Paper Reading #11: Hands-on math: a page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving

Comments


Reference
Title: Hands-on math: a page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving
Author: Robert Zeleznik, Andrew Bragdon, Ferdi Adeputra, and Hsu-Sheng Ko
Venue: UIST '10 Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology

Summary
This paper details the use of multi-touch technology in teaching algebra. Students use a stylus to write equations, which they can then manipulate using a touch screen interface. Dragging to terms in an equation together will simplify them, while moving a term to the other side of an equation will either add/subtract it, or divide/multiply as appropriate. Additionally, users can create multiple pages and access them like they would on a real table.

Discussion
I liked this idea, as I know my work has a tendency to be hard to read when I am working math problems, especially if I make mistakes. This system would of course not allow students to make mistakes, but it would also keep the work tidy. Unfortunately in its current form the technology is really only applicable to high school students, as algebra is very basic math (even basic calculus is second nature to most computer oriented majors I think). I suspect that for this technology to have an impact on college level math or even Jr and Senior level high school math that the software will have to evolve significantly. It would be interesting however if the table was able to incorporate elements from say matlab along with text recognition from a stylus in order to make an easy to use interface capable of advanced calculus and Laplace/Fourier transforms. Such technology would be applicable even in the business environment.

Design of Everyday Things (Complete)

Summary
Donald Norman explains common misconceptions regarding the design of everyday items. These range from microwaves, to VCRs, and even simple doors. The author explains that it is the designer's job to ensure products are intuitive and obvious to the user. Prime examples of where design fails include doors that are perfectly symmetrical, so that users cannot tell which way they swing open. To better understand how such seemingly simple designs fail, the author also discusses human memory and concepts such as natural mapping. Norman suggests that designs should make things visible, allow users to easily determine their state, and communicate possible actions to the user easily. Using the example of a VCR, all of the controls should be clearly labeled and obvious. If the VCR is in a particular state, such as if it was recording, this should also be obvious, and finally the possible actions should be apparent, such as pausing or stopping the device. When these things are contrasted to real VCRs, most of these conditions are not met.

Discussion
I enjoyed this book most of all because it was interesting, but also because the concepts inside it are genuinely important concepts frequently overlooked by designers. As technology becomes more complex, designers have a tendency to pass that complexity on to the user. This approach is poor however, as users hardly have the time or ability to become familiar with every piece of technology in the world. If you design doors or light switches for public locations, it should be your goal that no one notices your design at all.

Paper Reading #10: PhoneTouch: A Technique for Direct Phone Interaction on Surfaces

Comments:


Reference:
Title: PhoneTouch: A Technique for Direct Phone Interaction on Surfaces
Author: Dominik Schmidt, Fadi Chehimi, Enrico Rukzio, and Hans Gellersen
Venue: UIST '10 Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology

Summary
This paper discusses a technique the authors term 'PhoneTouch', which allows users to use their phones as a pointer or stylus on an interactive table. The table is similar to a light table, but uses a projector underneath instead of a light. Contact with the table is determined using a camera. Images are ran though several filters, so that the program can easily verify if a phone or a finger touched the table. Phones communicate with the table using Bluetooth.

Discussion
Although the image processing used in this project has potential, I think the idea to use phones is poor. . You could easily use any other object to preform these tasks, including your fingers. Of course the paper does explain the use of fingers and phones together to form a more complex method of communication, but I don't really see the need. You can preform just about any task necessary on a normal touch screen without requiring multiple types of pointers, and even if you did, finding a way to simply distinguish different fingers from each other would be much more useful. A large part of the project was also displaying the contents of the phone on the table. This is a good idea, but it does not require you to use your phone as a pointer. At its most basic level, this project is just a computer wirelessly reading data off of phones and displaying it on a touch screen, which is far from innovative.

As I mentioned previously, I do think that the projection style interface using a camera to check for contact has potential though. Touch screen are still expensive, especially large ones, and this technology could be used to make large tables that would be useful in conferences, or even just dynamic user interfaces. For example, you could design a table that would function as a keyboard and mouse, but could double as an additional display/touchscreen as well.

Paper Reading #9: Imaginary interfaces: spatial interaction with empty hands and without visual feedback

Reference
Title: Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback
Author: Sean Gustafson, Daniel Bierwirth, Patrick Baudisch
Venue: UIST '10 Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology

Summary
This article is about "imaginary interfaces", or interfaces without visual feedback. Additionally, in the examples given in the article, there is no physical interaction with the device by the user either. Instead, the device monitors hand movements and determines what command the user is trying to convey. These commands are manifested by drawing with one hand, while using your other hand to anchor the virtual space. This gives the device a point of reference. The article states that users had some difficulty with remembering the different gestures they needed to make to accomplish things, as they have no visual cues to aid memory.


