Eye Tracking as Interface for Parametric Design

This research investigates the potential of eye tracking as an interface to parameter search in visual design. We outline our experimental framework where a user's gaze acts as guiding feedback mechanism in an exploration of the state space of parametric designs. A small scale pilot study was carried out where participants in uence the evolution of generative patterns by looking at a screen while having their eyes tracked. Preliminary findings suggest that although our eye tracking system can be used to e ectively navigate small areas of a parametric design's state-space, there are challenges to overcome before such a system is practical in a design context. Finally we outline future directions of this research

Eye Tracking as Interface for Parametric Design

This research investigates the potential of eye tracking as an interface to parameter search in visual design. We outline our experimental framework where a user's gaze acts as guiding feedback mechanism in an exploration of the state space of parametric designs. A small scale pilot study was carried out where participants in uence the evolution of generative patterns by looking at a screen while having their eyes tracked. Preliminary findings suggest that although our eye tracking system can be used to e ectively navigate small areas of a parametric design's state-space, there are challenges to overcome before such a system is practical in a design context. Finally we outline future directions of this research

Eye Tracking as Interface for the Design of Generative Visual Forms and Patterns

When working with generative systems, designers enter into a loop of discrete steps; external evaluations of the output feedback into the system, and new outputs are subsequently reevaluated. In such systems, interacting low level elements can engender a difficult to predict emergence of macro-level characteristics. Furthermore, the state space of some systems can be vast. Consequently, designers generally rely on trial-and-error, experience or intuition in selecting parameter values to develop the aesthetic aspects of their designs. We investigate an alternative means of exploring the state spaces of generative visual systems by using a gaze- contingent display. A user's gaze continuously controls and directs an evolution of visual forms and patterns on screen. As time progresses and the viewer and system remain coupled in this evolution, a population of generative artefacts tends towards an area of their state space that is 'of interest', as defined by the eye tracking data. The evaluation-feedback loop is continuous and uninterrupted, gaze the guiding feedback mechanism in the exploration of state space

The Melody Triangle: Exploring Pattern and Predictability in Music

The Melody Triangle is an interface for the discovery of melodic materials, where the input positions within a triangle directly map to information theoretic properties of the output. A model of human expectation and surprise in the perception of music, information dynamics, is used to 'map out' a musical generative system's parameter space. This enables a user to explore the possibilities afforded by a generative algorithm, in this case Markov chains, not by directly selecting parameters, but by specifying the subjective predictability of the output sequence. We describe some of the relevant ideas from information dynamics and how the Melody Triangle is defined in terms of these. We describe its incarnation as a screen based performance tool and compositional aid for the generation of musical textures; the users control at the abstract level of randomness and predictability, and some pilot studies carried out with it. We also briefly outline a multi-user installation, where collaboration in a performative setting provides a playful yet informative way to explore expectation and surprise in music, and a forthcoming mobile phone version of the Melody Triangle

How Predictable Do We Like Our Music? Eliciting Aesthetic Preferences With The Melody Triangle Mobile App

The Melody Triangle is a smartphone application for Android that lets users easily create musical patterns and textures. The user creates melodies by specifying positions within a triangle, and these positions correspond to the information theoretic properties of generated musical sequences. A model of human expectation and surprise in the perception of music, information dynamics, is used to 'map out' a musical generative system's parameter space, in this case Markov chains. This enables a user to explore the possibilities afforded by Markov chains, not by directly selecting their parameters, but by specifying the subjective predictability of the output sequence. As users of the app find melodies and patterns they like, they are encouraged to press a 'like' button, where their setting are uploaded to our servers for analysis. Collecting the 'liked' settings of many users worldwide will allow us to elicit trends and commonalities in aesthetic preferences across users of the app, and to investigate how these might relate to the informationdynamic model of human expectation and surprise. We outline some of the relevant ideas from information dynamics and how the Melody Triangle is defined in terms of these. We then describe the Melody Triangle mobile application, how it is being used to collect research data and how the collected data will be evaluated

The Melody Triangle: Exploring Pattern and Predictability in Music

The Melody Triangle is an interface for the discovery of melodic materials, where the input � positions within a triangle � directly map to information theoretic properties of the output. A model of human expectation and surprise in the perception of music, information dynamics, is used to 'map out' a musical generative system's parameter space. This enables a user to explore the possibilities afforded by a generative algorithm, in this case Markov chains, not by directly selecting parameters, but by specifying the subjective predictability of the output sequence. We describe some of the relevant ideas from information dynamics and how the Melody Triangle is defined in terms of these. We describe its incarnation as a screen based performance tool and compositional aid for the generation of musical textures; the users control at the abstract level of randomness and predictability, and some pilot studies carried out with it. We also briefly outline a multi-user installation, where collaboration in a performative setting provides a playful yet informative way to explore expectation and surprise in music, and a forthcoming mobile phone version of the Melody Triangle