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September 25, 2004
sunday, not saturday
My iBook has suffered the same fate as most I know; the logic board has gone (apparently the graphics chip starts extricating itself from the motherboard), meaning that it is currently winging its way to Holland. I wish it better luck than others have had.
I managed to transfer my reality off the hard disk onto my iPod - just pictures and a few documents. Most reality is on the network now: email, now almost unused due to spam, sits on server and web service, subscriptions sit in Bloglines.
Due to forgetfulness and an office move, my iPod charger and PC cable is inaccessible at work. Therefore I can only document last Sunday, not the Saturday before with 2 weddings and me in a suit. Or two weekends before that, with one wedding and me in tails.
So, the Sunday. The original plan had been to go up 30 St Marys Axe. It opened at 10am, I got there just before 9, and the queue went round three long sides of the block and back to the skyscraper. Sure, I would have probably got in within an hour or so of opening, but I decided that there were better things to explore in my limited time in London.
A quick soujourn to Brick Lane - try to ignore the market, and the cigarette profferers. Brick Lane Beigel Bake, for a salt beef on rye with a schmear. Best breakfast.
A long decision to go to the V&A, my favourite museum. When I got there, I remembered the new exhibition of Christopher Dresser. It's fantastic (if, as always with the V&A, short), showcasing probably the first industrial designer. Lots of incredible sleek minimalist design, with pretty much the complete ouevre of toast racks, coupled with some rich kitch from around the world. This guy was destined to design tiki. Completely at home designing and drawing wallcoverings, housewares, vases, glassware, botanical diagrams, furniture, even retail, Dresser should be an inspiration to every designer out there.
best toastrack evar
For what its worth, the catalogue of the exhibition reveals far more about Dresser than the exhibition, though of course there is nothing like goggling the objects in reality. I managed to resist buying a handmade Alessi remake of the toast rack for just over 3000 pounds.
A trip up Exhibition Road (past the completed Imperial College facelift) to the the Royal Geographical Society, part of the Open House Weekend. The opening of the archives to the public is really an amazing achievement.
Finally the earth galleries of the Natural History Museum (Geological Museum to us oldtimers). The main exhibitions are fluff, modern exhibition design that does illustrate a few important concepts and actions, but at the loss of the museum of things. Well, I thought so, until I found the incredibly hidden Earth's Treasury gallery, featuring most of the collection that used to be displayed in the Geological Museum, presented pretty nicely with excellent lighting. There's the usual De Beers propaganda (however, having parts of the largest diamond ever, and the best examples of rare coloured diamonds is quite spectacular).
Then a tube, taxi and train to the plane... I do miss parts of London - the incredible visceral reaction to the food and cultures, such as exhibited in Brick Lane, I miss some of the people, but I really don't miss the infrastructure, the crowds. I feel like a tourist now, smiling at the insanity of Soho, the craziness of commuting.
Glad to be home.
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September 16, 2004
crazy taxi
I'm ok.
Got a taxi from the conference to the airport, and as we were driving through Glasgow town centre, a bus ran into the front side of the cab. Luckily no-one was hurt; my taxi driver had a cut to his head, but it didn't look serious even if it was bleeding. He was convinced he was ok. I have a bump to the forehead (which I'm sure will turn into a lovely bruise if you see me over the next week), but that's it. No blood for me.
A few packs of crisps later (for salt), a coffee (for no good reason) and a very large whisky, waiting for the plane, my hands are shaking less. My taxi driver's first thought after the accident was to order another taxi for me, so I was whisked away without thinking. My second taxi driver was going to go back and check everything was ok. Black cabs stick together.
Can't remember much about it - the weather was foul, with driving rain, meaning the windows were foggy. No warning. I thought that we were turning, and then I remember a very quick stop, and then the sound of breaking glass. Slow. Talking to the second driver, I think we were going straight, and the bus (not a double decker, thankfully, just a small hopper bus) just clipped us in the front right hand side. The front light had gone, and the driver's window was smashed. So we turned 90 degrees. Friction is a wonderful thing.
Remember someone running up, a trained first aider - people can be friendly. Luckily, no need. No one on the bus hurt at all, my driver pretty ok, I'm ok.
