When paper meets multi-touch : a study of multi-modal interactions in air traffic controls

International audienceWhen multiple modes of interaction are available, it is not obvious whether combining these technologies necessarily leads to a better user experience. It can be difficult to determine which modes are most appropriate for each interaction. However, complex activities such as air traffic control require multiple interaction techniques and modalities. As a result, in this paper, we study the technical challenges of adding finger detection to an augmented flight strip board used by air traffic controllers. We use our augmented strip board to evaluate interactions based on touch, digital pen and physical paper objects. From our user study, we find that users are able to quickly adapt to an interface that offers such a wide range of modalities. The availability of different modalities did not overburden the users and they did not find it difficult to determine the appropriate modality to use for each interaction

Strip-TIC : exploring augmented paper strips for Air Traffic Controllers

International audienceThe current environment used by French air traffic controllers mixes digital visualization such as radar screens and tangible artifacts such as paper strips. Tangible artifacts do not allow controllers to update the system with the instructions they give to pilots. Previous attempts at replacing them in France failed to prove efficient. This paper is an engineering paper that describes Strip-TIC, a novel system for ATC that mixes augmented paper and digital pen, vision-based tracking and augmented rear and front projection. The system is now working and has enabled us to run workshops with actual controllers to study the role of writing and tangibility in ATC. We describe the system and solutions to technical challenges due to mixing competing technologies

When Paper Meets Multi-touch: A Study of Multi-modal Interactions in Air Traffic Control

Part 1: Long and Short Papers (Continued); International audience; For expert interfaces, it is not obvious whether providing multiple modes of interaction, each tuned to different sub-tasks, leads to a better user experience than providing a more limited set. In this paper, we investigate this question in the context of air traffic control. We present and analyze an augmented flight strip board offering several forms of interaction, including touch, digital pen and physical paper objects. We explore the technical challenges of adding finger detection to such a flight strip board and evaluate how expert air traffic controllers interact with the resulting system. We find that users are able to quickly adapt to the wide range of offered modalities. Users were not overburden by the choice of different modalities, and did not find it difficult to determine the appropriate modality to use for each interaction. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

Effect of electric field vectoriality on electrically mediated gene delivery in mammalian cells

AbstractElectropermeabilization is a nonviral method used to transfer genes into living cells. Up to now, the mechanism is still to be elucidated. Since cell permeabilization, a prerequired for gene transfection, is triggerred by electric field, its characteristics should depend on its vectorial properties. The present investigation addresses the effect of pulse polarity and orientation on membrane permeabilization and gene delivery by electric pulses applied to cultured mammalian cells. This has been directly observed at the single-cell level by using digitized fluorescence microscopy. While cell permeabilization is only slightly affected by reversing the polarity of the electric pulses or by changing the orientation of pulses, transfection level increases are observed. These last effects are due to an increase in the cell membrane area where DNA interacts. Fluorescently labelled plasmids only interact with the electropermeabilized side of the cell facing the cathode. The plasmid interaction with the electropermeabilized cell surface is stable and is not affected by pulses of reversed polarities. Under such conditions, DNA interacts with the two sites of the cell facing the two electrodes. When changing both the pulse polarity and their direction, DNA interacts with the whole membrane cell surface. This is associated with a huge increase in gene expression. This present study demonstrates the relationship between the DNA/membrane surface interaction and the gene transfer efficiency, and it allows to define the experimental conditions to optimize the yield of transfection of mammalian cells

Collaboration et tangibilité : de nouvelles perspectives pour le contrôle aérien.

Maintenant que les écrans tactiles sont largement répandus, se pose pour le contrôle aérien la question de les exploiter au mieux. Nous présentons deux démonstrateurs qui, en exploitant la tangibilité et le tactile multipoint, illustrent des opportunités de transition facilitée entre papier et numérique, et de meilleure gestion de la collaboration entre contrôleurs et avec les pilotes. Ces démonstrations esquissent un avenir possible pour les futurs systèmes sol -bord en aéronautique

Tangible Encoding of Temporal Data in Air Traffic Control

In this position paper, we describe a tangible de sign to support temporal processes in Air Traffic Control. We discuss how we balanced between physical and digital allocation of time - related features, relying on cognitive studies that show how physical space and physical objects manipulation support the encoding of real - time and planification concerns

Intact satellite cells lead to remarkable protection against Smn gene defect in differentiated skeletal muscle

Deletion of murine Smn exon 7, the most frequent mutation found in spinal muscular atrophy, has been directed to either both satellite cells, the muscle progenitor cells and fused myotubes, or fused myotubes only. When satellite cells were mutated, mutant mice develop severe myopathic process, progressive motor paralysis, and early death at 1 mo of age (severe mutant). Impaired muscle regeneration of severe mutants correlated with defect of myogenic precursor cells both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, when satellite cells remained intact, mutant mice develop similar myopathic process but exhibit mild phenotype with median survival of 8 mo and motor performance similar to that of controls (mild mutant). High proportion of regenerating myofibers expressing SMN was observed in mild mutants compensating for progressive loss of mature myofibers within the first 6 mo of age. Then, in spite of normal contractile properties of myofibers, mild mutants develop reduction of muscle force and mass. Progressive decline of muscle regeneration process was no more able to counterbalance muscle degeneration leading to dramatic loss of myofibers. These data indicate that intact satellite cells remarkably improve the survival and motor performance of mutant mice suffering from chronic myopathy, and suggest a limited potential of satellite cells to regenerate skeletal muscle