Enabling audio-haptics

This thesis deals with possible solutions to facilitate orientation, navigation and overview of non-visual interfaces and virtual environments with the help of sound in combination with force-feedback haptics. Applications with haptic force-feedback, s

Enhancing Accessibility in Mobile Navigational Services

Abstract in UndeterminedThe success of the Wii and of the iPhone together with the persisting problem of displaying information on the small screens of mobile devices is currently pushing the development of non-visual interaction channels such as gestures, tactile/haptic interaction and sound. This development presents both potential and risk, since new channels of interaction may result either in improved or reduced accessibility.The HaptiMap project [1] is targeted on introducing accessibility as a key component in the development of mobile interfaces to reduce the risk of introducing new technologies that are unavailable to significant parts of the population. We have chosen to focus on geospatial information since this is an area which traditionally makes heavy use of the visual channel. We make use of “Inclusive Design/Design for All” [2] - an approach where we put as our goal to increase the number of persons who are able to use mainstream mobile map services by making the applications easier to use also for persons with visual impairments.We have identified three particular challenges for more accessible and useable geospatial applications:1. We need to maximize the haptic and auditory channel themselves. To design the non-visual channels as purely enhancements of the visual information will reduce the application areas – while non-visual feedback that can stand on its own will widen the range of possible usages.2. We need to find out what the users want and when they want it. The amount of information potentially available is huge, and systems need to be good at giving users relevant information at the right point in time.3. We need to communicate that accessibility is for “us” not for “them”. Depending on the situation everyone may experience problems associated with e.g. not being able to see things on the screen, or not being able to cognitively attend to complex information.

Soundcrumbs – Hansel and Gretel in the 21st century

This paper presents a novel application which implements a way of adding sound breadcrumbs to the environment. We report results from initial user tests which suggest that this type of design could be useful for a wide range of mobile location based applications

The ENABLED Editor and Viewer – simple tools for more accessible on line 3D models

This paper reports on the ENABLED 3DEditor and 3DViewer. The software design is described, and results from user tests with end users are reported. Both the Editor and Viewer are seen to work quite well. It is possible for a developer to quickly start working with the editor. The Viewer was well received by the users who are able to use it to understand an environment, get an overview and locate a specific place on the 3D map

Methods for understanding the mobile user experience

Evaluating the user experience is often done in a laboratory. Methods for observing what happens in the wild are nonetheless being employed because they bring results that the traditional methods of evaluation do not yield. In this paper we describe and discuss methods used at our lab for understanding the mobile user experience. These methods range from quantitative to qualitative evaluation, and encompass diverse aspects of the design process. Finally we argue the need for combining different methods to obtain a better picture of real mobile usage

Iterative design of an audio-haptic drawing application

This paper presents the ongoing design and evaluation of an audio-haptic drawing program that allows visually impaired users to create and access graphical images. The application is developed in close collaboration with a user reference group of five blind/low vision school children. The objective of the application is twofold. It is used as a research vehicle to investigate user interaction techniques and do basic research on navigation strategies and help tools, including e.g. sound fields, shape creation tools and beacons with pulling forces in the context of drawing. In the progress of the development, the preferred features have been implemented as standard tools in the application. The final aim of the application in its current form is to aid school work in different subjects, and part of the application development is also to create tasks relevant in a school setting

Angle sizes for pointing gestures

One factor which can be expected to influence performance in applications where the user is expected to point a device in some direction to obtain information is the angle interval in which the user gets feedback. The present study was performed in order to get a better understanding of the influence of this angle interval on navigation performance, gestures and strategies in a more realistic outdoor setting. Results indicate that users are able to handle quite a wide range of angle intervals, although there are differences between narrow and wide intervals. We observe different gestures and strategies used by the users and provide some recommendations on suitable angle intervals. Finally, our observations support the notion that using this type of pointing gesture for navigation is intuitive and easy to use