Collaborative video searching on a tabletop

Almost all system and application design for multimedia systems is based around a single user working in isolation to perform some task yet much of the work for which we use computers to help us, is based on working collaboratively with colleagues. Groupware systems do support user collaboration but typically this is supported through software and users still physically work independently. Tabletop systems, such as the DiamondTouch from MERL, are interface devices which support direct user collaboration on a tabletop. When a tabletop is used as the interface for a multimedia system, such as a video search system, then this kind of direct collaboration raises many questions for system design. In this paper we present a tabletop system for supporting a pair of users in a video search task and we evaluate the system not only in terms of search performance but also in terms of user–user interaction and how different user personalities within each pair of searchers impacts search performance and user interaction. Incorporating the user into the system evaluation as we have done here reveals several interesting results and has important ramifications for the design of a multimedia search system

Ubiquitous Computing in a Home Environment, Controlling Consumer Electronics

Building interaction prototypes for ubiquitous computing is inherently difficult, since it involves a number of different devices and systems. Prototyping is an important step in developing and evaluating interaction concepts. The ideal prototyping methodology should offer high fidelity at a relatively low cost. This thesis describes the development of interaction concepts for controlling consumer electronics in a ubiquitous computing home environment, as well as the setup, based on immersive virtual reality, used to develop and evaluate the interaction concepts. Off-the-shelf input/output devices and a game engine are used for developing two concepts for device discovery and two concepts for device interaction. The interaction concepts are compared in a controlled experiment in order to evaluate the concepts as well as the virtual reality setup. Statistically significant differences and subjective preferences could be observed in the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Overall, the results suggest that the interaction concepts could be acceptable to some users for some use cases and that the virtual reality setup offers the possibility to quickly build interaction concepts which can be evaluated and compared in a controlled experiment

Space Station Human Factors Research Review. Volume 4: Inhouse Advanced Development and Research

A variety of human factors studies related to space station design are presented. Subjects include proximity operations and window design, spatial perceptual issues regarding displays, image management, workload research, spatial cognition, virtual interface, fault diagnosis in orbital refueling, and error tolerance and procedure aids

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

Viewing versus Experiencing in Adopting Somatosensory Technology for Smart Applications

Emerging somatosensory technology offers unprecedented opportunities for researchers and industrial practitioners to design a touchless smart home system. However, existing touchless smart home systems often fail to attract a satisfying level of acceptance among home owners. The experience users have with the touchless system is key to making somatosensory technology a pervasive computing home application, yet little research has been conducted to assess the influence of direct and indirect experience on user’s behavioral intention to use somatosensory technology. To address this research gap, this paper set up an experimental design to investigate the influence of direct and indirect experience in user technology acceptance. Using an in-house developed touchless system, two experimental studies (i.e., video observation versus product trial) were conducted with sixty-two participants to investigate whether the user experience has an impact on the adoption decision. Our findings indicate that direct experience has an impact on a user’s acceptance of somatosensory technology. We found a significant difference in the relationships between perceived complexity and usage intentions. Perceived complexity was a significant predictor of an individual’s behavioral intention to use the touchless system after video observation, while its relationship to usage intention was insignificant after the user had direct experience with touchless system. Our study reveals an important implication for somatosensory technology marketers, in which product trial (direct experience) engenders more reliable inferences than does exposure to video demonstration (indirect experience). Based on this, companies should devise marketing programme involving direct experience (e.g., product trial and showroom visit) to promote new somatosensory-enabled smart home systems. The results of the study also demonstrate that user experience in research design may influence the results of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) studies. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol6/iss3/2

Systematic literature review of hand gestures used in human computer interaction interfaces

Gestures, widely accepted as a humans' natural mode of interaction with their surroundings, have been considered for use in human-computer based interfaces since the early 1980s. They have been explored and implemented, with a range of success and maturity levels, in a variety of fields, facilitated by a multitude of technologies. Underpinning gesture theory however focuses on gestures performed simultaneously with speech, and majority of gesture based interfaces are supported by other modes of interaction. This article reports the results of a systematic review undertaken to identify characteristics of touchless/in-air hand gestures used in interaction interfaces. 148 articles were reviewed reporting on gesture-based interaction interfaces, identified through searching engineering and science databases (Engineering Village, Pro Quest, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science). The goal of the review was to map the field of gesture-based interfaces, investigate the patterns in gesture use, and identify common combinations of gestures for different combinations of applications and technologies. From the review, the community seems disparate with little evidence of building upon prior work and a fundamental framework of gesture-based interaction is not evident. However, the findings can help inform future developments and provide valuable information about the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches. It was further found that the nature and appropriateness of gestures used was not a primary factor in gesture elicitation when designing gesture based systems, and that ease of technology implementation often took precedence