Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2012 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 6 Articles
We investigate the use of different surface orientations for collaborative design tasks. Specifically, we compare horizontal and\r\nvertical surface orientations used by dyads performing a collaborative design task while standing. We investigate how the display\r\norientation influences group participation including face-to-face contact, total discussion, and equality of physical and verbal\r\nparticipation among participants. Our results suggest that vertical displays better support face-to-face contact whereas side-byside\r\narrangements encourage more discussion. However, display orientation has little impact on equality of verbal and physical\r\nparticipation, and users do not consistently prefer one orientation over the other. Based on our findings, we suggest that further\r\ninvestigation into the differences between horizontal and vertical orientations is warranted....
Touchscreen interfaces are widely used in modern technology, from mobile devices to in-car infotainment systems. However,\r\ntouchscreens impose significant visual workload demands on the user which have safety implications for use in cars. Previous\r\nstudies indicate that the application of haptic feedback can improve both performance of and affective response to user interfaces.\r\nThis paper reports on and extends the findings of a 2009 study conducted to evaluate the effects of different combinations of\r\ntouchscreen visual, audible, and haptic feedback on driving and task performance, affective response, and subjective workload; the\r\ninitial findings of which were originally published in (M. J. Pitts et al., 2009). A total of 48 non-expert users completed the study. A\r\ndual-task approach was applied, using the Lane Change Test as the driving task and realistic automotive use case touchscreen tasks.\r\nResults indicated that, while feedback type had no effect on driving or task performance, preference was expressed for multimodal\r\nfeedback over visual alone. Issues relating to workload and cross-modal interaction were also identified....
Distributed technologies and ubiquitous computing now support users who may be detached or decoupled from traditional interactions.\r\nIn order to investigate the potential usability of speech and manual input devices, an evaluation of speech input across different\r\nuser groups and a usability assessment of independent-user and collaborative-user interactions was conducted. Whilst the\r\nprimary focus was on a formative usability evaluation, the user group evaluation provided a formal basis to underpin the academic\r\nrigor of the exercise. The results illustrate that using a speech interface is important in understanding user acceptance of such technologies.\r\nFrom the usability assessment it was possible to translate interactions and make them compatible with innovative input\r\ndevices. This approach to interaction is still at an early stage of development, and the potential or validity of this interfacing concept\r\nis still under evaluation; however, as a concept demonstrator, the results of these initial evaluations demonstrate the potential usability\r\nissues of both input devices as well as highlighting their suitability for advanced virtual applications....
Driving is the result of a psychological process that translates data, signals and direct/indirect messages into behavior, which\r\nis continuously adapted to the exchange of varying stimuli between man, environment and vehicle. These stimuli are at times\r\nnot perceived and at others perceived but not understood by the driver, even if they derive from tools (vertical signs, horizontal\r\nmarking) specifically conceived for his safety. The result is unsafe behavior of vehicle drivers. For this reason, the road environment\r\nneeds to be radically redesigned. The paper describes a research, based on real and virtual environment surveys, aimed to better\r\nunderstand drivers� action-reaction mechanisms inside different scenarios, in order to gain informations useful for a correct\r\norganization (design) of the road space. The driving simulator can help in developing, from road to laboratory, the study of\r\nnew road design tools (geometrical, compositional, constructive ones, street furniture, etc.), because it can be used to evaluate\r\nsolutions before their usefulness is proved on the road....
Force feedback has proven to be beneficial in the domain of robot-assisted rehabilitation. According to the patients� personal needs,\r\nthe generated forces may either be used to assist, support, or oppose their movements. In our current research project, we focus\r\nonto the upper limb training for MS (multiple sclerosis) and CVA (cerebrovascular accident) patients, in which a basic building\r\nblock to implement many rehabilitation exercises was found. This building block is a haptic linear path: a second-order continuous\r\npath, defined by a list of points in space. Earlier, different attempts have been investigated to realize haptic linear paths. In order to\r\nhave a good training quality, it is important that the haptic simulation is continuous up to the second derivative while the patient\r\nis enforced to follow the path tightly, even when low or no guiding forces are provided. In this paper, we describe our best solution\r\nto these haptic linear paths, discuss the weaknesses found in practice, and propose and validate an improvement....
We elaborate on the shifting of decision support systems towards social networking, which is based on the concepts of Web 2.0\r\nand Semantic Web technology. As the characteristics of the relevant components are different from traditional decision support\r\nsystems, we present necessary adaptations when adopting social networks for decision support within an organization. We also\r\npresent organizational obstacles when adopting/using such systems and clues to overcome them....
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