Virtual reality interaction techniques

This paper addresses the problems associated with interaction in immersive virtual reality and makes recommendations as to how best to deal with these problems, thereby producing a usable virtual reality interactive environment. Immersive virtual reality means that the users are immersed or contained inside the environment in which they are working. For example, they are able to turn their heads and look around, as well as use their bodies to control the system.

The work in progress involves a study of various virtual reality input devices, some designed and implemented as part of the project. Additionally, the paper describes a simple framework for separation of the interaction and application parts of a virtual reality system in order to facilitate an object oriented approach to the implementation of the recommendations, and to the building of future virtual reality applications which incorporate these ideas.

UGI: a multi-dimensional ultrasonic-based interaction approach

We are currently witnessing an era where interaction with computers is no longer limited to conventional methods (i.e. keyboard and mouse). Human Computer Interaction (HCI) as a progressive field of research, has opened up alternatives to the traditional interaction techniques. Embedded Infrared (IR) sensors, Accelerometers and RGBD cameras have become common inputs for devices to recognize gestures and body movements. These sensors are vision based and as a result the devices that incorporate them will be reliant on presence of light. Ultrasonic sensors on the other hand do not suffer this limitation as they utilize properties of sound waves. These sensors however, have been mainly used for distance detection and not with HCI devices. This paper presents our approach in developing a multi-dimensional interaction input method and tool Ultrasonic Gesture-based Interaction (UGI) that utilizes ultrasonic sensors. We demonstrate how these sensors can detect object movements and recognize gestures. We present our approach in building the device and demonstrate sample interactions with it. We have also conducted a user study to evaluate our tool and its distance and micro gesture detection accuracy. This paper reports these results and outlines our future work in the area.

Reducing the risk of abandonment of assistive technologies for people with autism

This paper reports on an investigation that found that conventional techniques for including users in technology design are likely to fail if the user has autism. The heterogeneity of autistic symptomatology across cognitive, social, behavioural and communication domains suggests a 'single user' environment, while rendering typical design interaction techniques meaningless, making the need for assistive technologies great, and the risk of abandonment high. This complex problem of urgency and constraint was addressed through a Delphi study with a panel of psychologists critiquing design activities for people with autism. The major finding is that while each of the activities may work if modified, all require that the designer is well acquainted with autism in general and has a close working relationship based on trust with the individual user. If these requirements are met, there is no reason that the abandonment rate cannot be reduced.

3D virtual haptic cone for intuitive vehicle motion control

Haptic human-machine interfaces and interaction techniques have been shown to offer advantages over conventional approaches. This work introduces the 3D virtual haptic cone with the aim of improving human remote control of a vehicle's motion. The 3D cone introduces a third dimension to the haptic control surface over existing approaches. This approach improves upon existing methods by providing the human operator with an intuitive method for issuing vehicle motion commands whilst simultaneously receiving real-time haptic information from the remote system. The presented approach offers potential across many applications, and as a case study, this work considers the approach in the context of mobile robot motion control. The performance of the approach in providing the operator with improved motion controllability is evaluated and the performance improvement determined.

Multipoint haptic mediator interface for robotic teleoperation

Despite recent advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics, teleoperation can provide distinct benefits in applications requiring real-time human judgement and intuition. However, as robotic systems are increasingly becoming sophisticated and are performing more complex tasks, realizing these benefits requires new approaches to teleoperation. This paper introduces a novel haptic mediator interface for teleoperating mobile robotic platforms that have a variety of manipulators and functions. Identical master-slave bilateral teleoperation of the robotic manipulators is achieved by representing them in virtual reality and by allowing the operator to interact with them using a multipoint haptic device. The operator is also able to command motions to the mobile platform by using a novel haptic interaction metaphor rather than a separate dedicated input device. The presented interaction techniques enable the operator to perform a wide range of control functions and achieve functionality similar to that of conventional teleoperation schemes that use a single haptic interface. The mediator interface is presented, and important considerations such as workspace mapping and scaling are discussed. © 2015 IEEE.

The miscibility of poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) with amphiphilic molecules and the interaction of their mixtures with DNA at air/water interface

The miscibility of poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) with three amphiphilic molecules and the interaction of the PLG/surfactant mixtures with DNA at air/water interface are investigated by π-A isotherms, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The π-A isotherms of the PLG mixtures with cationic C12AzoC6PyBr, and C12AzoC6N(CH3)3Br, are quite different from the π-A isotherm of pure PLG on water subphase. In contrast to the case, the π-A isotherm of PLG mixed with nonionic C12AzoC6OPy is almost identical to the pure PLG except some increasing of molecular area. Similar phenomena are observed on DNA subphase. The in situ BAM and ex situ AFM observations demonstrate that the dispersion of PLG at air/water interface becomes good when it mixes with the two cationic surfactants, whereas quite poor due to the phase separation when it mixes with the nonionic amphiphilic molecule. Based on these results we conclude that the cationic surfactants can affect the conformation change of PLG at air/water interface and figure a well miscibility with polymer whereas the nonionic amphiphilic molecule presents poor miscibility. In addition, the even mixing of the PLG and the cationic surfactants is favorable for the adsorption to DNA more effectively.

