| Understanding Auditory Navigation to Physical Landmarks | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 1-10 | |
| David McGookin; Stephen A. Brewster | |||
| We present two studies that seek to better understand the role spatialised
(3D) audio can play in supporting effective pedestrian navigation. 24
participants attempted to navigate and locate physical landmarks in a local
botanical gardens using a gpsTunes [1] based auditory navigation system coupled
with a map. Participants were significantly better at locating prominent than
non-prominent physical landmarks. However, no significant quantative difference
was found between the use of a map only and map + audio. Qualitative analysis
revealed significant issues when physical landmarks are used, and common
strategies when combining audio and map navigation. We highlight the
implications of these in relation to existing work, and provide guidelines for
future designers to employ. Keywords: 3D Audio; Pedestrian Navigation; Maps; Landmarks | |||
| Supporting Sounds: Design and Evaluation of an Audio-Haptic Interface | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 11-20 | |
| Emma Murphy; Camille Moussette; Charles Verron; Catherine Guastavino | |||
| The design and evaluation of a multimodal interface is presented in order to
investigate how spatial audio and haptic feedback can be used to convey the
navigational structure of a virtual environment. The non-visual 3D virtual
environment is composed of a number of parallel planes with either horizontal
or vertical orientations. The interface was evaluated using a target-finding
task to explore how auditory feedback can be used in isolation or combined with
haptic feedback for navigation. Twenty-three users were asked to locate targets
using auditory feedback in the virtual structure across both horizontal and
vertical orientations of the planes, with and without haptic feedback. Findings
from the evaluation experiment reveal that users performed the task faster in
the bi-modal conditions (with combined auditory and haptic feedback) with a
horizontal orientation of the virtual planes. Keywords: Auditory feedback; Haptic feedback; Target-finding; User Evaluation | |||
| A Haptic-Audio Interface for Acquiring Spatial Knowledge about Apartments | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 21-30 | |
| Junlei Yu; Christopher Habel | |||
| In selecting an apartment for residence, floor plans are a common source of
relevant information. For visually impaired people, adequate floor plans are
widely missing. This paper introduces a haptic-audio assistance system, which
is designed and implemented to help visually impaired people to acquire the
layout of novel small-scale apartments. Virtual 2.5-D floor plan models are
made according to -- traditional visual -- floor plans. Haptic force feedback
will be rendered when users explore the virtual model by a PHANToM Omni device.
During the exploration, auditory assistance information about floor plans,
either by speech or by sonification, is invoked by entering into prescribed
areas, which are placed on the inner contour of rooms. Two user studies are
presented which demonstrate the usability of the haptic-audio interface. In
particular, reinforcement and extra positive influence brought by the
employment of multiple modes in audio perception channel is confirmed. Keywords: Spatial Knowledge Acquisition; Virtual Haptics; Haptic-Audio Floor plan;
Sonification | |||
| Mobile Haptic Technology Development through Artistic Exploration | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 31-40 | |
| David Cuartielles; Andreas Göransson; Tony Olsson; Ståle Stenslie | |||
| This paper investigates how artistic explorations can be useful for the
development of mobile haptic technology. It presents an alternative framework
of design for wearable haptics that contributes to the building of haptic
communities outside specialized research contexts. The paper also presents our
various wearable haptic systems for mobile computing capable of producing
high-order tactile percepts. Our practice based approach suggests a design
framework that can be applied to create advanced haptic stimulations/situations
for physically embodied interaction in real-world settings. Keywords: Applied haptics; wearables; bodysuit; haptic and embodied interaction;
haptic resolution; Arduino; Android; mobile haptic systems; online haptics
editor | |||
| Improving Cyclists Training with Tactile Feedback on Feet | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 41-50 | |
| Dominik Bial; Thorsten Appelmann; Enrico Rukzio; Albrecht Schmidt | |||
| This paper explores how tactile feedback can support cyclist in order to
fulfill user-defined training programs. Therefore, actuators are integrated in
cyclists' shoes. The rhythm the cyclist should pedal is communicated via
tactile feedback so that the heart rate is kept in an interval which is, for
example, optimal for increasing stamina. After a preliminary study, which was
used to gather the optimal position for the actuators on feet, a working
prototype of such a system was developed. This prototype was tested in a
preliminary study by two participants in the wild. They were able to understand
the communicated tactile feedback, enjoyed using our system and stated that
they could imagine using such a system regularly. This indicates that
communicating tactile feedback via the user's feet is another application
domain where vibration signals can be of high benefit and can be used to
communicate information to the user as audio or visual information are not
appropriate. Keywords: human computer interaction; tactile feedback; actuators; traffic; mobile
phone; cyclists; prototype | |||
| HapticPulse -- Reveal Your Heart Rate in Physical Activities | | BIBA | Full-Text | 51-60 | |
| Janko Timmermann; Benjamin Poppinga; Susanne Boll; Wilko Heuten | |||
