Dynamic Composite Data Physicalization Using Wheeled Micro-Robots

This paper introduces dynamic composite physicalizations, a new class of physical visualizations that use collections of self-propelled objects to represent data. Dynamic composite physicalizations can be used both to give physical form to well-known interactive visualization techniques, and to explore new visualizations and interaction paradigms. We first propose a design space characterizing composite physicalizations based on previous work in the fields of Information Visualization and Human Computer Interaction. We illustrate dynamic composite physicalizations in two scenarios demonstrating potential benefits for collaboration and decision making, as well as new opportunities for physical interaction. We then describe our implementation using wheeled micro-robots capable of locating themselves and sensing user input, before discussing limitations and opportunities for future work

From presence to consciousness through virtual reality

Immersive virtual environments can break the deep, everyday connection between where our senses tell us we are and where we are actually located and whom we are with. The concept of 'presence' refers to the phenomenon of behaving and feeling as if we are in the virtual world created by computer displays. In this article, we argue that presence is worthy of study by neuroscientists, and that it might aid the study of perception and consciousness

Human-Computer Interaction

In this book the reader will find a collection of 31 papers presenting different facets of Human Computer Interaction, the result of research projects and experiments as well as new approaches to design user interfaces. The book is organized according to the following main topics in a sequential order: new interaction paradigms, multimodality, usability studies on several interaction mechanisms, human factors, universal design and development methodologies and tools

Sticker land: Interactive educational game

None provided

What you see is what you feel : on the simulation of touch in graphical user interfaces

