about digital products. Consequently, the goal of making the user's quality of life better is important to keep in mind.In this research, from the point of an industrial designer.s view, the subject matter .Graphical user interface design., and its all interaction rules with user are evaluated. In terms of design language, which has the ability of understand the user behavior, it puts the subject matter on the agenda to explore recipe of a successful product

How to improve learning from video, using an eye tracker

The initial trigger of this research about learning from video was the availability of log files from users of video material. Video modality is seen as attractive as it is associated with the relaxed mood of watching TV. The experiments in this research have the goal to gain more insight in viewing patterns of students when viewing video. Students received an awareness instruction about the use of possible alternative viewing behaviors to see whether this would enhance their learning effects. We found that: - the learning effects of students with a narrow viewing repertoire were less than the learning effects of students with a broad viewing repertoire or strategic viewers. - students with some basic knowledge of the topics covered in the videos benefited most from the use of possible alternative viewing behaviors and students with low prior knowledge benefited the least. - the knowledge gain of students with low prior knowledge disappeared after a few weeks; knowledge construction seems worse when doing two things at the same time. - media players could offer more options to help students with their search for the content they want to view again. - there was no correlation between pervasive personality traits and viewing behavior of students. The right use of video in higher education will lead to students and teachers that are more aware of their learning and teaching behavior, to better videos, to enhanced media players, and, finally, to higher learning effects that let users improve their learning from video

Character Recognition

Character recognition is one of the pattern recognition technologies that are most widely used in practical applications. This book presents recent advances that are relevant to character recognition, from technical topics such as image processing, feature extraction or classification, to new applications including human-computer interfaces. The goal of this book is to provide a reference source for academic research and for professionals working in the character recognition field

Studies in ambient intelligent lighting

The revolution in lighting we are arguably experiencing is led by technical developments in the area of solid state lighting technology. The improved lifetime, efficiency and environmentally friendly raw materials make LEDs the main contender for the light source of the future. The core of the change is, however, not in the basic technology, but in the way users interact with it and the way the quality of the produced effect on the environment is judged. With the new found freedom the users can switch their focus from the confines of the technology to the expression of their needs, regardless of the details of the lighting system. Identifying the user needs, creating an effective language to communicate them to the system, and translating them to control signals that fulfill them, as well as defining the means to measure the quality of the produced result are the topic of study of a new multidisciplinary area of study, Ambient Intelligent Lighting. This thesis describes a series of studies in the field of Ambient Intelligent Lighting, divided in two parts. The first part of the thesis demonstrates how, by adopting a user centric design philosophy, the traditional control paradigms can be superseded by novel, so-called effect driven controls. Chapter 3 describes an algorithm that, using statistical methods and image processing, generates a set of colors based on a term or set of terms. The algorithm uses Internet image search engines (Google Images, Flickr) to acquire a set of images that represent a term and subsequently extracts representative colors from the set. Additionally, an estimate of the quality of the extracted set of colors is computed. Based on the algorithm, a system that automatically enriches music with lyrics based images and lighting was built and is described. Chapter 4 proposes a novel effect driven control algorithm, enabling users easy, natural and system agnostic means to create a spatial light distribution. By using an emerging technology, visible light communication, and an intuitive effect definition, a real time interactive light design system was developed. Usability studies on a virtual prototype of the system demonstrated the perceived ease of use and increased efficiency of an effect driven approach. In chapter 5, using stochastic models, natural temporal light transitions are modeled and reproduced. Based on an example video of a natural light effect, a Markov model of the transitions between colors of a single light source representing the effect is learned. The model is a compact, easy to reproduce, and as the user studies show, recognizable representation of the original light effect. The second part of the thesis studies the perceived quality of one of the unique capabilities of LEDs, chromatic temporal transitions. Using psychophysical methods, existing spatial models of human color vision were found to be unsuitable for predicting the visibility of temporal artifacts caused by the digital controls. The chapters in this part demonstrate new perceptual effects and make the first steps towards building a temporal model of human color vision. In chapter 6 the perception of smoothness of digital light transitions is studied. The studies presented demonstrate the dependence of the visibility of digital steps in a temporal transition on the frequency of change, chromaticity, intensity and direction of change of the transition. Furthermore, a clear link between the visibility of digital steps and flicker visibility is demonstrated. Finally, a new, exponential law for the dependence of the threshold speed of smooth transitions on the changing frequency is hypothesized and proven in subsequent experiments. Chapter 7 studies the discrimination and preference of different color transitions between two colors. Due to memory effects, the discrimination threshold for complete transitions was shown to be larger than the discrimination threshold for two single colors. Two linear transitions in different color spaces were shown to be significantly preferred over a set of other, curved, transitions. Chapter 8 studies chromatic and achromatic flicker visibility in the periphery. A complex change of both the absolute visibility thresholds for different frequencies, as well as the critical flicker frequency is observed. Finally, an increase in the absolute visibility thresholds caused by an addition of a mental task in central vision is demonstrated