Discussion
I thought this article was really interesting, but it also has limited potential. This potential could be easily rectified with the addition of a visual interface possibly in the form of a projection. This would of course be counterproductive with regards to what the authors are attempting to research, but without a visual aid the system will be limited to simply applications. For example, this could have real application in cell phones and music players as a hands off alternative, but these devices are likely to still require a visual interface that users can use for more complicated tasks.


All things considered, I think voice recognition has a larger potential than this system. Voice recognition relies on our already huge vocabulary, where as this system essentially requires users to learn a new language. With the addition of a visual aid there could be some application as a replacement for keyboards on computers.

Week 2: Ethnography Results

This week both myself and Angel rode different routes. I made observations on route 31, shown below:

Observations

• Most people avoid talking when on the way to class, although this can vary if they know other commuters.
• Commuters on the return trip from campus made much more use of their cell phones to have conversations and text.
• The majority of people on the bus had class materials with them.
• Very few people eat on my bus route.

I have yet to ride this route either very early or very late, so my observations are very narrow in scope currently. I hope to make more observations at different times, and to gather more quantitative data.

Paper Reading #8: Early Explorations of CAT

Reference
Title: Early Explorations of CAT: Canine Amusement and Training
Author: Chadwick Wingrave, Todd Langston, Jeremy Rose and Joseph LaViola Jr.
Venue: CHI 2010, April 10-15

Summary:
This article is about how improvements in technology can be applied to other species, specifically dogs. The authors theorize that using computers to help train and entertain dogs will improve the canine-human bond. This project included a projector mounted on the ceiling to project different colored circles on the floor, and a tracking device attacked to the dog. The human can then select one of several modes to play the game. These modes are focused mostly on basic training, such as teaching your dog to come to you or stay.


Discussion:
I thought the whole thing was a bit silly. Training dogs is much less expensive when you use a bag of treats. Furthermore, the colored circles are largely pointless for the dog, as dogs can't see color, so they only server a visual aid to the human. Additionally, I'm not really sure why they didn't just place a couple circular colored mats on the floor. Its possible they wanted to keep the whole project electronic, but if you expect your system to make it into the consumer market, you can't expect everyone to put a projector on their ceiling.

Ethnography Proposal

The Culture of Public Transportation

For the subject of this ethnography we intend to study the culture surrounding public transportation services. A&M in particular has an intricate culture embedded in the bus network. Unlike similar services, the one provided by A&M is free to everyone in the Bryan-College Station area, making this culture even more dynamic.

While the most obvious use of the A&M bus system is for students to transit between home and classes, the bus system is used for a large number of other activities. These other activities are the main interest of this ethnography, but the focus of the ethnography is intended to be left open ended. This is important, as it will help us to avoid biasing our methodologies To this end, we hope to make objective observations on the culture of different bus routes. Following periods of study, we will attempt to draw conclusions from the data as opposed to forming goals prior to these experiences.

In order to better study this culture, we intend to sit in on a variety of different bus routes at different times of day. Considerations worthy of mention would include bus routes that travel to significant locations (besides campus) such as North gate, the mall, or the grocery store. In addition, the culture present on some of these routes may vary significantly at different times of day. To address this, we also intend to ride the routes during various times on the weekend, and later at night.

Our group intends to collect quantitative data out of observations that are of particular interest to our ethnography. As we will describe in the qualitative data section of this proposal, our intentions are to monitor student activities that are not necessarily related to school. With that in mind, we are interesting in knowing the amount of people who ride the bus to school, and people who ride the bus to other destinations. We are interested in knowing how many commuters use their phone instead of engaging in face to face social activities. Other observations will include determining the number of grocery shoppers and the number people eating on the bus. Despite all these early ideas, it is important to mention that our research will be tailored by our commuting experience.

The qualitative data for this ethnography will involve observing the environment and describing the overall mood. This will include taking notes on how friendly the passengers are, how they are dressed, and possibly ethnic backgrounds relating different bus routes. We want to take notes on how the times (morning, noon, and afternoon) of the bus routes affect people. For example, do people only eat in the mornings? Are people more likely to engage in conversations at night? All these ideas will compose our qualitative data.