This study introduces a novel method of simulating touch with merely visual means. Interactive animations are used to create an optical illusion that evokes haptic percepts like stickiness, stiffness and mass, within a standard graphical user interface. The technique, called optically simulated hapic feedback, exploits the domination of the visual over the haptic modality and the general human tendency to integrate between the various senses. The study began with an aspiration to increase the sensorial qualities of the graphical user interface. With the introduction of the graphical user interface – and in particular the desktop metaphor – computers have become accessible for almost anyone; all over the world, people from various cultures use the same icons, folders, buttons and trashcans. However, from a sensorial point of view this computing paradigm is still extremely limited. Touch can play a powerful role in communication. It can offer an immediacy and intimacy unparalleled by words or images. Although few doubt this intrinsic value of touch perception in everyday life, examples in modern technology where human-machine communication utilizes the tactile and kinesthetic senses as additional channels of information flow are scarce. Hence, it has often been suggested that improvements in the sensorial qualities of computers could lead to more natural interfaces. Various researchers have been creating scenarios and technologies that should enrich the sensorial qualities of our digital environment. Some have developed mechanical force feedback devices that enable people to experience haptics while interacting with a digital display. Others have suggested that the computer should ‘disappear’ into the environment and proposed tangible objects as a means to connect between the digital and the physical environment. While the scenarios of force feedback, tangible interactions and the disappearing computer are maturing, millions of people are still working with a desktop computer interface every day. In spite of its obvious drawbacks, the desktop computing model penetrated deeply into our society and cannot be expected to disappear overnight. Radically different computing paradigms will require the development of radically different hardware. This takes time and it is yet unsure when, if so, other computing paradigms will replace the current desktop computing setup. It is for that reason, that we pursued another approach towards physical computing. Inspired by renaissance painters, who already centuries ago invented illusionary techniques like perspective and trompe d’oeil to increase the presence of their paintings, we aim to improve the physicality of the graphical user interface, without resorting to special hardware. Optically simulated haptic feedback, described in this thesis, has a lot in common with mechanical force-feedback systems, except for the fact that in mechanical force-feedback systems the location of the cursor is manipulated as a result of the force sent to the haptic device (force-feedback mouse, trackball, etc), whereas in our system the cursor location is directly manipulated, resulting in an purely visual force feedback. By applying tiny displacements upon the cursor’s movement, tactile sensations like stickiness, touch, or mass can be simulated. In chapter 2 we suggest that the active cursor technique can be applied to create richer interactions without the need for special hardware. The cursor channel is transformed from an input only to an input/output channel. The active cursor displacements can be used to create various (dynamic) slopes as well as textures and material properties, which can provide the user with feedback while navigating the on-screen environment. In chapter 3 the perceptual illusion of touch, resulting from the domination of the visual over the haptic modality, is described in a larger context of prior research and experimentally tested. Using both the active cursor technique and a mechanical force feedback device, we generated bumps and hole structures. In a controlled experiment the perception of the slopes was measured, comparing between the optical and the mechanical simulation. Results show that people can recognize optically simulated bump and hole structures, and that active cursor displacements influence the haptic perception of bumps and holes. Depending on the simulated strength of the force, optically simulated haptic feedback can take precedence over mechanically simulated haptic feedback, but also the other way around. When optically simulated and mechanically simulated haptic feedback counteract each other, however, the weight attributed to each source of haptic information differs between users. It is concluded that active cursor displacements can be used to optically simulate the operation of mechanical force feedback devices. An obvious application of optically simulated haptic feedback in graphical user interfaces, is to assist the user in pointing at icons and objects on the screen. Given the pervasiveness of pointing in graphical interfaces, every small improvement in a target-acquisition task, represents a substantial improvement in usability. Can active cursor displacements be applied to help the user reach its goal? In chapter 4 we test the usability of optically simulated haptic feedback in a pointing task, again in comparison with the force feedback generated by a mechanical device. In a controlled Fitts’-law type experiment, subjects were asked to point and click at targets of different sizes and distances. Results learn that rendering hole type structures underneath the targets improves the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the target acquisition task. Optically simulated haptic feedback results in lower error rates, more satisfaction, and a higher index of performance, which can be attributed to the shorter movement times realized for the smaller targets. For larger targets, optically simulated haptic feedback resulted in comparable movement times as mechanically simulated haptic feedback. Since the current graphical interfaces are not designed with tactility in mind, the development of novel interaction styles should also be an important research path. Before optically simulated haptic feedback can be fully brought into play in more complex interaction styles, designers and researchers need to further experiment with the technique. In chapter 5 we describe a software prototyping toolkit, called PowerCursor, which enables designers to create interaction styles using optically simulated haptic feedback, without having to do elaborate programming. The software engine consists of a set of ready force field objects – holes, hills, ramps, rough and slick objects, walls, whirls, and more – that can be added to any Flash project, as well as force behaviours that can be added to custom made shapes and objects. These basic building blocks can be combined to create more complex and dynamic force objects. This setup should allow the users of the toolkit to creatively design their own interaction styles with optically simulated haptic feedback. The toolkit is implemented in Adobe Flash and can be downloaded at www.powercursor.com. Furthermore, in chapter 5 we present a preliminary framework of the expected applicability of optically simulated haptic feedback. Illustrated with examples that have been created with the beta-version of the PowerCursor toolkit so far, we discuss some of the ideas for novel interaction styles. Besides being useful in assisting the user while navigating, optically simulated haptic feedback might be applied to create so-called mixed initiative interfaces – one can for instance think of an installation wizard, which guides the cursor towards the recommended next step. Furthermore since optically simulated haptic feedback can be used to communicate material properties of textures or 3D objects, it can be applied to create aesthetically pleasing interactions – which with the migration of computers into other domains than the office environment are becoming more relevant. Finally we discuss the opportunities for applications outside the desktop computer model. We discuss how, in principle, optically simulated haptic feedback can play a role in any graphical interface where the input and output channels are decoupled. In chapter 6 we draw conclusions and discuss future directions. We conclude that optically simulated haptic feedback can increase the physicality and quality of our current graphical user interfaces, without resorting to specialistic hardware. Users are able to recognize haptic structures simulated by applying active cursor displacements upon the users mouse movements. Our technique of simulating haptic feedback optically opens up an additional communication channel with the user that can enhance the usability of the graphical interface. However, the active cursor technique is not to be expected to replace mechanical haptic feedback altogether, since it can be applied only in combination with a visual display and thus will not work for visually impaired people. Rather, we expect the ability to employ tactile interaction styles in a standard graphical user interface, could catalyze the development of novel physical interaction styles and on the long term might instigate the acceptance of haptic devices. With this research we hope to have contributed to a more sensorial and richer graphical user interface. Moreover we have aimed to increase our awareness and understanding of media technology and simulations in general. Therefore, our scientific research results are deliberately presented within a social-cultural context that reflects upon the dominance of the visual modality in our society and the ever-increasing role of media and simulations in people’s everyday lives

Evaluating secondary input devices to support an automotive touchscreen HMI: a cross-cultural simulator study conducted in the UK and China

Touchscreen Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) are a well-established and popular choice to provide the primary control interface between driver and vehicle, yet inherently demand some visual attention. Employing a secondary device with the touchscreen may reduce the demand but there is some debate about which device is most suitable, with current manufacturers favouring different solutions and applying these internationally. We present an empirical driving simulator study, conducted in the UK and China, in which 48 participants undertook typical in-vehicle tasks utilising either a touchscreen, rotary-controller, steering-wheel-controls or touchpad. In both the UK and China, the touchscreen was the most preferred/least demanding to use, and the touchpad least preferred/most demanding, whereas the rotary-controller was generally favoured by UK drivers and steering-wheel-controls were more popular in China. Chinese drivers were more excited by the novelty of the technology, and spent more time attending to the devices while driving, leading to an increase in off-road glance time and a corresponding detriment to vehicle control. Even so, Chinese drivers rated devices as easier-to-use while driving, and felt that they interfered less with their driving performance, compared to their UK counterparts. Results suggest that the most effective solution (to maximise performance/acceptance, while minimising visual demand) is to maintain the touchscreen as the primary control interface (e.g. for top-level tasks), and supplement this with a secondary device that is only enabled for certain actions; moreover, different devices may be employed in different cultural markets. Further work is required to explore these recommendations in greater depth (e.g. during extended or real-world testing), and to validate the findings and approach in other cultural contexts