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Mobile HCI 2004: David Wood keynote
Wide commercial adoption of improvements in Mobile HCI
David Wood
EVP Research, Symbian
enabling simply great mobile phones
an advocate of mobile phones
not interested in convergence
am interested in ubiquity
peronal context-
three brains
biological, Psion Series 5mx, Samsung SGHD710 smartphone - allows communication, content, commerce
mobile window to the digital world
i have had many great mobile browsing experiences [*cough* early adopter *cough*]
forgetting the laptop - most powerful, but least immediate
before long, people will have two active brains (smartphone) [ignores networked brain]
phones that are computers - not necessary for smartphones
smartphones defined:
mobile phones with increasing capability
greater on board intelligence
larger data storage
better connectivity to networks and devices
larger, clearer screen
easier input of data by various means
+
easier programming of the onboard intelligence
+
retains original phone attributes
voice comms, portable, good battery life [doesn't crash]
(not happy with term smartphone either)
phones first!
three waves of mobiles:
pre 2000 - great communications, voice and text, robust, reliable, small, light
2000-2004 - rich experience - colour, camera, audio, ringtones, video, memory
2004 onwards - open phones - rich programmability, innovation, virtuous cycle
virtuous cycle of consumers, handset manufacturers, networks and developers
PCs weren't successful because of what was built into them, but the applications that were made (but then they get integrated)
why has it taken so long?
developers have been waiting for programmability
consumers waiting for the networks
lack of sufficient number of programmable advanced phones
plus need infrastructure, architecture and open standards
"The Slow Pace of Fast Change" Bhaskar Chakravorti
disruptive innovations have to precipitate the dismantling of an existing equilibrium
disruptive change takes twice as long as Moore's Law predicts
single most important strategic driver-
volume phone sales
sales volume is the biggest driver of confidence
how will this happen?
Moore's Law - smartphone cost has gone from 132 dollars in 2003, 115 in 2004, 78 dollars by 2008 (Bill of Materials cost) - mainly display and semiconductor costs getting cheaper
total phone sales going from 500 million in 2004, 600 million in 2008. Smartphones going from 50 million to 200 million.
they will sell well provided...
allow users to build on and do more of the things that caused users to buy phones in the first place - communication (and messaging) (same as why people get on the Internet) - if content, user-generated content
fashion and fun - personalisation - show phones off. ringtone market bigger than singles market.
safety and connection - timely info in context
AND they allow users to do these things simply even though these phones are increasingly complex
'it's easy to make something hard, and hard to make something easy' - Myer's Law
6 dimernsions of meeting extra user needs: (on top of core phone features)
1. gaming capabilities
multi player games and mobile access to online worlds
2. entertainment
filling slack time enjoyably
3. personal productivity
scheduling, jotter, to do
4. business productivity
access to corporate data
5. e commerce
6. easy access to tailored information
network effects, viral marketing, super-distribution
p2p, bluetooth / wifi
not just envious if you don't have, but excluded
Mobile Disruption - Jeffrey L Funk
explains smartphone takeoff in Japan
a hint of the future - but not as open in Japan
Java only has restricted access to upper levels of phone functionality
C++ provides much richer access
C++ enables ecosystem of middleware suppliers
challenges and risks
1. Openness will provide malware (intentional and unintentional)
users' concerns - no surprises on the bill, personal data to stay personal (even when showing phones around), no viruses
operators' concerns - network has to be safe, and keep users happy
developer's concerns - be able to develop innovate successful apps
response:
signing program
but PC shows signing program can be problematic
smaller companies or individuals can distribute their software via publishers who take the responsibility
have to have rigorous identity of authorship
not conformance to any style guidelines
2. Overwhelming complexity
users are bamboozled
but don't go the other way, users are frustrated
there is no one right answer! - let the market decide
how do you get the networking effect if there are lots and lots of different UIs?
market fragmentation
Differentiation without fragmentation
OS supports multiple rich visions
but UIs are different
come into families, but choice for end users
keep most programming the same
Common OS APIs and technologies
not much to port
about 20% of application
6 by Fujitsu in Japan
raku raku easy and simple phone targeted at the elderly
Role of the OS
tame the underlying technological complexities
make it look simple
allow myriad software components to coexist and collaborate
making complex software simple
interaction design has a key role to play
but OS needs to be sensitive to the requirements of the IDs
ID needs to be done early, without too much fixed, and when software can still be changed
principle: "design for change"
don't design for requirements of today
in principle, adaptable to new requirements
complexity needs architecture
software in seperate modules with clear interfaces [presumably programmatic]
some software badly designed, but mainly good design but then added complexity needs to be added
development costs rise with functionality
picking the drivers for change
don't choose the HCI, believe in Dawinian selection
have to choose enablers though
customer-led partly, but not suffient
compelling commercial end-to-end solution
key forthcoming enablers - 12-24 months
constant improvements in performance (not suffiecient to rely on Moore's Law - software gets slower quicker than hardware gets faster)
new graphics libraries - animation, 2d/3d pipeline
security - DRM, mobile commerce
bluetooth coming of age - PANs
device management
framework for LBS
rich voice
Symbian Expo - Oct 5th 6th tradeshow
Qs
more APIs esp. phone functionality may become more available
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Mobile HCI 04: Mobile Communications vs. Pervasive Communications
Mobile Communications vs. Pervasive Communications: The Role of Handhelds panel
Scott Weiss (Moderator), Akseli Anttila, Anxo Cereijo Roibas, Sabine Seymour and David Williams
SW: few delightful moments in convergent technology
poor UI and usability are the cause
camera + phone - bad unfocused pictures
phone + MP3 player
convergence leads to divergence
will good design processes improve these devices?