Data-based dynamic haptic interaction model with deformable 3D objects

The data-based modeling of the haptic interaction simulation is a growing trend in research. These techniques offer a quick alternative to parametric modeling of the simulation. So far, most of the use of the data-based techniques was applied to static simulations. This paper introduces how to use data-based model in dynamic simulations. This ensures realistic behavior and produce results that are very close to parametric modeling. The results show that a quick and accurate response can be achieved using the proposed methods.

Comparison of automated classification techniques for predicting benthic biological communities using hydroacoustics and video observations

The effective management of our marine ecosystems requires the capability to identify, characterise and predict the distribution of benthic biological communities within the overall seascape architecture. The rapid expansion of seabed mapping studies has seen an increase in the application of automated classification techniques to efficiently map benthic habitats, and the need of techniques to assess confidence of model outputs. We use towed video observations and 11 seafloor complexity variables derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter to predict the distribution of 8 dominant benthic biological communities in a 54 km² site, off the central coast of Victoria, Australia. The same training and evaluation datasets were used to compare the accuracies of a Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and two new generation decision tree methods, QUEST (Quick Unbiased Efficient Statistical Tree) and CRUISE (Classification Rule with Unbiased Interaction Selection and Estimation), for predicting dominant biological communities. The QUEST classifier produced significantly better results than CRUISE and MLC model runs, with an overall accuracy of 80% (Kappa 0.75). We found that the level of accuracy with the size of training set varies for different algorithms. The QUEST results generally increased in a linear fashion, CRUISE performed well with smaller training data sets, and MLC performed least favourably overall, generating anomalous results with changes to training size. We also demonstrate how predicted habitat maps can provide insights into habitat spatial complexity on the continental shelf. Significant variation between patch-size and habitat types and significant correlations between patch size and depth were also observed.

A formal model of mixed-initiative interaction in design exploration

Computer-based environments for supporting design are complex software artifacts. These tools need to use sound computational formalisms as well as address issues of human usability. The development of interactive and usable generative systems is a significant research area in design computation. Though classical search techniques play a central role in the generative kernels of these "closed-world" systems, the open-ended exploration of design spaces is the desirable goal. In this paper, we present a formal model of exploration that combines search with user driven exploration. We describe the role of interaction and agency in an experimental mixed-initiative design support system.

An Intelligent Human-Computer Interaction System for Decision Support

This paper proposes a novel architecture for
developing decision support systems. Unlike conventional decision support systems, the proposed architecture endeavors to reveal the decision-making process such that humans' subjectivity can be
incorporated into a computerized system and, at the same time, to
preserve the capability of the computerized system in processing information objectively. A number of techniques used in developing the decision support system are elaborated to make the decisionmarking
process transparent. These include procedures for high dimensional data visualization, pattern classification, prediction, and evolutionary computational search. An artificial data set is first
employed to compare the proposed approach with other methods. A simulated handwritten data set and a real data set on liver disease diagnosis are then employed to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed
approach. The results are analyzed and discussed. The potentials of the proposed architecture as a useful decision support system are demonstrated.

Behavior change techniques used to promote walking and cycling : a systematic review

Objective: Evidence on the effectiveness of walking and cycling interventions is mixed. This may be partly attributable to differences in intervention content, such as the cognitive and behavioral techniques (BCTs) used. Adopting a taxonomy of BCTs, this systematic review addressed two questions: (a) What are the behavior change techniques used in walking and cycling interventions targeted at adults? (b) What characterizes interventions that appear to be associated with changes in walking and cycling in adults?

Method: Previous systematic reviews and updated database searches were used to identify controlled studies of individual-level walking and cycling interventions involving adults. Characteristics of intervention design, context, and methods were extracted in addition to outcomes. Intervention content was independently coded according to a 26-item taxonomy of BCTs.

Results: Studies of 46 interventions met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one reported a statistically significant effect on walking and cycling outcomes. Analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity in the vocabulary used to describe intervention content and the number of BCTs coded. “Prompt self-monitoring of behavior” and “prompt intention formation” were the most frequently coded BCTs.

Conclusion: Future walking and cycling intervention studies should ensure that all aspects of the intervention are reported in detail. The findings lend support to the inclusion of self-monitoring and intention formation techniques in future walking and cycling intervention design, although further exploration of these and other BCTs is required. Further investigation of the interaction between BCTs and study design characteristics would also be desirable.