Context sensitive user interfaces

This paper presents a conceptual design model for user interfaces (MASS1) and a general formalism for dialogue specification (Interaction Scripts) which are the most important components of an approach to the methodological, iterative design of Interactive Systems from formal, model-based specification of both the application and the User Interface (UI). This approach allows the integration of both dialogue and application semantics from the beginning of the design process, by using prototypes derived from both specifications. Assuming that all the application semantics is available at early design stages, the MASS model defines a set of guidelines that will enforce the designer to create user interfaces that will present a prophylactic instead of the usual therapeutic behaviour. By a prophylactic behaviour it is meant, metaphorically, that the UI will exhibit a behaviour that prevents and avoids both syntactic and semantic user errors, in contrast with the most usual therapeutic, or error recovery, behaviour. The dialogue specification formalism(Interaction Scripts) despite being general, in the sense that it may be applied to the specification of any kind of dialogue, is specially suited to the specification of UIs with the behaviour prescribed by the MASS design model. In addition, it is independent from concrete environment details, therefore allowing for different implementations of the same specification, that is, different looks and feels. The operational semantics of the Interaction Script notation is also presented in terms of Petri-Nets that are automatically generated from the Interaction Script specification of the dialogue controller

Métodos formais na concepção e desenvolvimento de sistemas interactivos

Os Sistemas “Software” Interactivos, ou Aplicações Interactivas, vieram trazer à Engenharia de “Software” a redobrada responsabilidade de, para além de ter que proporcionar métodos e ferramentas que auxiliem e facilitem a concepção e o desenvolvimento rigoroso da sua componente computacional, idealmente em obediência aos requisitos funcionais fixados, ter igualmente que garantir uma concepção adequada e sistematizada dos mecanismos de acesso a essa funcio-nalidade, ou seja, da Interface com o Utilizador. A falta de abordagens que suportem a concepção e o desenvolvimento inter-ligado das camadas computacional e interactiva, em particular satisfazendo requisitos de integração, rigor e sistematização, constituiu a motivação principal para o trabalho descrito nesta tese. Apresenta-se um método, de base rigorosa, visando a sistematização da con-cepção e do desenvolvimento de Sistemas “Software” Interactivos a partir da es-pecificação formal da camada computacional, bem como todos os desenvolvi-mentos necessários ao suporte do método, desde ferramentas a notações. Defende-se nesta tese que o desenvolvimento de Sistemas Interactivos se de-ve basear na especificação rigorosa da camada computacional e que, a partir desta especificação, informação crucial para a concepção da camada interactiva pode ser extraída, funcionando como elemento de ligação das concepções. Deste modo, e ao invés de práticas actuais mais orientadas pela tecnologia, no método proposto é a informação da camada computacional que orienta a realização da camada interactiva e não o contrário. Um modelo de interacção simbólico, independente da aplicação, e baseado em estruturas representativas da interacção, os arquétipos, é apresentado e formalizado, constituindo um dos suportes fundamentais do método. A noção de arquétipo possibilita, só por si, interacção dirigida pela estrutura sintáctica, e formaliza a noção de edição dirigida pela sintaxe. A adição de informação se- mântica, sintetizável a partir da especificação formal da camada computacional, permite a construção de um modelo de interacção designado modo assistido (sintáctico-semântico), que permite disponibilizar ao utilizador não só auxílio sintáctico como também auxílio semântico. Este último, ainda que impondo exi- gências particulares sobre as ferramentas de descrição e os mecanismos de im-plementação, possui a vantagem de diminuir a distância articulatória e cogniti-va entre o utilizador e o sistema interactivo, bem como a de possibilitar que se possa concentrar o tratamento de erros na camada interactiva, criando inter-faces com o utilizador “profilácticas” e não “terapêuticas”. Em resultado da sepa -ração de tarefas proposta pelo método, passamos a ter camadas computacionais totais, ou seja, imunes a erros de utilização e, em consequência, melhor separa-ção no processo de concepção e mais facilidade de alteração ou manutenção subsequente. Controladores de diálogos baseados no modelo proposto são especificados usando uma notação a que se deu o nome de Guiões de Interacção. A notação possibilita uma descrição composicional de diálogos sequenciais e concorrentes. Apresenta-se ainda o sistema GAMA para geração automática de IU em modo assistido, uma ferramenta que promove o desenvolvimento integrado com base no método proposto, utilizando os formalismos de especificação e de prototipa-gem específicos de cada camada. Finalmente, o estudo da possibilidade de se incorporar no sistema GAMA al-gum grau de adaptatividade levou ao desenvolvimento de um pequeno sistema de geração automática de interfaces adaptativas, o GAIA, cujas características e arquitectura são igualmente apresentadas.Interactive Software Systems, or Interactive Applications, have brought to Software Engineering an additional aim. Not only should technology be able to provide methods and tools for a rigorous design and development of the functional layer, ideally satisfying a set of formally stated requirements, but also to devise an adequate, preferably integrated and systematic method, for User Interface software design and development. The lack of rigorous methods allowing and supporting the integrated design and development of the interactive and the computational layers of Interactive Software Systems has been the main motivation for the work presented in this thesis. A formal method for integrated and systematic design and development of Interactive Systems, starting from the formal specification of the computational layer is proposed. A set of auxiliary interaction models and tools are provided for its support. A model-based specification of the functional layer conveys the information needed not only for the correct integration of the two designs, but also for fast prototyping the User Interface of the application. A generic interaction model, based on symbolic interaction structures called archetypes, is formally presented. Archetypes are symbolic representations of all the information needed to support structure-oriented interaction, the interaction style of the model. By adding semantic information to this model, synthesized from the formal specification of the functional layer, the interaction model is enriched and becomes the so called assisted mode model, the interaction model which is the basis of the proposed method. This model provides the user with either syntactic as well as semantic assistance during the interaction. The semantic assistance, albeit demanding on the development tools and implementation mechanisms, not only highly shortens the articulatory and cognitive distances at dialogue level, but also allows for error-filtering instead of the usual error-handling at the user interface level. This provides for “prophylactic” instead of “therapeutic” user interfaces. As a result, the functional layer may now be regarded as a set of total functions, with advantages with respect to a clear separation of concerns along the design and maintenance phases. Dialogue controllers based on the proposed model are specified using a formalism called Interaction Scripts. This formalism is compositional and is powerful enough to express both sequential and concurrent dialogues. The architecture of a prototype system (GAMA-X) for the automatic generation of Assisted User Interfaces based on the proposed method is also presented. The GAMA-X system accepts UI behavioural specifications, written using Interaction Scripts and also UI presentational descriptions, and automatically generates a prototype of the Assisted UI able to communicate with the application prototype. The prospect of embedding in the GAMA system a mechanism for providing adaptive dialogues was also explored. The architecture of an adaptive user interface generator prototype system, called GAIA, is also presented.Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica - Projecto PMCT 164/90