DW:
why isn't it working?
users don't see value
difficult to interact across devices
content is too mainstream
market doesn't want it - requires standardisation and brand sharing
technology can't deliver it - backend systems and transcoding of content is not sufficient
all thinking too device-centric - need to take the technology and push it into environments, rather than push it all into a device
ACR:
satisfy the *new* needs, demainds and expectations of nomadic users
2 main problems - poor usability and wrong usage scenarios
e.g. three offer video news, but this is normally consumed in a sit-down laid-back position
think about new forms of content
SS:
interested in context of use - changing quicker than the users
phone is a computational device (works as the PAN controller)
integration into clothing and wearables
in the long-term, right into the fibres
AA:
how will context of use be used to enable new forms of communication?
more emotional, less intrusive
how will it influence other (non-communication) devices?
Q:
what is the best example currently of pervasive communications?
Finnish SMS games on TV
newspapers in a cafe
texting (invented by users as a communication medium)
Q: how do we translate pervasiveness into something that has value to a carier?
need new business models
hard for carriers to look more than 3 months ahead - has to create value immediately
Q: what is the difference between pervasive and ubiquity?
ubiquity implies it has been subsumed into the environment, pervasive just sounds like devices talking to each other all the time
Q: what do we need to do in the future?
understand real scenarios for pervasive communication
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Mobile HCI 04: Speech Interfaces
Acoustic Features for Profiling Mobile Users of Conversational Interfaces
David Toney, David Feinberg, Korin Richmond
conversational interfaces for tourist information
personalising interaction based on what we can tell from their voice -
gender
age
accent
emotion
(location)
measuments -
pitch
jitter
shimmer
harmonics-to-noise ratio
mobiles are used in noisy environments
gender 94.4% accuracy
age - no useful learning
variation found, but too much background noise
(macrophone speech sample database)
looking at finding height from voice(!)
*****
Butler: A Universal Speech Interface for Mobile Environments
Botond Pakucs
user's needs may rapidly change in dynamic and mobile environments
need to switch transparently and seemlessly between services
multitask
lack of speech interface consistency
many different mental models and therefore increased cognitive load
usability and HCI needs to be considered for whole environemtn, not individual services
'light on' - which lights?
service may take proactive initiative
coordination among services is necessary, and support user control
one speech interface for each user, not each product/service
how?
integrated into personal device (phone, pda)
standardised domain data and dialogue management
test system
lunch info, public transport info
based on already existing web services
http://www.speech.kth.se/~botte
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Mobile HCI 2004: Novel Interaction Techniques
MobiVR: large virtual touch screen for mobile devices
Tiiu Koskela
Tampere University
Wireless handheld near-eye microdisplay (two eye non seethrough)
pointing as the input method
two hand operation - pointing and selection
focus groups - early adopters, teens, non-technically minded
raised concerns on social and health issues, acceptance
size of device more important than size of the screen
two-handed coordinated use hard
missing feedback of cursor control
missing support for social activities
physical strain
requirements for next prototype:
only one eye covered
direct object manipulation
natural gestures
multimodal input methods
augmented reality
feedback in visual and aural
*****
Handy: a new Interaction Device for Vehicular Information Systems
Sergio Di Martino
current in-car systems have heavy visual workload on users
traditional HCI approaches cannot be effectively applied to the automotive domain
related work
Alfa Romeo Connect
audi / volkswagen
jaguar s-type
bmw iDrive
no standard at all
working with Fiat research centre Elasis
requirements:
reduce distraction
easy to use for naive users
quick to use for expert users
cost effective to industrialise within 2-3 years
interactions -
search for hardware on dashboard
place hand/finger on (small) control
interact to achive goal
try to minimise dis traction of the first two
handy - a remote device placed on the driver seat arm rest behind the gearstick
a rotary wheel and 4 soft buttons
main advantage is that position is standardised and displacement of fingers always the same
handy provides at most 7 actions (fits with 7+-2 idea - idrive has 10)
interaction modality and view modality, depending on whether controls needed to interact are shown
flicks into interaction modality when hand is placed on handy
limited haptic feedback on scroll wheel
going to be tested in a car simulation
main drawback so far - only 3 buttons leads to deeper menu hierarchies
*****
Interactive Positioning based on Object Visibility
Christian Kray
GPS doesn't work [hooray]
use the user as the information source
interact with the user about what they can see
need objects and position hypotheses
assumptions-
user can determine object visibility
system can compute object visibility
problem-
very large number of potential questions
select *good* objects for questions
users a matrix, that is reduced as information is found out
functional prototype (Deep Map)
significantly improve precision of positional information in case of imprecise sesnor data or in absence of any data
field trial (19m precision in street of 170m length in three steps)
in future, visibility check could be done by computer (cameraphone sends images to server)
*****
IDeixis - Searching the Web with Images for Location-Based Information
Konrad Tollmar
CSAIL, MIT
send a picture to the server, get back links to webpages with images similar to the picture you took
landmarks pretty easy to recognise from a computer perspective
normally occupy most of the image
people tend to take images from the same location
asked students to take pictures of three locations on campus
about 60% accuracy in image matching (difference between similar images and relevant images)
(Nokia sponsored project)
'irrelevent' web pages - photo albums - no info about what iamge is about
interview study with tourists - how do people use maps and guides?
