Interaction techniques

1
Interaction techniques

• for todays computing

2
Interaction.. the dialogue between computers
..and their users

how?
communicate!
3
This lecture will cover

• Interaction in context
• Interaction/central to systems design
• Styles, previous and current
• Innovative alternatives

4
Primitive dialogue...

• Early applications tended to be explicit,
  designed for expert users
• Design was fairly straightforward, interaction
  alternatives were lacking
• The introduction of applications such as word
  processors and games dramatically increased the
  numbers of non-specialist computer users
• With the development of new technologies many new
  applications areas were sought
• The changes necessitated research into
  Interaction design to accommodate not only at a
  variety types of users, but a range of new
  application areas

5
Development of new paradigms

• The prevailing paradigm is to design for CPU,
  keyboard, monitor and mouse
• With the advent of wireless, mobile, and handheld
  technologies we as designers need to diversify to
  encompass these alternatives
• Recently the trend is to promote concepts that
  look beyond the desktop
• Systems designers need to consider alternative
  ways in which their users may be able to
  interact with their systems more effectively
  within changing environments

6

This was seen as a wide choice for Interface
Designers not so long ago

• INTERFACE TOOLS
• question and answer
• menus
• natural language
• form filling
• direct manipulation

• INTERACTION STYLES
• WIMP
• With Keyboard and Mouse
• Many systems using these interaction styles
  in combination

7
The impact of technological progress

• Due to technological progress a future computing
  scenario is envisioned in which almost every
  object in our everyday environment will be
  equipped with embedded processors, wireless
  communication facilities and embedded software to
  perceive, perform and control a multitude of
  tasks and functions.
• Since many of these objects are already able to
  communicate and interact with global networks and
  with each other, the vision of context-aware
  "smart appliances" and "smart spaces" has already
  become a reality.

8
Alternative interaction paradigms

• Ubiquitous computing
• Technology embedded in our environment
• Pervasive computing
• Seamless integration of technologies including
  wearables

9
Pervasive computing

• Is embodied into real world objects like
  furniture, clothing, crafts, rooms, etc.,
• Those artefacts also become the interface to
  "invisible" services and allow to mediation
  between the physical and digital (or virtual)
  world via natural interaction

10
New technologies always ready to be hatched

• Technological innovations (i.e.wireless, smart,
  AI, mobile etc) speed up the adoption of new
  services and interaction modes
• We need to compliment existing styles and enable
  new functionality not otherwise possible
• New paradigms will pose serious challenges to the
  conceptual architectures of computing
• However those creating innovative but feasible
  ideas will be central players in future markets

11
Alternative styles

• Future interaction is less likely to be with
  devices we currently use (i.e keyboard, mouse
  monitor) and more like the way we interact in the
  natural world i.e.
• Touch
• Speech
• Gesture
• Writing

12
Haptic interfaces

• Investigate how to we can apply touch sensation
  and control to computer interaction
• Enable the user to receive sensory feedback in
  the hand or other parts of the body
• Such as
• Joysticks, Data Gloves, Motion Platforms
• Via
• Force, Vibration, Motion, Temperature, Pressure,
  Touch

13
Two main areas of touch

• Force (or kinaesthetic) feedback
• Users muscles are stimulated in a way that
  produces the sensation of applied force
• Tactile feedback
• Nerve endings in the skin are stimulated in a way
  that produces a sensation of temperature,
  pressure and texture
• http//www.cs.hut.fi/Opinnot/T-106.850/PMRG/s2004

14
Where and how might Haptic styles prove useful?

• Force
• Vibration
• Motion

• Temperature
• Pressure
• Touch

15
Interaction via Natural Language

• PDAs have obvious interface limitations
  (keyboards get smaller but our fingers dont).
• Speech is well suited to overcoming this problem
• Smart phones-combining mobile phone technology
  with PDA applications, are already available
• Speech-based interfaces provide an obvious
  alternative for in car computers (to the visually
  demanding GUI)
• Without thought though interfaces may pose
  cognitive demands that could undermine driving
  safety
• Speech will be essential in moving beyond mobile
  devices to truly wearable ones

16
Interaction via Gesture recognition

• A primary goal is to create a system which can
  identify specific human gestures and use them to
  convey information/or for device control such as
  these
• Head
• Hand
• Eye gaze/blinks
• Body

17
Wearables

• Wearable computing hopes to shatter this myth of
  how a computer should be used http//www.media.mi
  t.edu/wearables/
• Data gloves http//www.5dt.com/products/pdataglove
  5.html
• Head mounted displays http//www.vrealities.com/hm
  d.html
• Integrated Eyeglass Displays
• Clothing http//www.scottevest.com
• Watches http//www.research.ibm.com/WearableComput
  ing/factsheet.html
• Jewelery http//www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,46398,0
  0.html
• Buttons http//www.ibutton.com/ibuttons/index.html

18
Hand writing/pen interaction

• Handwriting recognition software
• Graphics tablets
• Digital pens
• http//hwr.nici.kun.nl/pen-computing/

19
Designers choice will depend upon

• users
• tasks
• environment
• technological constraints
• economic constraints
• designers constraints

20

• Mobility is often associated with the user
  engaging in other activities, and when that
  activity is behind the wheel of a car the
  development of good interaction design gets just
  a bit more serious.
• Digital products will increasingly be used in
  environments that are physically or sensually
  restricted (from a seat in a planes economy
  class to the factory floor) and the challenges
  presented will make software design look like
  childs play.

21
Tutorial

• Check out the urls on relevant lecture slides
• Within your groups produce a list of applications
  
• Suggest (innovative alternative) interaction
  styles to those currently being applied
• i.e. touch, speech, gesture

22
Other useful URLs

• http//www.vtt.fi/tte/projects/vr-cluster/kuvia/Lu
  meportti_taitto4.pdf
• http//www.cs.hut.fi/Opinnot/T-106.850/PMRG/s2004/
  IUI-SonjaKangas.pdf
• http//www.cs.hut.fi/Opinnot/T-106.850/PMRG/s2004/
  IUI-SonjaKangas.pdf