Interactive Vector Field Feature Identification

We introduce a flexible technique for interactive exploration of vector field data through classification derived from user-specified feature templates. Our method is founded on the observation that, while similar features within the vector field may be spatially disparate, they share similar neighborhood characteristics. Users generate feature-based visualizations by interactively highlighting well-accepted and domain specific representative feature points. Feature exploration begins with the computation of attributes that describe the neighborhood of each sample within the input vector field. Compilation of these attributes forms a representation of the vector field samples in the attribute space. We project the attribute points onto the canonical 2D plane to enable interactive exploration of the vector field using a painting interface. The projection encodes the similarities between vector field points within the distances computed between their associated attribute points. The proposed method is performed at interactive rates for enhanced user experience and is completely flexible as showcased by the simultaneous identification of diverse feature types.

Rapid prototyping of ubiquitous computing environments

Ubiquitous computing raises new usability challenges that cut across design and development. We are particularly interested in environments enhanced with sensors, public displays and personal devices. How can prototypes be used to explore the users' mobility and interaction, both explicitly and implicitly, to access services within these environments? Because of the potential cost of development and design failure, these systems must be explored using early assessment techniques and versions of the systems that could disrupt if deployed in the target environment. These techniques are required to evaluate alternative solutions before making the decision to deploy the system on location. This is crucial for a successful development, that anticipates potential user problems, and reduces the cost of redesign. This thesis reports on the development of a framework for the rapid prototyping and analysis of ubiquitous computing environments that facilitates the evaluation of design alternatives. It describes APEX, a framework that brings together an existing 3D Application Server with a modelling tool. APEX-based prototypes enable users to navigate a virtual world simulation of the envisaged ubiquitous environment. By this means users can experience many of the features of the proposed design. Prototypes and their simulations are generated in the framework to help the developer understand how the user might experience the system. These are supported through three different layers: a simulation layer (using a 3D Application Server); a modelling layer (using a modelling tool) and a physical layer (using external devices and real users). APEX allows the developer to move between these layers to evaluate different features. It supports exploration of user experience through observation of how users might behave with the system as well as enabling exhaustive analysis based on models. The models support checking of properties based on patterns. These patterns are based on ones that have been used successfully in interactive system analysis in other contexts. They help the analyst to generate and verify relevant properties. Where these properties fail then scenarios suggested by the failure provide an important aid to redesign.

Seven stories: location based story-delivery system

Location aware content-based experiences have a substantial tradition in HCI, several projects over the last two decades have explored the association of digital media to specific locations or objects. However, a large portion of the literature has little focus on the creative side of designing of the experience and on the iterative process of user evaluations. In this thesis we present two iterations in the design and evaluation of a location based story delivery system (LBSDS), inspired by local folklore and oral storytelling in Madeira. We started by testing an already existing location based story platform, PlaceWear, with short multimedia clips that recounted local traditions and folktales, to this experience we called iLand. An initial evaluation of iLand, was conducted; we shadowed users during the experience and then they responded to a questionnaire. By analyzing the evaluation results we uncovered several issues that informed the redesign of the system itself as well as part of the story content. The outcome of this re design was the 7Stories experience. In the new experience we performed the integration of visual markers in the interface and the framing of the fragmented story content through the literary technique of the narrator. This was done aiming to improving the connection of the audience to the physical context where the experience is delivered. The 7Stories experience was evaluated following a similar methodology to the iLand evaluation but the user’s experience resulted considerably different; because of the same setting for the experience in both versions and the constancy of the most of the content across the two versions we were able to assess the specific effect of the new design and discuss its strengths and shortcomings. Although we did not run a formal and strict comparative test between the two evaluations, it is evident from the collected data how the specific design changes to our LBSDS influenced the user experience.

