Usability of vision-based interfaces

Vision-based interfaces can employ gestures to interact with an interactive system without touching it. Gestures are frequently modelled in laboratories, and usability testing should be carried out. However, often these interfaces present usability issues, and the great diversity of uses of these interfaces and the applications where they are used, makes it difficult to decide which factors to take into account in a usability test. In this paper, we review the literature to compile and analyze the usability factors and metrics used for vision-based interfaces.Postprint (published version

An empirical investigation of gaze selection in mid-air gestural 3D manipulation

In this work, we investigate gaze selection in the context of mid-air hand gestural manipulation of 3D rigid bodies on monoscopic displays. We present the results of a user study with 12 participants in which we compared the performance of Gaze, a Raycasting technique (2D Cursor) and a Virtual Hand technique (3D Cursor) to select objects in two 3D mid-air interaction tasks. Also, we compared selection confirmation times for Gaze selection when selection is followed by manipulation to when it is not. Our results show that gaze selection is faster and more preferred than 2D and 3D mid-air-controlled cursors, and is particularly well suited for tasks in which users constantly switch between several objects during the manipulation. Further, selection confirmation times are longer when selection is followed by manipulation than when it is not

3D Cadastre visualization and dissemination: Most recent progresses and future directions

The 3D Cadastre has been investigated from many viewpoints (including legal, organizational and technical). However, to date little research has focused specifically on visualizationrelated aspects despite the value-added of the third dimension. The paper first proposes an overview of progress made in the last five years in 3D cadastral visualization. The authors then summarize discussions at the 2014 3D Cadastre workshop regarding future research and development on the topic. This synthesis is complemented by a broad review of the most recent advances in 3D visualization beyond the 3D cadastral domain, with the goal of providing a number of important directions for further work, allowing researchers, developers and users to consolidate their respective activities, and encouraging collaboration

Lifeworld Inc. : and what to do about it

Can we detect changes in the way that the world turns up as they turn up? This paper makes such an attempt. The first part of the paper argues that a wide-ranging change is occurring in the ontological preconditions of Euro-American cultures, based in reworking what and how an event is produced. Driven by the security – entertainment complex, the aim is to mass produce phenomenological encounter: Lifeworld Inc as I call it. Swimming in a sea of data, such an aim requires the construction of just enough authenticity over and over again. In the second part of the paper, I go on to argue that this new world requires a different kind of social science, one that is experimental in its orientation—just as Lifeworld Inc is—but with a mission to provoke awareness in untoward ways in order to produce new means of association. Only thus, or so I argue, can social science add to the world we are now beginning to live in

A machine for playing in: Exploring the videogame as a medium for architectural design

This paper aims to investigate what is unique about videogame spaces and their construction, and how they might be utilised by architects. This design-led study establishes videogames as an architectural medium through practice-based research projects, examining game worlds as architectural spaces by developing design methods to analyze their environments. It then discusses developing games as architectural representations combining virtual space with computational rules. The paper's final study suggests how game structures might be applied in design approaches for ostensibly real sites. Through four case study projects, I outline a new form of architectural design practice operating between physical and virtual, reflecting the cultural influence of game worlds and exploring videogame environments as new ways to ‘realise’ architecture

Too Hot to Handle: An Evaluation of the Effect of Thermal Visual Representation on User Grasping Interaction in Virtual Reality

Influence of interaction fidelity and rendering quality on perceived user experience have been largely explored in Virtual Reality (VR). However, differences in interaction choices triggered by these rendering cues have not yet been explored. We present a study analysing the effect of thermal visual cues and contextual information on 50 participants' approach to grasp and move a virtual mug. This study comprises 3 different temperature cues (baseline empty, hot and cold) and 4 contextual representations; all embedded in a VR scenario. We evaluate 2 different hand representations (abstract and human) to assess grasp metrics. Results show temperature cues influenced grasp location, with the mug handle being predominantly grasped with a smaller grasp aperture for the hot condition, while the body and top were preferred for baseline and cold conditions

It\u27s Tool Time: Exploring Tool Design Alternatives for Virtual Reality Trainings

Virtual reality (VR) technologies have gained a steady increase in attention and use in organizations across various industries in recent years. A useful application scenario is VR training, enabling employees to immersively and interactively familiarize with or practice work processes in a safe space without the risk of physical harm or financial consequences for the organization. This research explores how tool representation alternatives in virtual reality training scenarios (VRTS) affect user experience and content transfer. In a two-stage research approach, a total of 20 participants are randomly assigned to one of two VRTS with different tool representation types and interviewed subsequently. The findings indicate that decisions regarding tool representation in VRTS should be based on tool-independent (e.g., the feeling of tool operation) and tool-dependent factors (e.g., tool complexity)