The orienting mouse: An input device with attitude

This paper presents a modified computer mouse, the Orienting Mouse, which delivers orientation as an additional dimension of input; when the mouse is moved on a flat surface it reports, in addition to the conventional x, y translation, angular rotation of the device in the x, y plane. The orienting mouse preserves important properties of the standard mouse; all measurements are relative and movement is tracked only while the mouse is on its flat surface. If the user lets go of the mouse, leaving it on the surface, its position and orientation do not change until it is touched again. Picking the mouse up and putting it down in a different orientation leaves the angle and position unchanged. While the concept of sensing mouse rotation is not new, our work focuses on movement and navigation in 3D, rather than on precision positioning tasks. We describe a number of sample applications developed to test its effectiveness in this context. Specific features exploited and described include (i) an algorithm for calculating the mouse angle which cancels drift between the two sensors, and (ii) the use of angular gearing which avoids unnatural and uncomfortable hand positions when moving through large angles; informal user testing validates this idea

A representation of the natural numbers by means of cycle-numbers, with consequences in number theory

In this paper we give rules for creating a number triangle T in a manner analogous to that for producing Pascal's arithmetic triangle; but all of its elements belong to {0, 1}, and cycling of its rows is involved in the creation. The method of construction of any one row of T from its preceding rows will be defined, and that, together with starting and boundary conditions, will suffice to define the whole triangle, by sequential continuation. We shall use this triangle in order to define the so-called cycle-numbers, which can be mapped to the natural numbers. T will be called the 'cyclenumber triangle'. First we shall give some theorems about relationships between the cyclenumbers and the natural numbers, and discuss the cycling of patterns within the triangle's rows and diagonals. We then begin a study of figures (i.e. (0,1)- patterns, found on lines, triangles and squares, etc.) within T. In particular, we shall seek relationships which tell us something about the prime numbers. For our later studies, we turn the triangle onto its side and work with a doubly-infinite matrix C. We shall find that a great deal of cycling of figures occurs within T and C, and we exploit this fact whenever we can. The phenomenon of cycling patterns leads us to muse upon a 'music of the integers', indeed a 'symphony of the integers', being played out on the cycle-number triangle or on C. Like Pythagoras and his 'music of the spheres', we may well be the only persons capable of hearing it!

Power and energy visualization for the micro-management of household electricity consumption

The paper describes a pilot system for the detailed management of domestic electricity consumption aimed at minimizing demand peaks and consumer cost. Management decisions are made both interactively by consumers themselves, and where practical, automatically by computer. These decisions are based on realtime pricing and availability information, as well as current and historic usage data. The benefits of the energy strategies implied by such a system are elaborated, showing the potential for significant peak demand reduction and slowing of the need for growth in generation capacity. An overview is provided of the component technologies and interaction methods we have designed, but the paper focuses on the communication of real-time information to the consumer through a combination of specific and ambient visualizations. There is a need for both overview information (eg how much power is being used right now; how much energy have we used so far today; what does it cost?) and information at the point-of-use (is it OK to turn this dryer on now, or should I wait until later?). To assist the design of these visualizations, a survey is underway aimed at establishing people's understanding of power and energy concepts

A comparison of linear and calendar travel itinerary visualizations for personal digital assistants

Various graphical travel itinerary visualization systems have in recent years been developed to allow making easier references between different events such as flights and hotel bookings on a travel itinerary, thereby addressing a problem with tabular itineraries which list travel events in a chronological order of date and time, and only allow referencing consecutive events. These graphical travel itinerary systems are based on a linear visualization of travel events. Although this linear visualization deals with some of the problems associated with tabular itineraries, it is not the only form of visualization which might be capable of addressing these issues. This paper introduces a new visualization of travel itineraries, called the calendar visualization, which relies on a more familiar concept of calendars to depict the relationships between travel events. This paper also describes an empirical study undertaken to compare the calendar and linear itinerary visualizations

A simulation study of the use of electric vehicles as storage on the New Zealand electricity grid

This paper describes a simulation to establish the extent to which reliance on non-dispatchable energy sources, most typically wind generation, could in the future be extended beyond received norms, by utilizing the distributed battery capacity of an electric vehicle fleet. The notion of exploiting the distributed battery capacity of a nation’s electric vehicle fleet as grid storage is not new. However, this simulation study specifically examines the potential impact of this idea in the New Zealand context. The simulation makes use of real and projected data in relation to vehicle usage, full potential non-dispatchable generation capacity and availability, taking into account weather variation, and typical daily and seasonal patterns of usage. It differs from previous studies in that it is based on individual vehicles, rather than a bulk battery model. At this stage the analysis is aggregated, and does not take into account local or regional flows. A more detailed analysis of these localized effects will follow in subsequent stages of the simulation

Refining personal and social presence in virtual meetings

Virtual worlds show promise for conducting meetings and conferences without the need for physical travel. Current experience suggests the major limitation to the more widespread adoption and acceptance of virtual conferences is the failure of existing environments to provide a sense of immersion and engagement, or of ‘being there’. These limitations are largely related to the appearance and control of avatars, and to the absence of means to convey non-verbal cues of facial expression and body language. This paper reports on a study involving the use of a mass-market motion sensor (Kinect™) and the mapping of participant action in the real world to avatar behaviour in the virtual world. This is coupled with full-motion video representation of participant’s faces on their avatars to resolve both identity and facial expression issues. The outcomes of a small-group trial meeting based on this technology show a very positive reaction from participants, and the potential for further exploration of these concepts

Supporting Focus and Context Awareness in 3D Modelling Tasks Using Multi-Layered Displays

Most 3D modelling software have been developed for conventional 2D displays, and as such, lack support for true depth perception. This contributes to making polygonal 3D modelling tasks challenging, particularly when models are complex and consist of a large number of overlapping components (e.g. vertices, edges) and objects (i.e. parts). Research has shown that users of 3D modelling software often encounter a range of difficulties, which collectively can be defined as focus and context awareness problems. These include maintaining position and orientation awarenesses, as well as recognizing distance between individual components and objects in 3D spaces. In this paper, we present five visualization and interaction techniques we have developed for multi-layered displays, to better support focus and context awareness in 3D modelling tasks. The results of a user study we conducted shows that three of these five techniques improve users' 3D modelling task performance

FOLDER3D: A graphical file management system supporting visualisation of file relationships

The desktop metaphor with its hierarchical structure of folders is the basis of almost all graphical file management systems. Despite this popularity, these systems suffer from several problems, including the restrictiveness of the single inheritance structure of hierarchical file management. Although various alternative systems have been proposed, none of these have gained popularity. We argue that the reason for this failure is that these systems have generally proposed complete alternatives to the hierarchical system, thus ignoring many of its positive aspects. In this paper we describe a 3D graphical file management which complements conventional 2D hierarchical folder structures by allowing visualisation of alternative file relationships