Visualization of Tree-Structured Data Through a Multi Touch User Interface

This writing project examines different types of visualizations for tree-structured data sets. Visualizations discussed include link-node diagrams and treemap diagrams. Also discussed is recent innovations with regards to distinguishing multi touch from single touch technology. I explore the requirements needed to build a multi touch table top surface, and describe the process of building one. I then describe my proposed method of visualizing tree-structured data and how it can be implemented using Core Animation technology. I also propose a means of interacting with the data through a multi touch interface, and discuss which gestures can be used to navigate the visualization display

The Mole: a pressure-sensitive mouse

The traditional mouse enables the positioning of a cursor in a 2D plane, as well as the interaction of binary elements within that plane (e.g., buttons, links, icons). While this basic functionality is sufficient for interacting with every modern computing environment, it makes little use of the human hand\u27s ability to perform complex multi-directional movements. Devices developed to capture these multi-directional capabilities typically lack the familiar form and function of the mouse. This thesis details the design and development of a pressure-sensitive device called The Mole. The Mole retains the familiar form and function of the mouse while passively measuring the magnitude of normal hand force (i.e., downward force normal to the 2D operating surface). The measurement of this force lends itself to the development of novel interactions, far beyond what is possible with a typical mouse. This thesis demonstrates two such interactions: the positioning of a cursor in 3D space, and the simultaneous manipulation of cursor position and graphic tool parameters

Estudo de modos de comando em cenários de interacção gestual

Tese de mestrado, Engenharia Informática (Sistemas de Informação), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2010Recentemente, tem-se assistido a uma “revolução tecnológica” na concepção de dispositivos computacionais que visam a interacção pessoa-máquina. Os periféricos de entrada deixaram de ser a única forma de transmitir intenções às máquinas, sendo agora possível fazê-lo com o próprio corpo. Dispositivos que permitem interacção por toque estão-se a disseminar por locais públicos, mas não é só nestes locais que o fenómeno se verifica. A quantidade de produtos comerciais que permitem este género de interacção também não pára de aumentar, pelo que é necessário compreender as vantagens e desvantagens da interacção gestual e torná-la cada vez mais eficaz. Existem muitas tecnologias que possibilitam a construção de dispositivos tácteis, variando nas suas capacidades e custos. O estudo dessas tecnologias, no decorrer deste trabalho, resultou na construção de uma mesa interactiva multi-toque de “baixo custo”. Nos dispositivos vocacionados para interacção gestual as dimensões da superfície com a qual é possível interagir são iguais às dimensões do ecrã, o que leva à necessidade de ter uma especial atenção na concepção de aplicações para estes dispositivos. As características de uma interface concebida para um ecrã de grandes dimensões poderão não ser adequadas para um ecrã de dimensões mais reduzidas, e vice-versa. Além das dimensões, o género de aplicação também influencia o paradigma de interacção. No caso específico de interacção gestual em aplicações de desenho existe a dificuldade acrescida da aplicação compreender quando o gesto do utilizador tem por objectivo desenhar ou executar um comando. Neste trabalho são apresentados dois conjuntos de gestos de comando com o objectivo de eliminar a ambiguidade existente entre os gestos em aplicações de desenho. São também apresentadas as conclusões de estudos conduzidos para atestar a qualidade dos conjuntos propostos, assim como a sua adequabilidade relativamente a diferentes dimensões de ecrã.Lately we’ve been witnessing a “technologic revolution” in the making of devices that allow human-computer interaction. Input devices are no longer the only way to instruct intentions to computers. It’s now possible to do the same using one's own body. Devices that allow touch interaction are being disseminated in public places, but it’s not only in those places that the phenomenon occurs. The number of commercial products that allow this kind of interaction doesn’t stop growing. So, it’s of vital importance to understand the advantages and disadvantages of gestural interaction and make it more effective. There are a lot of technologies that allow the construction of tactile devices, going through a wide range of capabilities and manufacturing costs. The study of those technologies, during this work, resulted in the construction of a “low-cost” multi-touch interactive table. In devices oriented for gestural interaction, the dimensions of the surface of interaction are equal to the dimensions of the screen, which demands a special attention in the design of applications for those devices. The features of an interface conceived for a large screen may not be suitable for a screen of smaller dimensions, and vice-versa. Apart from the dimensions, the kind of application can also influence the interaction paradigm. In the specific case of gestural interaction in drawing applications there’s also the increased difficulty of making the application understand when the gesture has the objective of drawing or, instead, executing a command. In this work, two sets of command gestures are introduced, with the goal of disambiguating the intent of gestures in drawing applications. Also presented are the conclusions of studies who aimed to test the quality of the proposed sets, as well as their suitability to multi-sized screens

Personalizing the web: A tool for empowering end-users to customize the web through browser-side modification

167 p.Web applications delegate to the browser the final rendering of their pages. Thispermits browser-based transcoding (a.k.a. Web Augmentation) that can be ultimately singularized for eachbrowser installation. This creates an opportunity for Web consumers to customize their Web experiences.This vision requires provisioning adequate tooling that makes Web Augmentation affordable to laymen.We consider this a special class of End-User Development, integrating Web Augmentation paradigms.The dominant paradigm in End-User Development is scripting languages through visual languages.This thesis advocates for a Google Chrome browser extension for Web Augmentation. This is carried outthrough WebMakeup, a visual DSL programming tool for end-users to customize their own websites.WebMakeup removes, moves and adds web nodes from different web pages in order to avoid tabswitching, scrolling, the number of clicks and cutting and pasting. Moreover, Web Augmentationextensions has difficulties in finding web elements after a website updating. As a consequence, browserextensions give up working and users might stop using these extensions. This is why two differentlocators have been implemented with the aim of improving web locator robustness

ÁGORAS: HACIA UNA INFRAESTRUCTURA PARA EL APRENDIZAJE CREATIVO EN SUPERFICIES INTERACTIVAS

Este trabajo presenta los fundamentos para la construcción de un entorno para el aprendizaje creativo, constructivista y social basado en superficies interactivas, para lo cual se han desarrollado dos componentes que formarán parte de la infraestructura final: un subsistema de seguimiento de marcadores y otro de eventos semánticos. Abstract: This work presents the foundations to build an environment to support social, constructivist, and creative learning based on interactive tabletops. Two middleware components have been developed to take part of the final infrastructure: a subsystem of fiducial markers for tracking objects, and a subsystem for semantic events.Catalá Bolós, A. (2008). ÁGORAS: HACIA UNA INFRAESTRUCTURA PARA EL APRENDIZAJE CREATIVO EN SUPERFICIES INTERACTIVAS. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/13003Archivo delegad