moved to standard websearch, keyword boosting through keywork extraction from found webpages, and MapQuest
finding location images
many pictures on the web
we can remove thos ewith people in
and those that are man-made
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Mobile HCI 2004: Device Differences and Web Pages
A Study of Application and Device Effects Between a WAP Phone and a Palm PDA
Jiraporn Buranatrived, Paul Vickers
Ticket purchasing and stock broking interfaces designed for mobile phone and Palm OS
Written in J2ME and deployed onto both devices
Test with 16 subjects
Times were not significantly different for either application between devices
Task error not significantly different
Times compares favourably with FItt's Law predictions except stock broking on the phone, which took longer than predicted
(network delays, or trying to apply Fitt's Law to a mobile phone?)
*****
Personalization-based Optimization of Web Interfaces for Mobile Devices
Michael Hinz
Need personalised user interfaces addressing heterogeneous device capabilities
Media components (text, image, video)
content unit component (image with text caption)
document components (overview, chapters, content blobs)
different profiles for different adaptation scenarios
UAProf + session + user identity
creation of HTML layout managers, similar to Java systems
transformers for xhtml, chtml, wml
modelling mechanism to keep up to date user model
DELI + CDL4 learning
*****
Mixed-Initiative, Trans-Modal Interface Migration
Renata Bandelloni, Silvia Berti, Fabio Paternò
migratory interfaces
interface can transfer [information] amoung different platforms, allowing the user to continue interaction
task model
abstract user interface
platform specific implementation
*****
Web Page Transformation when Switching Devices
Bonnie MacKay
transformation approaches
direct migration - no change to web page (only allows a small piece of webpage to be shown on PDA)
Linear - create a long column of content, allowing just vertical scrolling. text and images reduce in size or even supressed
Gateway - fisheyes, overviews - zoom out from page to fit on screen
used BBC News as test site
already has a linear version created
gateway lowest for user preference, linear most preferred
tried expansion and blocking rollovers on gateway version, and increasing headline font size
*****
Mobile Context Aware Systems: the intelligence to support tasks and effectively utilise resources
Russell Beale
models of context
location, local environment, immediate stuff, environment plus task, plus user models plus technological models plus plus
context as a dynamic process with historic dependenies
context is comprised of a series of context states, like scenes in a movie
context as a movie
movies have overall direction and theme
many interacting subplots
scenes have shorter period, more focussed
props and actors are elements in a scene
individual frame captures instantaneous moment in time
context, context states and context substates
test art gallery scenario setup with ultrasonics, RFID and other location finding mechanisms
expose some of the context system to the user to show why things are changing and why info has been presented
navigation metaphor
context aware navigation of content is replacing the more familiar web browser metaphor (physical motion as navigation)
people appropriated movement to flick forwards and backwards
*****
Automatic Partitioning of Web Pages Using Clustering
Richard Romero
Nokia
segmenting content appropriate to the device you are using and the network you are using
desired properties
segments are large, relative to device and usability limitations (can't chunk on size)
look at the leaves of the DOM to work out how to break up the page
use a clustering technique incorporating both size and semantic relatedness
did user test to find out how people would break up a web page into a certain number of segments
algorithm did pretty well compared to user needs (users did not agree on chunking)
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Mobile HCI 2004: Mobile Design and Interaction
O2 Active: enhancing user experience on mobile phones
Anat Amir
a WAP portal plus a Symbian app
[coincidentally, the design was carried out by Iconmobile, the same company I worked with to design Orange's active idle screen]
links to URLs
link to device functions
links to other applications on the device
voice calls
SMS/MMSes
text tickers
wizards
auto-launches, but not on top of stack
access methods:
device toggle key
right idle screen key
icon in app grid
page impressions per unique visitor increased by 25% within the first two months after launch
*****
A Prototype for Remote Vehicle Diagnostics
Jonas Kuschel
How can service technicians get detailed vehicle data when the driver is concerned or when the internal control system has detected an error?