Improving expressivity in desktop interactions with a pressure-augmented mouse

Desktop-based Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers (WIMP) interfaces have changed very little in the last 30 years, and are still limited by a lack of powerful and expressive input devices and interactions. In order to make desktop interactions more expressive and controllable, expressive input mechanisms like pressure input must be made available to desktop users. One way to provide pressure input to these users is through a pressure-augmented computer mouse; however, before pressure-augmented mice can be developed, design information must be provided to mouse developers. The problem we address in this thesis is that there is a lack of ergonomics and performance information for the design of pressure-augmented mice. Our solution was to provide empirical performance and ergonomics information for pressure-augmented mice by performing five experiments. With the results of our experiments we were able to identify the optimal design parameters for pressure-augmented mice and provide a set of recommendations for future pressure-augmented mouse designs

Eignung von virtueller Physik und Touch-Gesten in Touchscreen-Benutzerschnittstellen für kritische Aufgaben

The goal of this reasearch was to examine if modern touch screen interaction concepts that are established on consumer electronic devices like smartphones can be used in time-critical and safety-critical use cases like for machine control or healthcare appliances. Several prevalent interaction concepts with and without touch gestures and virtual physics were tested experimentally in common use cases to assess their efficiency, error rate and user satisfaction during task completion. Based on the results, design recommendations for list scrolling and horizontal dialog navigation are given.Das Ziel dieser Forschungsarbeit war es zu untersuchen, ob moderne Touchscreen-Interaktionskonzepte, die auf Consumer-Electronic-Geräten wie Smartphones etabliert sind, für zeit- und sicherheitskritische Anwendungsfälle wie Maschinensteuerung und Medizingeräte geeignet sind. Mehrere gebräuchliche Interaktionskonzepte mit und ohne Touch-Gesten und virtueller Physik wurden in häufigen Anwendungsfällen experimentell auf ihre Effizienz, Fehlerrate und Nutzerzufriedenheit bei der Aufgabenlösung untersucht. Basierend auf den Resultaten werden Empfehlungen für das Scrollen in Listen und dem horizontalen Navigieren in mehrseitigen Software-Dialogen ausgesprochen

Auditory interfaces: Using sound to improve the HSL metro ticketing interface for the visually impaired

Around 252 million trips by public transport are taken in Helsinki every year, and about 122 million passengers travel by Helsinki City Transport (tram, metro and ferry) in and around Finland's capitol. Given these numbers, it is important that the system be as wholly efficient, inclusive, and as easy to use as possible. In my master's thesis, I examine Helsinki Region Transport's ticketing and information system. I pay special attention to their new touch screen card readers, framing them in the context of increasing usability and accessibility through the use of sound design. I look at what design decisions have been made and compare these with a variety of available technology that exists today, as well as what solutions are being used in other cities. Throughout my research, I've placed an emphasis on sonic cues and sound design, as this is my area of study. Everything is assessed against the requirements and perspective of Helsinki's public transportation end users who are blind and visually impaired. I have used desk research, field research, user testing and stakeholder interviews in my methodology. I have put forth suggestions on how to improve the current system, taking into account the learnings from my research. I have looked at key points around people with disabilities and how sound can be used to improve accessibility and general functionality for all. I also hope to share this thesis with HSL and HKL, whom may use it to inform future optimization of their systems

Secured and Smart Electronic voting system

Now a days various displays are  becoming available for implementing a new kind of human computer interaction (HCI) method. Among them, touch  panel  displays  have  been used in wide variety of applications and are proven to be a useful interface infrastructure. We exemplify our approach through the design and development of secured & smart ectronic voting system. As the Supreme Court recently ordered to include the “Reject” option, so that the voter can reject if he is not interested in any party. This touch screen  based electronic voting system provides confirmation after selecting a party from the list. A beep sound will be generated when the voter presses the confirmation so that the vote will be casted successfully to a right party. This type of electronic voting systems allow easy confirmation and casting of vote without any assistance. This system also provides security by entering the voter ID whether it is correct or not. We also conducted a preliminary evaluation to verify the effectiveness of the system