| The heart rate is an objective parameter indicating the current physical activity. Displaying it to the user will help her or him to gain awareness of the physical load during certain activities. Current systems do not use the sense of touch to display the actual heart rate. Using the sense of touch has been shown to be potentially less distracting than using other senses in certain situations. In this paper we describe a system which displays the heart rate of the user using the sense of touch. We conducted a user study in the field with ten participants to collect qualitative and quantitative data, which serves as a guideline for the future improvement of such systems. | |||
| Audio-Haptic Simulation of Walking on Virtual Ground Surfaces to Enhance Realism | | BIBA | Full-Text | 61-70 | |
| Niels C. Nilsson; Rolf Nordahl; Luca Turchet; Stefania Serafin | |||
| In this paper we describe two experiments whose goal is to investigate the role of physics-based auditory and haptic feedback provided at feet level to enhance realism in a virtual environment. To achieve this goal, we designed a multimodal virtual environment where subjects could walk on a platform overlooking a canyon. Subjects were asked to visit the environment wearing an head-mounted display and a custom made pair of sandals enhanced with sensors and actuators. A 12-channels surround sound system delivered a soundscape which was consistent with the visual environment. In the first experiment, passive haptics was provided by having a physical wooden platform present in the laboratory. In the second experiment, no passive haptics was present. In both experiments, subjects reported of having a more realistic experience while auditory and haptic feedback are present. However, measured physiological data and post-experimental presence questionnaire do not show significant differences when audio-haptic feedback is provided. | |||
| Interacting with Deformable User Interfaces: Effect of Material Stiffness and Type of Deformation Gesture | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 71-80 | |
| Johan Kildal | |||
| Deformable User Interfaces (DUIs) are increasingly being proposed for new
tangible and organic interaction metaphors and techniques. To design DUIs, it
is necessary to understand how deforming different materials manually using
different gestures affects performance and user experience. In the study
reported in this paper, three DUIs made of deformable materials with different
levels of stiffness were used in navigation tasks that required bending and
twisting the interfaces. Discrete and continuous deformation gestures were used
in each case. Results showed that the stiffness of the material and the type of
gesture affected performance and user experience in complex ways, but with a
pervading pattern: using discrete gestures in very short navigation distances
and continuous gestures otherwise, plus using lower-stiffness materials in
every case, was beneficial in terms of performance and user experience. Keywords: deformable; organic; tangible; user interface; force; bend; twist; zoom;
scroll; stiffness; gesture; discrete; continuous; performance; UX | |||
| An Interactive and Multi-sensory Learning Environment for Nano Education | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 81-90 | |
| Karljohan Lundin Palmerius; Gunnar Höst; Konrad Schönborn | |||
| Swift scientific advances in the area of nanoscience suggest that
nanotechnology will play an increasingly important role in our everyday lives.
Thus, knowledge of the principles underlying such technologies will inevitably
be required to ensure a skilled industrial workforce. In this paper we describe
the development of a virtual educational environment that allows for various
direct interactive experiences and communication of nanophenomena to pupils and
citizens, ranging from desktops to immersive and multi-sensory platforms. At
the heart of the architecture is a nanoparticle simulator, which simulates
effects such as short-range interaction, flexing of nanotubes and collisions
with the solvent. The environment allows the user to interact with the
particles to examine their behaviour related to fundamental science concepts. Keywords: Learning Environment; Nanoscience concepts; Interaction; Multi-sensory;
Haptics; Audio | |||
| Augmenting Media with Thermal Stimulation | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 91-100 | |
| Martin Halvey; Michael Henderson; Stephen A. Brewster; Graham Wilson; Stephen A. Hughes | |||
| Thermal interfaces are a new area of research in HCI, with one of their main
benefits being the potential to influence emotion. To date, studies
investigating thermal feedback for affective interaction have either provided
concepts and prototypes, or looked at the affective element of thermal stimuli
in isolation. This research is the first to look in-depth at how thermal
stimuli can be used to influence the perception of different media. We
conducted two studies which looked at the effect of thermal stimuli on
subjective emotional responses to media. In the first we presented visual
information designed to evoke emotional responses in conjunction with different
thermal stimuli. In the second we used different methods to present thermal
stimuli in conjunction with music. Our results highlight the possibility of
using thermal stimuli to create more affective interactions in a variety of
media interaction scenarios. Keywords: Thermal; stimulation; emotion; audio; visual; valence; arousal | |||
| Embodied Interactions with Audio-Tactile Virtual Objects in AHNE | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 101-110 | |
| Koray TahiroÄYlu; Johan Kildal; Teemu Ahmaniemi; Simon Overstall; Valtteri Wikström | |||
| Interactive virtual environments are often focused on visual representation.