error codes and predefined parameters trasmitted over GPRS
*****
Adaptive Portal Aggregation for Pervasive Client Devices
Gert Kortuem
proposes enhancements to JSR168 portal/portlet spec
a new view called summary mode
shows key status
front page adaptation
automatically update the view depending on context, amount of information
adaptive portal aggregation
context send with HTTP request
*****
Supporting Mobile Applications with Real-Time Visualisation of GPS Availability
Anthony Steed
GPS error changes dynamically over time
if you have a 3D model of the local area then you can calculate a GPS shadow
real time visualisation using live or recorded NMEA strings from GPS
shows that seeing clear sky is not the most important factor
and that GPS availability is *very* locailised in built up areas
doesn't explain/show other GPS effects such as refraction and reflection
the tool can help you tell if your fix is unreliable
[this one is very cool - an old version of hte software is downloadable from his website... I will try to get a copy of the 24 hour visualisation]
*****
Bringing the Office to the Stables
Stefan Wagner
smartfarm
several prototype projects made with PDAs and phones
all failed miserably from a commercial viewpoint
work is highly mobile
farmers highly dependent on PC applications
only use PCs in the office (20-40 min/week)
PC based data accessed through printed paper lists
paper lists more efficient than technology
PC used for more than data input
future work
use SMS to alert, and let farmer print out new paper lists
use barcodes on the paper
pigs fitted with RFID
*****
Comparison of Mobile and Fixed Use of SmartLibrary
Markus Aittola
http://www.rotuaari.net
service shown at last year's conference
been redesigned with web user interface
covers 60000 books in Oulu Uni library
test shows all users find PC version easy, PDA most find it easy, phone most find it hard
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Mobile HCI 2004: Auditory Interactions
Mobile Note Taking: Investigating the Efficacy of Mobile Text Entry
Joanna Lumsden
aim is to create an audio-enhanced single stroke text entry system that demands as little visual resouce as possible
dynamic audio feedback to guide character entry progress
2 audio designs:
stereo-panned earcons
earcons creating virtual boundaries
test on a Xybernaught MA V running XP
touch screen in non-preferred hand
found to increase input accuracy when mobile
handwriting style influences accuracy
*****
The Personal Audio Loop: Designing a Ubiquitous Audio-Based Memory Aid
Giovanni Iachello
when talking and interupted, you often need prompting to remember what you were talking about
audio loop records audio in a circular buffer (15m-1h)
deletes old audio automatically
no storage
set 'earmark' bookmarks
uses small secondary display on phone and external buttons (clamshell)
lab study, diary study, legal analysis
*****
A Study on Gestural Interaction with a 3D Audio Display
Georgios Marentakis
Audio Windows - Cohen
Nomadic Radio - Schmandt
Auditory pie menus - Brewster
spacial sound gives ambiguity
performance improves with experience
tested browsing using a pointing arc movement, also head direction
tablet significantly more accurate
no difference between hand and head
sound position not important, but ineffective for locations at the back of the user
people thought the tablet was significantly harder to use
*****
Xaudio: Results From a Field Trial Study on a Technology Enhancing Radio Listeners’ User Experience
Reinhard Sefelin
Xaudio - insertion of inaudible codes into broadcast audio
test done with XDAs
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September 15, 2004
Mobile HCI 2004: Tilt, touch and text entry
tilt-based automatic zooming and scaling in mobile devices
Parisa Eslambolchilar
gestures mean you don't need to look at the screen
useful for browsing long documents, web browsing etc.
problem with scrollbars
they're on the right, yet most content is on the left (study by Brewster)
people's eyes kangaroo from one side to the other
Lensbar, Pad, Pad++ - speed dependent automatic zooming methods
dynamics in HCI
people are in tightly coupled continuous systems
engineering dynamics shows systems with continuous feedback
input devices
isometric josticks or elastic switches are good because self-centering
3D accelerometers
using a state space rperesentation and math to create a better speed dependent automatic zooming method (SDAZ)
(demo of an accelerometer based reading system based on tilt and shaking)
People still more comfortable with stylus-controlled version
*****
An Evaluation of Techniques for Browsing Photograph Collections on Small Displays
Dynal Patel and Matt Jones
tension with mobile devices
vast storage, limited display
one view is that the phone is just an appliance, and you'll do all your actions on a larger screen/PC
but
mobiles offer the opportunity to do small tasks in idle time - like renaming pictures (Christian Lindholm)
need to design browsing techniques for the small screen
3 browsing interfaces for photos:
Thumbnail browser - discrete zoom. Allows zoom into one photo from thumbnails.
Auto zoom - scrolling and zooming integrated into one action - SDAZ
gesture zoom - horizontal controls zoom level, vertical controls scroll speed
test with 72 subjects carried out, tasks based on ethnographic research.
Techniques help when looking for small things. AZ twice as fast as DZ for finding small events.
Only worth implementing these for hundreds of photos.
Recently ported to Pocket PC and Nokia 6600, with joystick to control
techniques very extensible - could be used with wheel interactions, smartpads...
lots of white space currently - could this be used more effectively?
