Tangible user interface integration in engineering

International audienceIn this paper we describe the 1 design and the development of two specific tangible user interface (TUI) platforms.Theaimof thefirst oneis to support computer aided design (CAD) parts assembly operations in the mechanical product domain.Theaimof the second one is mainly designed to help stakeholders during the task of validation of subsoil model in the field of geosciences. In this paper, we propose a design methodology of the tangible parts (also called props) based on our previous experiences in TUI development. This methodology is mainly based on multidisciplinary work and user tests and we assume that this process is reproducible

Tangible user interface design for climate change education in interactive installation art

© 2014, ISAST. The authors discuss how tangible user interface objects can be important educational and entertainment tools in environmental education. The authors describe their interactive installation artwork Reefs on the Edge, which incorporates tangible user interface objects and combines environmental science and multiple art forms to explore coral reef ecosystems that are threatened by the effects of climate change. The authors/artists argue that the use of tangible user interface in an installation-art setting can help engage and inform the public about crucial environmental issues

Tangible user interface design for learners with different multiple intelligence

The creation of learning activities responsive to learners with different basic skills has been limited due to a classroom environment and applied technologies. The goals of this research were to develop Tang-MI, a game with a tangible user interface supporting primary school learners’ analytical skills based on the theory of multiple intelligences (MI), and to present design guidelines for a tangible user interface suitable for learners in different MI groups. In this research, the Tangible user interface for multiple intelligence (Tang-MI) was tested with thirty students initially evaluated for their multiple intelligences. The learners’ usage behavior was observed and recorded while the students performed the assigned tasks. The behavioral data were analyzed and grouped into behaviors occurring before performing the tasks, during the tasks, and after completing the tasks. Based on the learners’ usage behavior, the tangible user interface design guidelines for learners in different MI groups were proposed concerning physical equipment design, question design, interactive program design, audio design, and animated visual feedback design. These guidelines would help educators build learning games that respond to the learners’ intelligence styles and enhance students’ motivation to learn

A tangible user interface using spatial augmented reality

In this paper, we describe the novel implementation of a tangible user interface framework, namely the MagicPad, inspired by the concept of Spatial Augmented Reality. By using an Infrared pen with any flat surface, such as a paper pad that receives projected images from a projector, a user is able to perform a variety of interactive visualization and manipulation in the 3D space. Two implementations using the MagicPad framework are presented, which include the magic lenses like interface inside a CAVE-like system and a virtual book in an art installation. ©2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2010 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI 2010), Waltham, MA., 20-21 March 2010. In Proceedings of 3DUI, 2010, p. 137-13

Physical Selection as Tangible User Interface

Abstract Physical browsing is an interaction paradigm that allows associating digital information with physical objects. In physical browsing, the interaction happens via a mobile terminal -such as a mobile phone or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The links are implemented as tags that can be read with the terminal. They can be, for example, Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tags that are read with a mobile phone augmented with an RFID reader. The basis of physical browsing is physical selection -the interaction task with which the user tells the mobile terminal which link the user is interested in and wants to activate. After the selection, an action occurs, for example, if the tag contains a web address, the mobile phone may display the associated web page in the browser. Physical selection is thus a mobile terminal and tag based interaction technique, which is intended for interacting with the physical world and its entities. In ubiquitous computing, the physical environment is augmented with devices offering digital information and services. Ubiquitous computing can be divided into two broad categories: distributed, in which widgets with user interfaces are embedded into the environment, and mobile terminal centred, in which the user interacts with the devices with a mediator device. In both cases, an important issue in ubiquitous computing is how to interact with the devices embedded into the environment. Physical selection is a direct selection technique for choosing a target in the mobile terminal centred approach. Computer-augmented environment is a concept very similar to ubiquitous computing. The concept grew from the combination of ubiquitous computing and augmented reality, but common to both approaches is the emphasis on the physical world and the tools that enhance our everyday activities. Another concept close to ubiquitous computing and computer-augmented environments is physically based user interfaces, in which the interaction is based on computationally augmented physical artefacts. Tangible user interfaces are based on tangible or graspable physical objects and are thus closely related to physically based user interfaces

FrontPanel: Tangible User Interface for Touch-Screens Dedicated to Elderly

In this paper, we describe FrontPanel, a tangible user interface that enhances accessibility features in an iPad. More specifically, FrontPanel was designed for the senior population who has difficulty interacting with touch-screen tablets because of the lack of tangibility. FrontPanel is a result of one year help sessions with elderly who wished to replace their desktop/laptop computer with a touch-screen tablet that has the advantage of being light and mobile

An active tangible user interface framework for teaching and learning artificial intelligence

Interactive and tangible computing platforms have garnered increased interest in the pursuit of embedding active learning pedagogies within curricula through educational technologies. Whilst Tangible User Interface (TUI) systems have successfully been developed to edutain children in various research, TUI architectures have seen limited deployment in more complex and abstract domains. In light of these limitations, this paper proposes an active TUI framework that addresses the challenges experienced in teaching and learning artificial intelligence (AI) within higher educational institutions. The proposal extends an aptly designed tabletop TUI architecture with the novel interactive paradigm of active tangible manipulatives to provide a more engaging and effective user interaction. The paper describes the deployment of the proposed TUI framework within an undergraduate laboratory session to aid in the teaching and learning of artificial neural networks. The experiment is assessed against currently adopted educational computer software and the obtained results highlight the potential of the proposed TUI framework to augment students’ gain in knowledge and understanding of abstracted threshold concepts in higher education

A Tangible User Interface for Interactive Data Visualisation

Information visualisation (infovis) tools are integral for the analysis of large abstract data, where interactive processes are adopted to explore data, investigate hypotheses and detect patterns. New technologies exist beyond post-windows, icons, menus and pointing (WIMP), such as tangible user interfaces (TUIs). TUIs expand on the affordance of physical objects and surfaces to better exploit motor and perceptual abilities and allow for the direct manipulation of data. TUIs have rarely been studied in the field of infovis. The overall aim of this thesis is to design, develop and evaluate a TUI for infovis, using expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) as a case study. The research began with eliciting eQTL analysis requirements that identified high- level tasks and themes for quantitative genetic and eQTL that were explored in a graphical prototype. The main contributions of this thesis are as follows. First, a rich set of interface design options for touch and an interactive surface with exclusively tangible objects were explored for the infovis case study. This work includes characterising touch and tangible interactions to understand how best to use them at various levels of metaphoric representation and embodiment. These design were then compared to identify a set of options for a TUI that exploits the advantages of touch and tangible interaction. Existing research shows computer vision commonly utilised as the TUI technology of choice. This thesis contributes a rigorous technical evaluation of another promising technology, micro-controllers and sensors, as well as computer vision. However the findings showed that some sensors used with micro-controllers are lacking in capability, so computer vision was adopted for the development of the TUI. The majority of TUIs for infovis are presented as technical developments or design case studies, but lack formal evaluation. The last contribution of this thesis is a quantitative and qualitative comparison of the TUI and touch UI for the infovis case study. Participants adopted more effective strategies to explore patterns and performed fewer unnecessary analyses with the TUI, which led to significantly faster performance. Contrary to common belief bimanual interactions were infrequently used for both interfaces, while epistemic actions were strongly promoted for the TUI and contributed to participants’ efficient exploration strategies