Integrating HCI concerns into a UML based software engineering course

Software Engineering (SE) and HCI (Human Computer Interaction) are not the same age, do not have the same history, background or foundations, and did never share design principles and design models. The separation principle, by encouraging separate concerns and techniques to design the interactive and the computational layers of a software system - despite being absolutely correct from several SE crucial design principles, like modularity, separation of concerns, encapsulation, context independence and so on -, has sometimes been misjudged and mistakenly used. Therefore, instead of bridging the gap between the two separate de- signs, it helped widening that gap. However, the principle does not mention and does not impose any restrictions on how the integration should be done. In the context of a software engineering course the authors have been involved with for some years, the need has arisen to provide students with HCI skills. Several attempts at integrating HCI into software engineering can be found in the literature. However, none seemed amenable to application in the context of the course, basically because none of them could be taught and learnt in such a way (methodology) that could easily be blent into the software engineering design process. We present a methodological process that we have been teaching that aims at shortening the gap that software engineering students face when trying to adapt SE techniques to the interactive layer

Study, design, development and construction of a linear tribometer for testing human skin

The study of the tribological properties of the skin is a very important research field for medical investigation, development of dermatological products and the analysis of the interactions between textile products and the skin. To obtain these properties it is necessary to perform tests using tribological equipments which can simulate the conditions to obtain reliable values that will allow the measurement of skin wrinkling. The skin aggressions are usually analyzed using special equipments, known as tribometers, that enable the performance of the tribological characterization of a pair of materials, in order to obtain parameters such as friction coefficient and wear; for this purpose, the control of test variables, such as normal applied load, displacement speed, environmental conditions and other relevant circumstances which influence the interaction of surfaces in contact is required. The most important objective is the evaluation of a concept commonly known as touch, difficult to define and measure (which is related to the quantification of the level of comfort provided by the contact with the skin), with the requirement of studying soft materials, namely the skin. For that purpose it became necessary to design and manufacture a tribological equipment capable of responding to the demands of the required tests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A different approach to real web accessibility

Accessibility is sometimes taken for granted, however for people with certain disabilities there are still a number of obstacles between them and the Information Society. At a time where the Information Society is becoming more and more important it is imperative to make sure that no one is left out. The web is becoming the centerpiece of this new information age; therefore if the sentence Information Society for All is to have any meaning then the web must be accessible to everyone. Nevertheless the web is turning into a showcase for designers and technology experts. Although this is pushing many people to the web it does drive some sectors away. People with specific disabilities, namely the blind community, find it harder and harder to read common web pages. This paper reports on a work on a talking browser showing some features that either are not yet widely implemented or, in some cases, have never been reported. Furthermore a new approach is presented, based on information extraction scripts for template urls, to provide real accessibility for blind users. This latter approach, although restricted to a small subset of the web by its nature, aims at giving blind users further views of a web page which will provide them with a clean extraction of the main information on a web page.Secretariado Nacional para a Reabilitação e Integração das Pessoas com Deficiência - Programa CITE IV