SDAZ also good for maps, not good for documents (maybe if some semantic processing is done)
*****
Variability in Wrist-Tilt Accelerometer Based Gesture Interfaces
Andrew Crossan
continuous interaction
phone emulation running on a pocket pC(!)
(good demo of flick and tilt based navigation of Nokia Series 40 interface)
is it equally easy to target all 8 directions?
test with 12 subjects
lower targets significantly easier to target
some movement in opposite direction - confusion of mapping metaphor - bubble vs. marble
*****
Pen-Based Gestures: An Approach to Reducing Screen Clutter in Mobile Computing
Mark Nicholson, Paul Vickers
sonically-enhanced pen-based gestures
used Palm v - 160x160 (2% of the area of a 1280x1024 screen)
10% or more is used by buttons on screen
can we get rid of the buttons?
alternatives -
gestures (stylus strokes)
whole screen gesture instead of buttons?
cinema listing application built to test the idea
gesture set of 6 gestures
problems?
no visual cues as to available actions
memorability of hte gestures
recognition algorithms aren't always reliable enough for all users
use audio cues to inform user of available actions
3 groups of gestures - navigation, decision and cinema-specific
single, double and triple tones
earcons found to be difficult to remember and recognise
gesture mode required fewer stylus presses
*****
Dynamic Primitives for Gestural Interaction
Steven Strachan
BodySpace project
new form of screen-free interaction
dynamic movement primatives approach
XSens accelerometer with iPaq
four gestures:
chest to left shoulder, right shoulder, back of head, back pocket
all performed with left hand whilst standing still
*****
Touch Detection System for Mobile Terminals
Jani Mäntyjärvi
Detection of touch
explicit presence of a hand
related work - capacitive sensor, skin conductance measurement, skin impedence measurement
sensing electrodes incorporated into phone
*****
Mobile Text Input with Soft Keyboards: Optimization by Means of Visual Clues
Laurent Magnien
layout optimisations
OPTI, Metropolis, Fitaly
these benefit experts, but give poor performance for novices
use of visual highlights for character prediction
time saved approx 40%
*****
Watch-Top Text-Entry: Can Phone-Style Predictive Text-Entry Work With Only 5 Buttons?
Mark Dunlop
4 letter keys plus space
central display
t9 style prediction
double load space/next
support two thumb typing
main trouble is thumbs obscuring the entered text
psudo-optimised alphabet onto 4 buttons via dictionary analysis
multi-click: 2.1 clicks per letter
t9: 1.009 clicks per letter
alpha watch: 1.06
GORSUV watch: 1.041
limitations
lowercase letters only and no editing
soft-screen emulation may have reduced phone usage
watch is slower, by 40%, but may increase with time
may be faster if you took watch off
*****
Pair-wise Variability Index: Evaluating the Cognitive Difficulty of using Mobile Text Entry Systems
Frode Eika Sandnes
performance oriented
cps
keystroke per character
error oriented
cognitive
NASA task load index (TLX)
some relationship between typing speed, error rate and cognitive difficulty of typing speed
duration of inter-keystroke display related to cognitive processing load
a regular typing rhythm may lead to a cognitively balanced text entry strategy
tested with three entry systems, based on 5 keys
multitap, tree-based (e.g. first click part of alphabet, second click the actual letter), one stroke (similar to t9)
most cognitively difficult is tree based (and least productive), one stroke is fastest and most preferred, but high cognitive difficulty
multitap easiest cognitively but not as fast
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September 14, 2004
Mobile HCI 2004: Evaluation and Evaluation Techniques
heuristic evaluation and mobile usability
Steve Howard
University of Melbourne
The challenge:
current practice focusses on rigor rather than relevence
concentrate on device functiality (lab base usability evaluation)
social scientists call for deeper evaluation, use not usability
activities are difficult to observe in realistic setting and hard to simulate in a lab - long time, odd hours, private spaces, complex patterns of cooperation
testing three techniques:
baseline approach
heuristic walkthrough = baseline + heuristic scenarios
cognitive walkthrough = heuristic in situ
[this is all a bit over my head/academic for me - rigourous statistical breakdown of this test... ]
conclusion: "heuristics are completely environment immune"
*****
Exploring the added value of evaluating the usability of context-aware mobile systems in the field
Mikael B Skov
Aalborg University
71% of mobile device evaluations done in laboratories
hard to record tests in the field, hard to get test subjects due to attention given (often 3-4 people needed to record all actions)
often get more focussed results in a lab
test conducted in a lab and in the field (a hospital)
little added value found evaluating in the field
biggest difference - validity of data entered into the system
both the lab and field revealed context-aware problems
a clip-on camera facilitated data collection in mobile use
(lots of disagreement of how one test can draw the conclusion that tests need not be done in the field)
*****
home is where your phone is: usability evaluation of a mobile phone UI for a smart phone
Tiiu Koort
Nokia / Tampere University
smart home - intelligent environment which provides user with means to perform everyday tasks
homes take time: smart homes will evolve naturally from our existing homes
