Exploring the Front Touch Interface for Virtual Reality Headsets

In this paper, we propose a new interface for virtual reality headset: a touchpad in front of the headset. To demonstrate the feasibility of the front touch interface, we built a prototype device, explored VR UI design space expansion, and performed various user studies. We started with preliminary tests to see how intuitively and accurately people can interact with the front touchpad. Then, we further experimented various user interfaces such as a binary selection, a typical menu layout, and a keyboard. Two-Finger and Drag-n-Tap were also explored to find the appropriate selection technique. As a low-cost, light-weight, and in low power budget technology, a touch sensor can make an ideal interface for mobile headset. Also, front touch area can be large enough to allow wide range of interaction types such as multi-finger interactions. With this novel front touch interface, we paved a way to new virtual reality interaction methods

Analysis of Factors Affecting Multimedia Delivery for Elderly People

This study aims to apply appropriate information technology services for elderly people in order to fill the communication gap between the elderly, family members and friends by using a multimedia delivery platform. The aim is to improve the quality of life of the elderly people who live alone. It is intended to enhance the lives of elderly people to stay connected with family members, and friends by sending multimedia content including text, audio, image and video. We analyze the factors affecting the elderly person’s intention to use the platform by using Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The model evaluates the effectiveness of the multimedia delivery platform over the six key UTAUT constructs, namely, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitation Conditions, Perceived Security, and Experience and Voluntariness to Behavioral Intention. The analysis is twofold: to determine the factors affecting the intention of the elderly people in using the multimedia delivery platform, and to investigate how to reduce the communication gap between the elderly, family members and friends.This study aims to apply appropriate information technology services for elderly people in order to fill the communication gap between the elderly, family members and friends by using a multimedia delivery platform. The aim is to improve the quality of life of the elderly people who live alone. It is intended to enhance the lives of elderly people to stay connected with family members, and friends by sending multimedia content including text, audio, image and video. We analyze the factors affecting the elderly person’s intention to use the platform by using Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The model evaluates the effectiveness of the multimedia delivery platform over the six key UTAUT constructs, namely, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitation Conditions, Perceived Security, and Experience and Voluntariness to Behavioral Intention. The analysis is twofold: to determine the factors affecting the intention of the elderly people in using the multimedia delivery platform, and to investigate how to reduce the communication gap between the elderly, family members and friends

Natural navigation in space and time

Faculty at the Department of Computer Science at RIT had developed the Spiegel, a scientific data visualization framework. The system needed a natural interface to control 3D data visualizations in real-time. This thesis describes an extendable system for testing remote control interfaces for 3-dimensional virtual spaces. We had developed and compared 4 remote controls: multi-touch TouchPad, gyroscope-based GyroPad, wearable Data Glove, and Kinect-based Hands controller. Our research study revealed TouchPad as the most natural remote control

Work-In-Progress Technical Report: Designing A Two-User, Two-View TV Display

This work-in-progress paper previews how we can design interfaces and interactions for multi-view TVs, enabling users to transition between independent and shared activities, gain casual awareness of others’ activities, and collaborate more effectively. We first compare an Android-based multi-user TV against both multi-screen and multi-view TVs in a collaborative movie browsing task, to determine whether multiview can improve collaboration, and what level of awareness of each other’s activity users choose. Based on our findings, we iterate on our multi-view design in a second study, giving users the ability to transition between casual and focused modes of engagement, and dynamically set their engagement with other users’ activities. This research demonstrates that the shared focal point of the TV now has the capability to facilitate both collaborative and completely independent activity

Relative and Absolute Mappings for Rotating Remote 3D Objects on Multi-Touch Tabletops

The use of human fingers as an object selection and manipulation tool has raised significant challenges when interacting with direct-touch tabletop displays. This is particularly an issue when manipulating remote objects in 3D environments as finger presses can obscure objects at a distance that are rendered very small. Techniques to support remote manipulation either provide absolute mappings between finger presses and object transformation or rely on tools that support relative mappings t o selected objects. This paper explores techniques to manipulate remote 3D objects on direct-touch tabletops using absolute and relative mapping modes. A user study was conducted to compare absolute and relative mappings in support of a rotation task. Overall results did not show a statistically significant difference between these two mapping modes on both task completion time and the number of touches. However, the absolute mapping mode was found to be less efficient than the relative mapping mode when rotating a small object. Also participants preferred relative mapping for small objects. Four mapping techniques were then compared for perceived ease of use and learnability. Touchpad, voodoo doll and telescope techniques were found to be comparable for manipulating remote objects in a 3D scene. A flying camera technique was considered too complex and required increased effort by participants. Participants preferred an absolute mapping technique augmented to support small object manipulation, e.g. the voodoo doll technique

Literature Survey on Interaction Techniques for Large Displays

When designing for large screen displays, designers are forced to deal with cursor tracking issues, interacting over distances, and space management issues. Because of the large visual angle of the user that the screen can cover, it may be hard for users to begin and complete search tasks for basic items such as cursors or icons. In addition, maneuvering over long distances and acquiring small targets understandably takes more time than the same interactions on normally sized screen systems. To deal with these issues, large display researchers have developed more and more unconventional devices, methods and widgets for interaction, and systems for space and task management. For tracking cursors there are techniques that deal with the size and shape of the cursor, as well as the “density” of the cursor. There are other techniques that help direct the attention of the user to the cursor. For target acquisition on large screens, many researchers saw fit to try to augment existing 2D GUI metaphors. They try to optimize Fitts’ law to accomplish this. Some techniques sought to enlarge targets while others sought to enlarge the cursor itself. Even other techniques developed ways of closing the distances on large screen displays. However, many researchers feel that existing 2D metaphors do not and will not work for large screens. They feel that the community should move to more unconventional devices and metaphors. These unconventional means include use of eye-tracking, laser-pointing, hand-tracking, two-handed touchscreen techniques, and other high-DOF devices. In the end, many of these developed techniques do provide effective means for interaction on large displays. However, we need to quantify the benefits of these methods and understand them better. The more we understand the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques, the easier it will be to employ them in working large screen systems. We also need to put into place a kind of interaction standard for these large screen systems. This could mean simply supporting desktop events such as pointing and clicking. It may also mean that we need to identify the needs of each domain that large screens are used for and tailor the interaction techniques for the domain