Modeling road-tyre noise

The growing awareness by the broader public of the consequences to health and wellbeing due to road noise has led to a growing number of legal requirements being produced to deal with this matter, both in the design of new or assessment of existing infrastructure. In this article the purpose is to make an up-to-date review of existing studies being carried out to deliver models for predicting noise produced from tyre-road contact, taking account of different methodological approaches which, particularly in Europe thanks to EU sponsored projects, intend to deliver practical solutions regarding different structural solutions and the use of new materials. The main goal of this work is to provide some insight about which approach is better suited to be used in a practical noise prediction model for Portuguese roads, to take into account its specific environmental characteristics and physical features of construction materials

Frictorq, tribómetro para avaliação objectiva de superfícies texteis

Muitos materiais têxteis, senão mesmo a sua grande maioria, são usados ou então em contacto com o ser humano. são inumeras as aplicações em que os materiais estão em contacto com o corpo e as mãos, como é o caso do vestuário e dos têxteis lar, e mesmo os têxtais técnicos em algumas aplicações especiais, entre outras. O conceito de vestuário, assim visto como a nossa segunda pele, está intimamente relacionado com enorme variedade de tecidos, que surgem, naturalmente, em função das exigencias e das voluções da moda. neste sentido, e com especial ênfase no vestuário, existem vários parâmetros que permitem avaliar a qualidade e a aplicabilidade de tecidos. o coeficiente de atrito é um desses parâmetros, sendo um dos principais indicadores para avaliação objectiva de um conceito vulgarmente conhecido por toque. Este artigo pretende rever os principais desenvolvimentos que conduziram à concepção, construção e aperfeiçoamento de um aparelho para a medição do coeficiente de atrito de tecidos, que fosse de utilização simples, preciso e com um custo aceitável. de acordo com os ultimos desenvolvimentos, também aqui analisados e discutidos, é possivel concluir que o protótipo concebido é preciso e fiável, mostrando os resultados obtidos um comportamento comparável com outro instrumento com reconhecimento mundial, o sistema japonês Kes(Kawabata Evaluation System

Estudo, conceção, desenvolvimento e construção de um tribómetro linear para testes na pela humana

O estudo das propriedades tribológicas da pele é importante para a investigação médica, como para produtos dermatológicos, bem como análises de interações entre produtos têxteis com a pele. Para obter tais propriedades são realizados ensaios em equipamentos tribológicos, que recriam essas interações para adquirirem valores fidedignos, podendo estes serem estudados e avaliados a nível de desgaste e o próprio o enrugamento da pele. A pele humana é exposta diariamente a agressões de carácter mecânico, químico e microbiológico. Estas agressões podem alterar propriedades da pele, causando ao utente diversos desconfortos como irritações, desgaste, queimaduras, entre outros. Estas agressões são analisadas por tribómetros, sendo possível fazer a caraterização tribológica de pares de materiais, permitindo obter parâmetros como coeficientes de atrito e desgaste, para isso, a necessidade de controlar variáveis de ensaio como carga normal aplicada, velocidade de deslocamento relativo, condições ambientais e outras relevantes que influenciam a interação das superfícies em contacto. No presente trabalho é apresentado o projeto, o desenvolvimento e a construção de um tribómetro capaz de controlar as variáveis anteriormente referidas podendo assim obter o coeficiente de atrito da interação da pele com tecidos têxteis com ou sem a aplicação de diferentes cremes podendo assim estudar o seu comportamento.The study of the tribological properties of the skin is a research field very important for the medical investigation, dermatological products and the analysis about the interactions of textile products with skin. To obtain these properties it is necessary to performed tests in tribological equipments which can recreate conditions in order to obtain reliable values that will allow to measure the skin wrinkling. The skin aggressions are usually analyzed using special equipments, known as tribometers, that enable to perform tribological characterization of couple of materials, which allows to obtain parameters as friction coefficient and wear, for this, it is required the control of the test variables, such as, applied normal load, displacement speed, environmental conditions and other relevant circumstances which influence the interaction of surfaces in contact. The most important objective is the evaluation of a concept commonly known as touch, difficult to define and measure, which is related with the quantification of the level of comfort provided by the contact with the skin of the human body, comes the necessity of studying soft materials, namely the skin. For that purpose it became necessary, build a tribological equipment capable of responding to the demands of the required tests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Study, design and development of a new add-on function for the FRICTORQ® - Friction Test Instrument

The assessment of handle properties is of utmost importance in materials in our everyday life. There is a wide range of materials there are used in contact with the human skin, which may cause several unpleasant skin reactions. The FRICTORQ® is a laboratory equipment developed by the authors to measure the friction coefficient in fabrics, to enable a quantitative assessment of touch/handle, in order to predict the comfort behaviour of 2D/3D structures when used or touched by humans. In a further development, the FRICTORQ® was redesigned to accommodate a new testing kit function to determine the friction coefficient of fabrics in a liquid environment. This new design will be explained and the results obtained while testing different swimwear fabrics and hospital garments will be also presented and discussed