Evaluation of Mobile Phones for Large Display Interaction

Large displays have become more and more common in the last few years. While interaction with these displays can be conducted using standard methods such as computer mouse and keyboard, this approach causes issues in multi-user environments, where the various conditions for providing multiple keyboards and mice, together with the facilities to employ them, cannot be met. To solve this problem, interaction using mobile phones was proposed by several authors. Previous solutions were specialized interaction metaphors only for certain applications. To gain more insight into general interaction patterns realizable with smart phones, we created a set of general test cases using a well-known taxonomy for interactions. These test cases were then evaluated in a user study, comparing smart phone usage against the traditional keyboard/mouse-combination. Results (time and user satisfaction) show strengths and weaknesses when using the new interaction with the smart phone. With further evaluations we draw conclusions on how to improve large display interaction using smart phones in general

VR Jugglerを用いたPCクラスタによる没入型ディスプレイの構築

　PCクラスタを構成することにより、没入型VR環境を構築した。システムは、低価格、アプリケーション構築の容易性、システムのスケーラビリティといった設計指針に基づいて実装された。GPU搭載のPCを４台つなげて、立体視映像を同期生成する。没入型VR環境を構築するためのフレームワークとして、VR Jugglerを利用した。複数のPCをネットワーク接続し、同期的にグラフィックス・レンダリングを行う機能を提供する。仮想世界のシーンを構築するフレームワークとして、OpenSceneGraphを利用した。教育応用を目的として、ラムサール条約に登録されている干潟を自由に動き回る体験ができる可視化アプリケーションを開発した

The Effect of Several Tradeoffs in the Implementation of Large Displays on the Performance of the Users of the Displays

A large display can be constructed in two different ways: 1. a rectangular grid, or tiling, of many small screens with seams, or bezels, at the boundaries between the screens and 2. one large screen with no bezel inside the screen. The first way costs significantly less than the second way. However, the first way creates a discontinuity in the image because of the bezels, and this discontinuity may impact a user's performance. There are two different ways to implement the first, tiling way of constructing a large display: 1. tiled, multiple projections onto one large screen and 2. tiling of actual LC displays. With the first way, bezels are avoidable, but there is the necessity of continuous, precise coordination of multiple projectors. With the second way, once the displays are mounted, no coordination is necessary, but bezels are unavoidable. While it might seem preferable to avoid bezels and incur higher construction or coordination costs, the reality is that if no user's performance is negatively affected by bezels, then there is no reason not to use the cheaper methods of constructing large displays. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine how bezels affect a user's task performance. We conducted two controlled experiments in order to determine - how varying the width of bezels affects a user's performance; - how varying the number of bezels affects a user's performance; and - how the choice between tiled, multiple projections and tiling of actual LC displays affects a user's performance. In each experiment, the participants solved a puzzle within a given time. The findings from this study are that user performance is not affected by variation in the width of bezels and by variation in the number of bezels. However, the tiling of actual LC displays is better for user performance than tiled, multiple projections. Therefore, it is more acceptable to use a rectangular grid of actual LC displays to implement a large display

Development of a Powerwall-based solution for the manual flagging of radio astronomy data from eMerlin

This project was created with the intention of establishing an optimisation method for the manual flagging of interferometric data of the eMerlin radio astronomy array, using a Powerwall as a visualisation tool. The complexity of this process which is due to the amount of variables and parameters demands a deep understanding of the data treatment. Once the data is achieved by the antennas the signals are correlated. This process generates undesired signals which mostly coming from radio frequency interference. Also when the calibration is performed some values can mislead the expected outcome. Although the flagging is supported with algorithms this method is not one hundred percent accurate. That is why visual inspection is still required. The possibility to use a Powerwall as a visualisation system allows different and new dynamics in terms of the interaction of the analyst with the information required to make the flagging

Cognitive Foundations for Visual Analytics

In this report, we provide an overview of scientific/technical literature on information visualization and VA. Topics discussed include an update and overview of the extensive literature search conducted for this study, the nature and purpose of the field, major research thrusts, and scientific foundations. We review methodologies for evaluating and measuring the impact of VA technologies as well as taxonomies that have been proposed for various purposes to support the VA community. A cognitive science perspective underlies each of these discussions