Can integrated titles improve the viewing experience? Investigating the impact of subtitling on the reception and enjoyment of film using eye tracking and questionnaire data

Historically a dubbing country, Germany is not well-known for subtitled productions. But while dubbing is predominant in Germany, more and more German viewers prefer original and subtitled versions of their favourite shows and films. Conventional subtitling, however, can be seen as a strong intrusion into the original image that can not only disrupt but also destroy the director’s intended shot composition and focus points. Long eye movements between focus points and subtitles decrease the viewer’s information intake, and especially German audiences, who are often not used to subtitles, seem to prefer to wait for the next subtitle instead of looking back up again. Furthermore, not only the placement, but also the overall design of conventional subtitles can disturb the image composition – for instance titles with a weak contrast, inappropriate typeface or irritating colour system. So should it not, despite the translation process, be possible to preserve both image and sound as far as possible? Especially given today’s numerous artistic and technical possibilities and the huge amount of work that goes into the visual aspects of a film, taking into account not only special effects, but also typefaces, opening credits and text-image compositions. A further development of existing subtitling guidelines would not only express respect towards the original film version but also the translator’s work.   The presented study shows how integrated titles can increase information intake while maintaining the intended image composition and focus points as well as the aesthetics of the shot compositions. During a three-stage experiment, the specifically for this purpose created integrated titles in the documentary “Joining the Dots” by director Pablo Romero-Fresco were analysed with the help of eye movement data from more than 45 participants. Titles were placed based on the gaze behaviour of English native speakers and then rated by German viewers dependant on a German translation. The results show that a reduction of the distance between intended focus points and titles allow the viewers more time to explore the image and connect the titles to the plot. The integrated titles were rated as more aesthetically pleasing and reading durations were shorter than with conventional subtitles. Based on the analysis of graphic design and filmmaking rules as well as conventional subtitling standards, a first workflow and set of placement strategies for integrated titles were created in order to allow a more respectful handling of film material as well as the preservation of the original image composition and typographic film identity

Data visualizing popular science fiction movies with use of circular hierarchical edge bundling

In this article, a specific type of data visualization method called Circular Hierarchical Edge Bundling has been utilized to investigate a subjective discussion on determining the most commonly observed themes in the popular Sci-Fi Movies. To reflect people’s opinions on the subject, a website (www.dystopia-utopia.com) has been designed to invite larger communities to participate in with filling an online form to deliver their judgments. Data Visualization methods and the research results are elaborated in further details

Quantifying aesthetics of visual design applied to automatic design

In today\u27s Instagram world, with advances in ubiquitous computing and access to social networks, digital media is adopted by art and culture. In this dissertation, we study what makes a good design by investigating mechanisms to bring aesthetics of design from realm of subjection to objection. These mechanisms are a combination of three main approaches: learning theories and principles of design by collaborating with professional designers, mathematically and statistically modeling good designs from large scale datasets, and crowdscourcing to model perceived aesthetics of designs from general public responses. We then apply the knowledge gained in automatic design creation tools to help non-designers in self-publishing, and designers in inspiration and creativity. Arguably, unlike visual arts where the main goals may be abstract, visual design is conceptualized and created to convey a message and communicate with audiences. Therefore, we develop a semantic design mining framework to automatically link the design elements, layout, color, typography, and photos to linguistic concepts. The inferred semantics are applied to a design expert system to leverage user interactions in order to create personalized designs via recommendation algorithms based on the user\u27s preferences

Can integrated titles improve the viewing experience?

Historically a dubbing country, Germany is not well-known for subtitled productions. But while dubbing is predominant in Germany, more and more German viewers prefer original and subtitled versions of their favourite shows and films. Conventional subtitling, however, can be seen as a strong intrusion into the original image that can not only disrupt but also destroy the director’s intended shot composition and focus points. Long eye movements between focus points and subtitles decrease the viewer’s information intake, and especially German audiences, who are often not used to subtitles, seem to prefer to wait for the next subtitle instead of looking back up again. Furthermore, not only the placement, but also the overall design of conventional subtitles can disturb the image composition – for instance titles with a weak contrast, inappropriate typeface or irritating colour system. So should it not, despite the translation process, be possible to preserve both image and sound as far as possible? Especially given today’s numerous artistic and technical possibilities and the huge amount of work that goes into the visual aspects of a film, taking into account not only special effects, but also typefaces, opening credits and text-image compositions. A further development of existing subtitling guidelines would not only express respect towards the original film version but also the translator’s work