definition phase - 22 subjects; young adults, families with childrenm middle aged couples, elderly people
design phase - iterative design with 5 young adults as test subjects
UIs tested on PC, on media terminal attached to TV, and mobile phone
could control lights and curtains, and monitor plants and other devices
*****
User validation of a nomadic exhibition guide
Barbara Schmidt-Belz
SAiMotion
nomadic support - planning, visit, reflection
automatic learning of personal interests
several means to query and browse
positioning via WLAN, GPS, motion sensor
interactive, context-adaptive maps
trialled in a trade fair (medica 03)
80% saw added value
50% would pay 5-10 Euro for the system
*****
social networks and mobile games: use of Bluetooth for a card game
Chris Baber
University of Birmingham
BELKA
Mobile devices - iPaq clients, with laptop as dealer
applies social network analysis to the use of the games
people made a lot more moves with realcards rathe than an iPaq
also more when sitting down than moving
position of seated players change who people played against
people played more aggressively (and louder!) playing with real cards
*****
Eye movement study of reading on a small scale device
Gustav Öquist
Uppsala University
fixations (text focussed in the cornea) varies between 50-1500 ms
saccades, when the eye moves to the next fixation, takes 40 ms and stretches 1-20 characters
backwards saccades are quite frequent
readability - both reading speed and comprehension
screen reading on CRT screens are told to reduce speed by 20-30% compared to paper
probabyl about the same now, but limited by size of screen
Rapid Serial Visual Presentation - a few words presented at a time
RSVP found to be as fast as MS Reader, but more demanding to use for long texts
RSVP 33% faster for shorter texts with no extra mental demand
eye movement tracker used to evaluate the RSVP system again
less eye movement with RSVP than MS Reader
working on predictive text presentation
*****
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Mobile HCI 2004: user interfaces and navigation
mental models of a cellular phone menu, comparing older and younger users
suzanne bay
RWTH Aachen University
what are the reasons for older users having bigger difficulties using mobile phones?
mental models typically a hiearchical tree
parallels with spatial representations (e.g. a map/city)
3 types of information used to remember spacial knowledge:
landmarks
routes
survey knowledge
landmarks - equivalent to landing points in a menu - e.g. messaging
routes - equivalent to the decision points and interactions to get to a point in a menu
survey - aerial view of the space - e.g. knowledge of a hierarchical tree, 3 levels deep
users carried out 4 tasks based on a few standard phones
then card sorting to get users' representations of the menu trees
cognitive maps then analysed for three types of knowledge
all younger users created a hierarchy
a third of older users clustered groups into unrelated groups of three (as shown on screen)
older users had far less idea about levels of hierarchy (2 levels instead of three)
implications-
make spacial maps of the menu in the manuals (or in phone)
graphical hints on the phone's display
*****
using landmarks to support older people in navigation
Joy Goodman
University of Glasgow
navigation is an important mobile activity
key for maintaining independence and quality of life
often more difficult for older people
landmarks not used often in current navigation aids
aim is to develop a pedestrian navigation aid basing assitance around landmarks
[Yet Another PDA Application - academics haven't moved on from PDAs for apps, all projects so far use iPAQs]
uses photos to show next landmark and direction
also simplified local area map including buildings
older users prefer:
no drown down menus
male voice with a standard accent
text rather than icons on buttons
sans-serif
question-
how do you keep landmarks up to date? is there a time element that is important (navigation using landmarks that used to exist)?
*****
the use of landmarks in pedestrian navigation instructions and the effects of context
Tracy Ross
ESRI
Loughborough University
'valued LBS' project
develop and test new concepts in LBS
landmark enhanced instructions gave user's far more confidence than basic navigation instructions
also less errors
less reliance on quantitative distance
some manoeuvres ebniffitted more:
first manoeuvre
multiple choices of direction
pedestrianised areas
low (or no) visibility of street names
now looking at real value of LBS
framework for value
question -
any work on the different perceptions of landmarks?
not to individuals, but some work of different contexts (especially between car and pedestrian navigation)
*****
UbiBus: Ubiquitous Computing to help blind people in public transport
Paul Couderc
INRIA Rennes
[very nice demo video showing a complete public transport navigation system, useful to all - maps of destination, access to information about adverts at bus stop, info about how long for bus to come, and if the bus is the right one for you]
ubicomp to provide "spontaneous" services
explicit interactions reduced to a minimum level
service driven automatically by the events in the real world
programming structured around physical objects and their interactions
wireless P2P architecture, relying only on autonomous nodes
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Mobile HCI 2004: screen and power limitations
what can you say with only three pixels?
