The following technical report is available from
http://aib.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:
Scrolling Through Time: Improving Interfaces for Searching and Navigating
Continuous Audio Timelines
Eric Lee, Henning Kiel, Jan Borchers
AIB 2006-17
Existing work has produced a variety of techniques to improve interfaces
for navigating an audio timeline. These interfaces typically map user
input to either a change in play rate, or playback position. Audio
feedback while scrolling at arbitrary rates can be provided by: skipping
immediately to the new position in the audio; resampling the audio, which
introduces pitch-shifts; timestretching the audio to preserve the pitch;
or not at all. We conducted a series of user studies to examine the
effects of input and feedback type on targeting performance. Position
control was found to be, on average, 15-19% faster than rate control
when searching for targets 90 to 100 seconds away in the audio timeline.
Time-stretching was found to be the best choice in most scenarios, but
skipping, and, for specific user groups, resampling, should be used for
precise targeting tasks where the audio play rate falls below one-tenth
nominal speed.
The following technical report is available from
http://aib.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:
Selexels: a Conceptual Framework for Pointing Devices with Low Expressiveness
Rafael Ballagas, Jan Borchers
AIB 2006-16
As human-computer interaction extends beyond the desktop, the need emerges
for new input devices and interaction techniques. However, many novel
interaction techniques must be prototyped in a proof-of-concept form,
and can suffer from low expressiveness: their ability to convey the
intended meaning is limited. We present a new conceptual framework based
on selexels that allows application designers to match the expressiveness
of the user interface to that of the input device. This allows the user
interface to provide a fluid user experience despite the limitations
of the input device. A user study validates the framework, shows that
selexel-based pointing tasks can be modeled using Fitts' Law, and provides
insights for structuring evaluations of prototype input devices.
The following technical report is available from
http://aib.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:
Utilizing optical sensors from mice for new input devices
Sebastian Ullrich, Jakob T. Valvoda, Torsten Kuhlen
AIB 2006-15
This paper introduces approaches towards the development of intuitive
input devices built with optical sensors from mice. The two main ideas
are spatial reconfiguration of the sensor and advanced interpretation of
the sensor data. We present new concepts for various input devices that
are easy to rebuild. A prototype for kinematics manipulation of virtual
characters has been constructed and algorithms for data interpretation
have been implemented and evaluated.