De touch: extending service channels in an airport through touch technologies

This project aimed to create a communication and interaction channel between Madeira Airport and its passengers. We used the pre-existent touch enabled screens at the terminal since their potential was not being utilised to their full capacity. To achieve our goal, we have followed an agile strategy to create a testable prototype and take advantages of its results. The developed prototype is based on a plugin architecture turning it into a maintainable and highly customisable system. The collected usage data suggests that we have achieved the initially defined goals. There is no doubt that this new interaction channel is an improvement regarding the provided services and, supported by the usage data, there is an opportunity to explore additional developments to the channel.

Quantifying epistemic actions in human-computer interaction

As digital systems move away from traditional desktop setups, new interaction paradigms are emerging that better integrate with users’ realworld surroundings, and better support users’ individual needs. While promising, these modern interaction paradigms also present new challenges, such as a lack of paradigm-specific tools to systematically evaluate and fully understand their use. This dissertation tackles this issue by framing empirical studies of three novel digital systems in embodied cognition – an exciting new perspective in cognitive science where the body and its interactions with the physical world take a central role in human cognition. This is achieved by first, focusing the design of all these systems on a contemporary interaction paradigm that emphasizes physical interaction on tangible interaction, a contemporary interaction paradigm; and second, by comprehensively studying user performance in these systems through a set of novel performance metrics grounded on epistemic actions, a relatively well established and studied construct in the literature on embodied cognition. The first system presented in this dissertation is an augmented Four-in-a-row board game. Three different versions of the game were developed, based on three different interaction paradigms (tangible, touch and mouse), and a repeated measures study involving 36 participants measured the occurrence of three simple epistemic actions across these three interfaces. The results highlight the relevance of epistemic actions in such a task and suggest that the different interaction paradigms afford instantiation of these actions in different ways. Additionally, the tangible version of the system supports the most rapid execution of these actions, providing novel quantitative insights into the real benefits of tangible systems. The second system presented in this dissertation is a tangible tabletop scheduling application. Two studies with single and paired users provide several insights into the impact of epistemic actions on the user experience when these are performed outside of a system’s sensing boundaries. These insights are clustered by the form, size and location of ideal interface areas for such offline epistemic actions to occur, as well as how can physical tokens be designed to better support them. Finally, and based on the results obtained to this point, the last study presented in this dissertation directly addresses the lack of empirical tools to formally evaluate tangible interaction. It presents a video-coding framework grounded on a systematic literature review of 78 papers, and evaluates its value as metric through a 60 participant study performed across three different research laboratories. The results highlight the usefulness and power of epistemic actions as a performance metric for tangible systems. In sum, through the use of such novel metrics in each of the three studies presented, this dissertation provides a better understanding of the real impact and benefits of designing and developing systems that feature tangible interaction.

Arquitetura para aplicações interativas imersivas de televisão digital

In this work, we propose a new approach to Interactive Digital Television (IDTV), aimed to explore the concepts of immersivity. Several architectures have been proposed to IDTV, but they did not explore coherently questions related to immersion. The goal of this thesis consists in defining formally what is immersion and interactivity for digital TV and how they may be used to improve user experience in this new televisive model. The approach raises questions such as the appropriate choice of equipment to assist in the sense of immersion, which forms of interaction between users can be exploited in the interaction-immersion context, if the environment where an immersive and interactive application is used can influence the user experience, and which new forms of interactivity between users, and interactivity among users and interactive applications can be explored with the use of immersion. As one of the goals of this proposal, we point out new solutions to these issues that require further studies. We intend to formalize the concepts that embrace interactivity in the brazilian system of digital TV. In an initial study, this definition is organized into categories or levels of interactivity. From this point are made analisis and specifications to achieve immersion using DTV. We pretend to make some case studies of immersive interactive applications for digital television in order to validate the proposed architecture. We also approach the use of remote devices anda proposal of middleware architecture that allows its use in conjunction with immersive interactive applications

Marcadores da organização do padrão discursivo narrativo: uma abordagem funcional centrada no uso

