User perceptions of sound quality: implications for the design and use of audio-based mobile applications

This study sought to investigate the effect that contextual cues (in particular, device type and content type) have on the perception of sound quality. A sample of 49 participants were tested on different mobile devices sizes (small – iPhone, medium – iPad Mini, and large – iPad) which had identical sound output characteristics within in different usage contexts (generic content vs. musical training app contexts). Results showed that the users’ perception of generic sound types was affected by device type, with iPhones appearing to have better sound quality compared to larger devices. On the other hand, within application contexts, the application type seemed to affect user perceptions more, with the rhythm training application rating poorer on sound quality, picture quality, and likelihood of future use as compared to the pitch training application (although this may be due to the perceived increased difficulty). Together, these findings demonstrate the influence of device and content cues (when actual physical qualities are controlled) on user sound perception. Interestingly, differences in perceived sound quality was not accompanied by an overriding preference for that device as compared to other devices. Instead, considerations such as ease of use seemed to drive considerations for uptake of applications

Mojiboard:Generating parametric emojis with gesture keyboards

Inserting emojis 1 can be cumbersome when users must swap through panels. From our survey, we learned that users often use a series of consecutive emojis to convey rich, nuanced non-verbal expressions such as emphasis, change of expressions, or micro stories. We introduce MojiBoard, an emoji entry technique that enables users to generate dynamic parametric emojis from a gesture keyboard. With MojiBoard, users can switch seamlessly between typing and parameterizing emojis

Bodies, technologies and action possibilities: when is an affordance?

Borrowed from ecological psychology, the concept of affordances is often said to offer the social study of technology a means of re-framing the question of what is, and what is not, ‘social’ about technological artefacts. The concept, many argue, enables us to chart a safe course between the perils of technological determinism and social constructivism. This article questions the sociological adequacy of the concept as conventionally deployed. Drawing on ethnographic work on the ways technological artefacts engage, and are engaged by, disabled bodies, we propose that the ‘affordances’ of technological objects are not reducible to their material constitution but are inextricably bound up with specific, historically situated modes of engagement and ways of life

Affordances, constraints and information flows as ‘leverage points’ in design for sustainable behaviour

Copyright @ 2012 Social Science Electronic PublishingTwo of Donella Meadows' 'leverage points' for intervening in systems (1999) seem particularly pertinent to design for sustainable behaviour, in the sense that designers may have the scope to implement them in (re-)designing everyday products and services. The 'rules of the system' -- interpreted here to refer to affordances and constraints -- and the structure of information flows both offer a range of opportunities for design interventions to in fluence behaviour change, and in this paper, some of the implications and possibilities are discussed with reference to parallel concepts from within design, HCI and relevant areas of psychology

The Next Generation of Human-Drone Partnerships: Co-Designing an Emergency Response System

The use of semi-autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to support emergency response scenarios, such as fire surveillance and search and rescue, offers the potential for huge societal benefits. However, designing an effective solution in this complex domain represents a "wicked design" problem, requiring a careful balance between trade-offs associated with drone autonomy versus human control, mission functionality versus safety, and the diverse needs of different stakeholders. This paper focuses on designing for situational awareness (SA) using a scenario-driven, participatory design process. We developed SA cards describing six common design-problems, known as SA demons, and three new demons of importance to our domain. We then used these SA cards to equip domain experts with SA knowledge so that they could more fully engage in the design process. We designed a potentially reusable solution for achieving SA in multi-stakeholder, multi-UAV, emergency response applications.Comment: 10 Pages, 5 Figures, 2 Tables. This article is publishing in CHI202

The usability attributes and evaluation measurements of mobile media AR (augmented reality)

This research aims to develop a tool for creating user-based design interfaces in mobile augmented reality (MAR) education. To develop a design interface evaluation tool, previous literature was examined for key design elements in the educational usage of MAR. The evaluation criteria identified were presence, affordance, and usability. The research used a focus group interview with 7 AR experts to develop a basic usability evaluation checklist, which was submitted to factor analysis for reliability by 122 experts in practice and academia. Based on this checklist, a MAR usability design interface test was conducted with seven fourth-grade elementary students. Then, it conducted follow-up structured interviews and questionnaires. This resulted in 29 questions being developed for the MAR interface design checklist.ope

Geometric shape detection with soundview

Presented at the 10th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2004)We present the results of user studies that were performed on sighted people to test their ability to detect simple shapes with SoundView. SoundView is an experimental vision substitution system for the blind. Visual images are mapped onto a virtual surface with a fine-grained color dependent roughness texture. The user explores an image by moving a pointer device over the image which creates sounds. The current prototype uses a Wacom graphics tablet as a pointer device. The pointer acts like a virtual gramophone needle, and the sound produced depends on the motion as well as on the color of the area explored. An extension of SoundView also allows haptic feedback and we have compared the performance of users using auditory and/or haptic feedback