373 research outputs found
Interactions around a contextually embedded system
This paper discusses observations of visitor interactions around a museum installation, focusing on how physical setup and shape of two variants of the installation, a telescope-like viewer and a barrier-free screen, shaped visitor experiences and interactions around and with the system. The analysis investigates contextual embedding, and how the two system variants affected people's ability of sharing the experience and negotiating use
Creative idea exploration within the structure of a guiding framework : the card brainstorming game
I present a card brainstorming exercise that transforms a conceptual tangible interaction framework into a tool for creative dialogue and discuss the experiences made in using it. Ten sessions with this card game demonstrate the frameworks' versatility and utility. Observation and participant feedback highlight the value of a provocative question format and of the metaphor of a card game
Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions
In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research
Entry and access : how shareability comes about
Shareability is a design principle that refers to how a system, interface, or device engages a group of collocated, co-present users in shared interactions around the same content (or the same object). This is broken down in terms of a set of components that facilitate or constrain the way an interface (or product) is made shareable. Central are the notions of access points and entry points. Entry points invite and entice people into engagement, providing an advance overview, minimal barriers, and a honeypot effect that draws observers into the activity. Access points enable users to join a group's activity, allowing perceptual and manipulative access and fluidity of sharing. We show how these terms can be useful for informing analysis and empirical research
Influence of phonons on solid-state cavity-QED investigated using nonequilibrium Green's functions
The influence of electron--phonon interactions on the dynamics of a quantum
dot coupled to a photonic cavity mode is investigated using a nonequilibrium
Green's function approach. Within a polaron frame, the self-consistent-Born
approximation is used to treat the phonon-assisted scattering processes between
the quantum dot polaron and the cavity. Two-time correlators of the quantum
dot-cavity system are calculated by solving the Kadanoff-Baym equations, giving
access to photon spectra and photon indistinguishability. The non-Markovian
nature of the interaction with the phonon bath is shown to be very accurately
described by our method in various regime of cavity-quantum electrodynamics
(cavity-QED). The indistinguishability of the emitted photons emitted at zero
temperature are found to be in very good agreement with a previously reported
exact diagonalization approach [Phys.~Rev.~B~87,~081308~(2013)]. Besides, our
method enables the calculations of photon indistinguishability at finite
temperatures and for strong electron-phonon interactions. More generally, our
method opens new avenues in the study of open quantum system dynamics coupled
to non-Markovian environments.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
A stroking device for spatially separated couples
In this paper we present a device to support the communication of couples in long-distance relationships. While a synchronous exchange of factual information over distance is supported by telephone, e-mail and chat-systems, the transmission of nonverbal aspects of communication is still unsatisfactory. Videocalls let us see the partners’ facial expression in real time. However, to experience a more intimate conversation physical closeness is needed. Stroking while holding hands is a special and emotional gesture for couples. Hence, we developed a device that enables couples to exchange the physical gesture of stroking regardless of distance and location. The device allows both sending and receiving. A user test supported our concept and provided new insights for future development
VR/Urban: spread.gun - design process and challenges in developing a shared encounter for media façades
Designing novel interaction concepts for urban environments is not only a technical challenge in terms of scale, safety, portability and deployment, but also a challenge of designing for social configurations and spatial settings. To outline what it takes to create a consistent and interactive experience in urban space, we describe the concept and multidisciplinary design process of VR/Urban's media intervention tool called Spread.gun, which was created for the Media Façade Festival 2008 in Berlin. Main design aims were the anticipation of urban space, situational system configuration and embodied interaction. This case study also reflects on the specific technical, organizational and infrastructural challenges encountered when developing media façade installations
Phase-sensitive transport at a normal metal-superconductor interface close to a Josephson junction
Phase- and voltage bias-sensitive quasiparticle transport at a double
interface is considered. The barriers range from tunnel to
transparent, and the intermediate region has a width comparable to the
superconducting coherence length. A phase difference is applied to
the Josephson junction . The normal and Andreev reflections at the
interface become -sensitive, and transport is governed by
interferences within the narrow region, both in the normal and anomalous
channels. The subgap conductance is separately (energy )- and (phase
)- symmetric. Above the superconducting gap, the conductance is in
general not symmetric even if is changed in , but
the symmetry is restored by averaging Fermi oscillations. The Tomasch
oscillations are amplified by the phase difference. The subgap conductance
exhibits a resonant structure at the energy of the Andreev bound states (ABS)
of the junction, providing a side-spectroscopy of such states.
Depending on the relative transparencies of the junctions, the resonance can
increase or reduce the conductance, and it can even vanish for ,
featuring total reflection of quasiparticles at by the ABS at .Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, 1 tabl
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