Peter Tarasewich
focus on ultramobile devices - rings, watches, bracelets
small screen if any
used in a variety ofcontexts (anytime, anywhere)
notification cues
indicate status or availability of information that might be of interest
cues convey metainformation
pixel-based notification cues
one or more lights (e.g. LEDs) to convey information
previous studies looked at display sizes and configurations, colours, flashing
a linear three light design has a balance of good user performance and high user preference in a small footprint
3 pixels
each 3 different colours, 2 intensities
groups had to learn messages and meanings
(108 different)
e.g. new short message via email from a work colleague received with high priority
up to 5 bits of information easy to learn, increased time (due to more complex messages) - still aceptable up to 6.75 bits
people read pixels from left to right - more errors on right hand side
what happens if information is less structured?
does using LEDs rather than screen simulation change the experiment?
how do these cues affect attention?
benefits - low power, sent quietly
if personalised, are highly secure
why red, blue and green (not red, yellow, green?)
not all information is mapped onto a scale that is assumed by red, yellow and green
next test allows users to pick their colours
*****
Battery life and user acceptance of energy aware interfaces
HP
Lance Bloom
handheld 'achilles heel' - battery charge life
displays consume up to 60% of system power
OLEDs can reduce power by 10
and only have to consume energy where change is happneing
12 PDA users in Boston - used for work and personal activities
battery life displayed on interface
5 types of interfaces evaluated
inversion extends battery life by 3 times
green-on-black by 20 times
battery life important as a user issue (memory and processor speed higher - use of MS PDAs influences?)
lighter gradients preferred to darker gradients
inversion interfaces rated more highly than baseline interfaces
display-based battery consumption reductions do not necessitate usability reductions
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mobile hci 2004: mobility and interactive experiences keynote
Once again in conference mode, this time Mobile HCI 2004 in Glasgow.Notes as and when.
Equator
Tom Rodden
Mobility and Interactive Experiences
what is Mobile HCI?
small screen
small keyboard
speech interfaces
audio output
used 'on the move'
another way of looking at roles:
mobile devices as a means of linking online and physical interaction
mobility of users through an augmented space to drive interaction
mobility as a design resource
work on cities
e.g. Charles Rennie Mackintosh
exhibitions, buildings, information, experts and visitors across the city
physically diverse
The Lighthouse exhibition space brings these together into one phsyical space, plus co-visiting via VRML and web environments
three common resources for interaction:
audio
location and orientation
shared information space
results-
more talkative than conventional museum visits
some novelty efects, but technology does not inhibit interaction
location system (map) a resource for awareness
people used the system to gesture to others to come and have a look
Can You See Me Now?
overlaying a digital experience across a physical city
exploited the movement of people across a physical landscape as a source of performance
performance linked physical players on the street with an online player
exploiting GPS inaccuracy
error varied according to location from open areas to built up streets
online and street players experience GPS inaccuracy differently
online has less information to make judgements
only see reported positions
unfamiliar with GPS coverage and terrain
were not exposed to the game for as long as the runners
hard to disinguish GPS errors from other online errors
audio used to convey context
audio stream proved to be highly significant
contextual information highly localised
expose the infrastructure
digital infrastructure becomes as much part of the interact as what appears on the
screen
e.g. showing 802.11 maps, showing GPS coverage and variability as shadows (that change throughout the day)
Bill system
runners movement builds up 'seamful maps' of 802.11 and GPS
past activity as new resource for gameplay
and also a resource for other people and other purposes
mobility of users through an interactive space
exploration - stationary devices in the world, with location tracked people to facilitate interaction
'ambient wood' - children's learning experience 8-10yrs
field trip to private wood, incorporating a wireless networking infrastructure, mainly local interactions (short range radio and RFID)
hardest challenge - powering the technology
reflecting, comparing and hypothesizing
classroom session afterwards shows location maps and discussed why they went there
(skipped Uncle Roy All Around You - location based system with no location based technology)
Mobility as a design resource
workshop with RCA
Artifacts which use a broader sense of mobility
Artifacts augmented with weight sensing
History tablecloth - shows the movement of artifacts through the home
drift table - shows aerial photo of the UK, can move by weighting a side of the table
aerial photos of England available (1.7TB)
people loading table at night to get some place by the morning
also understood when it was broken, and how that changed the directional flow
the key table
at entry and exit of the home
detects how hard you throw down your keys and determines your mood
test subjects anthropomorphised the table and technology (not helped by picture of dog put into the moving pictureframe). user saw themselves as an artist.
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playtime
Back on the Internet, sorta: I've been on 'oliday. More of that later, but this couldn't wait.
The BFI have finally released Playtime on DVD, pretty much my favourite film. It's Jacques Tati's master work, a comic 125 minute dream, told in a modern city dystopia that actually saw Tati build a mini-city as a 6 acre set (which if I remember burnt down and had to be rebuilt). If you love freeform comedy, cities, architecture, the 60s or even France, you have to see this film. Well, I like it.
The film contains a scene in a travel agency that includes some fantastic posters.
The rest of Tati's films are being released later in the year - I really can't wait.