This thesis has as its object the Markers Organization Standard Narrative Discourse (MON), from its occurrence in oral and written corpora of different realizations of narrative discourse, considering its locus of occurrence in the narrative and discursive functioning. The research is guided by the Functional Linguistic Usage-Based, approach to which the organization of language is directly linked to the user experience, so that grammar is shaped by discourse. We examined only the narrative portions of Experience Reports, Tales and Legends in the oral and written, as follows: 3 inquiries Corpus Reports Remaining Quilombo (RN); 11 Corpus Legends legends of the Amazon, 14 Tales of Corpus Tales Brazilians and 21 Reports of experiences of Corpus and Discourse Grammar, with about 10,000 words in each corpus. A total of 22 markers were identified, which were: (1) classified according to the locus of occurrence in the narrative structure, as Labov (1972), (2) associated, according to the type of pattern that occur in narrative discourse, (3) described from the discursive function they perform. The research has relevance to the extent it is based speech analysis and offers proposals for productive teaching of mother tongue in which students and teachers can, grounded in language studies, consider living language, as an object of study, based on the National Curriculum Guidelines (OCN) and making use of New Technologies of Information and Communication (NTIC)

Social TV: um estudo exploratório sobre a experiência do usuário

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC

O uso de dois websites de compras on-line por usuários acima de 50 anos (older users): estudo de caso

Pós-graduação em Design - FAAC

Análise de handover a partir do uso de femtocells em redes LTE: abordagem baseada em simulação discreta

O volume de tráfego de dados em redes celulares está crescendo exponencialmente. A explosão do uso de dispositivos e aplicações móveis nos últimos anos, tem levado a uma sobrecarga da infraestrutura da rede responsável pelo escoamento desse tráfego, afetando tanto o desempenho da rede quanto a experiência do usuário. Um dos elementos-chave nas redes LTE (Long Term Evolution) é a possibilidade de implantação de múltiplas femtocells para a melhoria de cobertura e taxa de dados. No entanto, as sobreposições arbitrárias na cobertura dessas células tornam a gestão do mecanismo de handover complexo e desafiador. Nesse sentido, esta dissertação propõe uma metodologia para o estudo do impacto do handover em redes LTE com femtocells. A partir de uma abordagem de simulação discreta, os efeitos da implantação de femtocells foram avaliados. Objetivou-se com isso, mensurar os impactos e a correlação do uso de femtocell nos parâmetros de QoS (Quality of Service) e indicadores de desempenho de handover.

Brands Analysis Using Informational Ergonomics Concepts: A Proposal

Currently, a lot of visual information present in all media is form vehemently, for example, in print media and interfaces used for publicity in conjunction with informational design. This visual information has great influence in the life of human beings, since the vision of these individuals is the most used sense. Studies on visual identity have not explored this issue in a satisfactory manner, favoring thus the subject of this small development projects in the area. It is noted the need for analyzes to enable implementation principles of project, making them accessible to the comprehension of most individuals. This study aimed to propose an evaluation of visual identities, which were analyzed by means of visual concepts of usability, design methodologies and Gestalt. We contacted design firms specialized in visual identity projects, places where interviews were conducted to collect the brands allowed for analysis. The results point to a frequent demand for the employment of visual usability principles, design methodologies and Gestalt design in visual identities.

Design e inovação em contexto de ensino-aprendizagem

This paper presents part of the results of a post-doctoral research project which is called "Hypermedia Design involved with the User Experience". The discussion will be undertaken in this article assumes that the use of a hypermedia environment facing the field of Design can facilitate the process of teaching and learning in an undergraduate degree in Design. The theme that guides the paper of the following question: if the education and training in design does not allow access, involvement and knowledge of the technologies in its primary base that practitioners and researchers are forming for the near future? For both this study focuses on the use of a digital environment by reporting of an experiment of using hypermedia digital book "Design, Education and Technology" as a teaching tool in undergraduate courses in design, results and notes on issues involving interactivity and user experience. The methodology has a qualitative bias, developed along the lines of exploratory research in the form of a case study, lectures, and workshops for the dynamic observation, a questionnaire and analysis of results were applied

As contribuições do uso de infográficos, Storytelling e Mapas Mentais em vídeo na Educação a Distância: exemplo de aplicação na plataforma Já Entendi ENEM

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC