Multimodal interaction with mobile devices : fusing a broad spectrum of modality combinations

This dissertation presents a multimodal architecture for use in mobile scenarios such as shopping and navigation. It also analyses a wide range of feasible modality input combinations for these contexts. For this purpose, two interlinked demonstrators were designed for stand-alone use on mobile devices. Of particular importance was the design and implementation of a modality fusion module capable of combining input from a range of communication modes like speech, handwriting, and gesture. The implementation is able to account for confidence value biases arising within and between modalities and also provides a method for resolving semantically overlapped input. Tangible interaction with real-world objects and symmetric multimodality are two further themes addressed in this work. The work concludes with the results from two usability field studies that provide insight on user preference and modality intuition for different modality combinations, as well as user acceptance for anthropomorphized objects.Diese Dissertation präsentiert eine multimodale Architektur zum Gebrauch in mobilen Umständen wie z. B. Einkaufen und Navigation. Außerdem wird ein großes Gebiet von möglichen modalen Eingabekombinationen zu diesen Umständen analysiert. Um das in praktischer Weise zu demonstrieren, wurden zwei teilweise gekoppelte Vorführungsprogramme zum \u27stand-alone\u27; Gebrauch auf mobilen Geräten entworfen. Von spezieller Wichtigkeit war der Entwurf und die Ausführung eines Modalitäts-fusion Modul, das die Kombination einer Reihe von Kommunikationsarten wie Sprache, Handschrift und Gesten ermöglicht. Die Ausführung erlaubt die Veränderung von Zuverlässigkeitswerten innerhalb einzelner Modalitäten und außerdem ermöglicht eine Methode um die semantisch überlappten Eingaben auszuwerten. Wirklichkeitsnaher Dialog mit aktuellen Objekten und symmetrische Multimodalität sind zwei weitere Themen die in dieser Arbeit behandelt werden. Die Arbeit schließt mit Resultaten von zwei Feldstudien, die weitere Einsicht erlauben über die bevorzugte Art verschiedener Modalitätskombinationen, sowie auch über die Akzeptanz von anthropomorphisierten Objekten

Multimodal interaction with mobile devices : fusing a broad spectrum of modality combinations

This dissertation presents a multimodal architecture for use in mobile scenarios such as shopping and navigation. It also analyses a wide range of feasible modality input combinations for these contexts. For this purpose, two interlinked demonstrators were designed for stand-alone use on mobile devices. Of particular importance was the design and implementation of a modality fusion module capable of combining input from a range of communication modes like speech, handwriting, and gesture. The implementation is able to account for confidence value biases arising within and between modalities and also provides a method for resolving semantically overlapped input. Tangible interaction with real-world objects and symmetric multimodality are two further themes addressed in this work. The work concludes with the results from two usability field studies that provide insight on user preference and modality intuition for different modality combinations, as well as user acceptance for anthropomorphized objects.Diese Dissertation präsentiert eine multimodale Architektur zum Gebrauch in mobilen Umständen wie z. B. Einkaufen und Navigation. Außerdem wird ein großes Gebiet von möglichen modalen Eingabekombinationen zu diesen Umständen analysiert. Um das in praktischer Weise zu demonstrieren, wurden zwei teilweise gekoppelte Vorführungsprogramme zum 'stand-alone'; Gebrauch auf mobilen Geräten entworfen. Von spezieller Wichtigkeit war der Entwurf und die Ausführung eines Modalitäts-fusion Modul, das die Kombination einer Reihe von Kommunikationsarten wie Sprache, Handschrift und Gesten ermöglicht. Die Ausführung erlaubt die Veränderung von Zuverlässigkeitswerten innerhalb einzelner Modalitäten und außerdem ermöglicht eine Methode um die semantisch überlappten Eingaben auszuwerten. Wirklichkeitsnaher Dialog mit aktuellen Objekten und symmetrische Multimodalität sind zwei weitere Themen die in dieser Arbeit behandelt werden. Die Arbeit schließt mit Resultaten von zwei Feldstudien, die weitere Einsicht erlauben über die bevorzugte Art verschiedener Modalitätskombinationen, sowie auch über die Akzeptanz von anthropomorphisierten Objekten

Concepts and issues in interfaces for multiple users and multiple devices

In this paper, we identify and discuss several groups of issues that arise in the design of interfaces for multiple users interacting with multiple devices. We analyze in what ways these interfaces differ from traditional single-user single device interfaces, and identify different characteristics of interfaces. We categorize a possible set of device types that may exist in an environment, and then discuss the fundamental issues that have to be addressed when designing multi-user multi-device interfaces. The focus is on user and device management, technical concerns and social concerns, and some of the topics discussed include coordination, assignment, sharing, load-limits, coverage, privacy concerns, and user alienation

The Anthropomorphized Product Shelf: Symmetric Multimodal Human-Environment Interaction

Ambient intelligence environments require robust and intuitive interfaces for accessing their embodied functionality. This chapter describes a new paradigm for tangible multimodal interfaces, in which humans can manipulate, and converse with physical objects in their surrounding environment via coordinated speech, handwriting and gesture. We describe the symmetric nature of human-environment communication, and extend the scenario by providing our objects with human-like characteristics. This is followed by the results of a usability field study on user acceptance for anthropomorphized objects, conducted within a shopping context

Modality Preference – Learning from Users

Abstract. An important constituent for mobile and ubiquitous computing systems is the interface and the associated human-computer interactions. Mobile contexts have different design requirements to stationary desktop contexts. Although previous work has concentrated on stationary domains and unimodal systems, and more recently on multimodal systems, user evaluation for the use of different modality combinations is limited. In this paper, we outline the qualitative results from a recent usability study. These results form a general guideline in determining which base modalities and modality combinations to use when designing for mobile and ubiquitous environments.

Integrating Intra and Extra Gestures into a Mobile and Multimodal Shopping Assistant

Abstract. Accompanying the rise of mobile and pervasive computing, applications now need to adapt to their surrounding environments and provide users with information in the environment in an easy and natural manner. In this paper we describe a user interface that integrates multimodal input on a handheld device with external gestures performed with real world artifacts. The described approach extends reference resolution based on speech, handwriting and gesture to that of real world objects that users may hold in their hands. We discuss the varied interaction channels available to users that arise from mixing and matching input modalities on the mobile device with actions performed in the environment. We also discuss the underlying components required in handling these extended multimodal interactions and present an implementation of our ideas in a demonstrator called the Mobile ShopAssist. This demonstrator is then used as the basis for a recent usability study that we describe on user interaction within mobile contexts.