This study introduces embodied and eyes-free interaction with audio-haptic
navigation environment (AHNE) in a 3-dimensional space. AHNE is based on an
optical tracking algorithm that makes use of Microsoft-Kinect and virtual
objects are presented by dynamic audio-tactile cues. Users are allowed to grab
and move the targets, enabled by a sensor located in a glove. To evaluate AHNE
with users, an experiment was conducted. Users' comments indicated that sound
cues elicited physical and visual experiences. Our findings suggest that AHNE
could be a novel and fun interface to everyday resources in the environment
such as a home audio system in the living room or a shopping list by fridge. Keywords: AHNE; Audio-haptic; non-visual; embodied interaction; 3D UI; Reality Based
Interaction; augmented reality | |||
| Towards an Objective Comparison of Scanning-Based Interaction Techniques | | BIBA | Full-Text | 111-120 | |
| Benjamin Poppinga; Martin Pielot; Wilko Heuten; Susanne Boll | |||
| The direction where a user points a mobile phone to can be measured with the phone's integrated compass. Pointing over time and with varying direction is often referred to as "scanning", which is an emerging interaction technique and increasingly applied in the field of mobile navigation and orientation. Because there is no need to look at the screen while scanning, often haptic or audio feedback is used. In fact there exist several different scanning-based interaction concepts. However, until now it is impossible to analyse and compare these techniques systematically to identify the best concept for a certain scenario. In this paper we investigated how our own Tactile Compass scanning technique has been used in a field study. Based on our observations we identified a set of measures, which we propose to become a standard set for the analysis and comparison of scan-based interaction techniques. We further argue that our contribution may be beneficial for the creation of guidelines and support designers in selecting a proper scan-based interaction technique. | |||
| Knocking Sound as Quality Sign for Household Appliances and the Evaluation of the Audio-Haptic Interaction | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 121-130 | |
| M. Ercan Altinsoy | |||
| It has been known for a long time in the automobile industry that the first
contact between the customer and a car in the showroom consists of opening the
door, sitting in the car and closing the door. Therefore, the sounds of the
door opening and closing are carefully designed to invoke feelings of high
quality and safety in the customer. Of course, the vehicle's operating noises
are equally crucial to the perception of overall quality.
The operating noises of household appliances have gained increasing importance because these noises can negatively or positively influence our daily life. When shopping, customers consider the sound power level of the household appliance provided by the manufacturers. In most cases, it is not possible to listen to the machine in operation. However, a common practice of customers is to knock the sidewalls or open and close the doors of the machine. The knocking sound carries information about the quality and solidity of the product and its material properties. The perception of the knocking sound is normally coupled to a tactile/kinesthetic impression of the knocking event. The aims of this study are to identify the perceptually important features of the knocking sound that affect the impression of quality, define the guidelines for a target sound, make suggestions regarding structural modifications to realize the target sound, and investigate the interaction between auditory and haptic stimuli in the overall product-quality assessment. To achieve these aims, experiments with unimodal and multimodal stimulus presentations were conducted. The results showed that an optimal knocking sound is dull, moderately loud, atonal, and has no distinctive long-lasting frequency components, particularly at high frequencies. A quality index was proposed based on psychoacoustic metrics. The physical coupling between the sound and the vibrations causes that both sensory cues have similar effects on perceived quality. Keywords: Household appliances; vibration of plates; product sound quality; impulsive
sounds; auditory-haptic interaction | |||
| Spectral Discrimination Thresholds Comparing Audio and Haptics for Complex Stimuli | | BIBA | Full-Text | 131-140 | |
| Lorenzo Picinali; Christopher Feakes; Davide A. Mauro; Brian F. G. Katz | |||
| Individuals with normal hearing are generally able to discriminate auditory stimuli that have the same fundamental frequency but different spectral content. This study concerns to what extent it is possible to perform the same differentiation considering vibratory tactile stimuli. Three perceptual experiments have been carried out in an attempt to compare discrimination thresholds in terms of spectral differences between auditory and vibratory tactile stimulations. The first test consists of assessing the subject's ability in discriminating between three signals with distinct spectral content. The second test focuses on the measurement of the discrimination threshold between a pure tone signal and a signal composed of two pure tones, varying the amplitude and frequency of the second tone. Finally, in the third test the discrimination threshold is measured between a tone with even harmonic components and a tone with odd ones. The results show that it is indeed possible to discriminate between haptic signals having the same fundamental frequency but different spectral. The threshold of sensitivity for detection is markedly less than for audio stimuli. | |||
| How Does Representation Modality Affect User-Experience of Data Artifacts? | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 141-151 | |
| Trevor Hogan; Eva Hornecker | |||
| We present a study that explores people's affective responses when
experiencing data represented through different modalities. In particular, we
are interested in investigating how data representations that address
haptic/tactile and sonic perception are experienced. We describe the creation
of a number of data-driven artifacts that all represent the same dataset. In
taking a phenomenological approach to our analysis, we used the Repertory Grid
Technique (RGT) during a group session to elicit participant's personal
constructs, which are used to describe and compare these artifacts. Our
analysis examines these, traces the emergence of one exemplary personal
construct and highlights other emergent themes. Our findings consist of a
number of elicited constructs that illuminate how the affective qualities of
data driven artifacts relate to the type of modality in use. Keywords: Data Representation; Modality; Phenomenology; Repertory Grid Technique;
User-Experience | |||