Paper Reading #15: Madgets: actuating widgets on interactive tabletops

• Title:
• Madgets: actuating widgets on interactive tabletops
• Reference Information:
• Malte Weiss, Florian Schwarz, Simon Jakubowski, and Jan Borchers. 2010. Madgets: actuating widgets on interactive tabletops.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  293-302. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866075 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866075
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Malte Weiss is a 4th year PhD student at Media Computing Group.  Just three days ago, on September 26, Weiss returned from an internship at Microsoft Research Cambridge.
• Florian Schwarz is affiliated with the RWTH Aachen University.  This was his first research paper published through the ACM.
• Simon Jakubowski is affiliated with the RWTH Aachen University. This is his first publication through the ACM but has been cited before.
• Jan Borchersan assistant professor at Stanford University.  Received PhD in 2000 from Darmstadt University of Technology.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• Researchers hypothesized that they could create small, lightweight physical widgets which would be placed on top of an interactive touch display that could modify the position of the widget as well as other properties about it.   
• Methods
• To realize this idea, researchers attached several magnets to the widgets and added an array of electromagnets below the display.  By utilizing infrared reflectors and sensors, the system is able to determine both the location as well as classification of various widget (by comparing them to a database with their stored information).  My changing the polarity and strength of the magnets beneath the display, the physical widget on top can be translated across the surface.  Additional magnets can be integrated with the widget to allow for other properties, such as physical radio buttons (that raise and lower) or an alarm system using a bell (with the magnet hitting it to make noise).
• Results
• The researchers were able to construct their prototype as well as several different widgets.  The widgets do not take long to physically build when using a laser cutter.  The time to actually enter the new widget into the database was greater, at about two hours.  The design team is working on designing an application that will expedite that process, allowing for rapid prototyping of new madgets. 
• Contents
• The researchers paper presented Madgets, a method for integrating physical objects with the virtual world.  A key aspect of this research is that both the physical users interacting with the system as well as the system itself can modify properties of the madgets.  The system is designed  in such a way that the madgets can perform physical tasks apart from moving across the surface, such as ringing bells or acting as physical buttons.  Additionally, they can be expanded to perform even more comlpex tasks.  Motors can be created by powering a gear and electronics can be powered through induction.
• Discussion
• The researchers sucessfully demonstrated their basic idea.  Namely, they constructed a system that contains physical widgets that can be modified by either users or the system.  I was not very excited about the system until I got closer to the end and was exposed to some of the various madgets that have been designed.  The two that really caught my attention were the motor madget and the electrical-producing madget.  Although I cannot come up with very good uses for these two off the top of my head since I am not the most creative person, I have a feeling that very complex systems can be modeled constructed with these.  One of the most powerful uses of this is that the modifications made physically by the users can be saved by the system and recreated anywhere else at any time. 

Picture Source: "Madgets: actuating widgets on interactive tabletops"

Paper Reading #14: TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces

• Title:
• TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces
• Reference Information:
• Olivier Bau, Ivan Poupyrev, Ali Israr, and Chris Harrison. 2010. TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  283-292. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866074 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866074
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Oliver Bau received his PhD at INRIA Saclay.  Bau was conducting PostDoctoral Research for Disney Research until January 2011.
• Ivan Poupyrevis a Senior Research Scientist at Disney Research Pittsburgh.  He is interested in developing technologies that integrate the digital and physical world.
• Ali Israr received his PhD from Purdue University in 2007.  He primarily researches haptics and works with the Interaction Design group in Disney Research.
• Chris Harrison has the coolest name out of all the authors.  He is a 5th year PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University.  
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesized that a haptic feedback system can be implemented by utilizing electrovibration to induce electrostatic friction between a surface and the users (moving) finger. 
• Methods
• The researchers constructed a prototype which consists of a glass plate on the bottom, transparent electrode layer in the middle topped by a thin insulation layer.  A periodic electrical signal applied to the electrode is the driving force behind the electrostatic friction.  This signal displaces electrons in the prototype which create varying amounts of attractive forces between the prototype and a finger moving across the prototype.  Researchers conducted several user studies to determine threshold levels of human detection as well as the differences felt when using varying frequencies and amplitudes.  Finally, the researchers developed several test applications to demonstrate the potential of their device.
• Results
• Results from the studies reveal that frequency is related to the perception of stickiness while amplitude was linked to the sensation of smoothness.  Lower frequencies were described as being sticky while higher frequencies felt more waxy.  Low amplitudes were more rough than higher amplitudes: "cement surface" versus "painted wall".  The demonstration programs developed by the researchers show that the haptic sensation can be 'localized' in the sense that only moving digits feel the effects of the electrostatic friction.  Additionally, the strength of the friction can be adjusted based on where the user is touching, leading to various 'surfaces' during an interaction.
• Contents
• The research paper presents TeslaTouch, a new form of haptic feedback that does not require any moving parts.  The advantages of lacking mechanical parts range from a uniform sensation across the entire surface to a savings in energy expenditure.  This technology can be utilized to provide information such as the 'density' of pixels on the screen or the size of a file being dragged.
• Discussion
• The researchers effectively demonstrated that their idea is feasible by both calculating threshold levels of human detection and developing various demonstration applications.  This was one of the most exciting research papers I have read to date, because I feel that this technology can be both useful and entertaining in a real world situation.  Artists, for example, will likely welcome the greater physical feedback when drawing on a virtual surface, as it is much more natural.  I would like to see a prototype for a mobile device tested in the future, as that (along with tablets) seem to be the most likely places to implement such a system.

Picture Source: "TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces"

Paper Reading #13: Combining Multiple Depth Cameras and Projectors for Interactions On, Above, and Between Surfaces

• Title:
• Combining Multiple Depth Cameras and Projectors for Interactions On, Above, and Between Surfaces
• Reference Information:
• Andrew D. Wilson and Hrvoje Benko. 2010. Combining multiple depth cameras and projectors for interactions on, above and between surfaces.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  273-282. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866073 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866073
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Andrew (Andy) Wilson is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research.  Wilson received his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Laboratory and researches new gesture-related input techniques.
• Hrvoje Benko received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University in 2007 and has more than 25 conference papers published.  Benko researches novel interactive computing technologies.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesized that any surface can be converted into an interactive one through the use of depth cameras.  They also wished to avoid 'messy' skeleton tracking by utilizing simple 2D picture analysis.
• Methods
• The team constructed a room which contained an apparatus for mounting projectors and cameras on the ceiling.  There was a table in the center of the room.  The depth cameras and projectors had simple configuring accomplished by IR reflectors.  The prototype was demonstrated across a three day span.  Features that were shown at the exposition included picking up virtual items and transferring them to other interactive surfaces (wall to table and vice versa).  
• Results
• The system was shown to be effective in its early stages.  While there is no programmed limit on the number of users in the room at once, the system took a performance hit after about three and had trouble distinguishing unique entities (people) after six.  Unanticipated actions, such as transferring an object from the table to the wall through two people, were also seen during the exposition.  
• Contents
• Researchers envision more interactive experiences in daily lives and have started that process with this research paper.  The current implementation of this allows for only flat objects to become interactive surfaces, such as tables.  But this is a limitation that researchers feel is easy to overcome.  Once overcome, every single item in a room could become interactive in a very natural way.
• Discussion
• I believe one of the most interesting contributions of this research paper is that the researchers were able to achieve their goals through simple 2D picture analysis.  Not all 3D interactions will have the same possibilities, but it opens up exciting possibilities for many applications.  As the paper points out, skeleton tracking is computationally intense and error prone.  Alleviating the computation time required for simple tracking, while increasing the accuracy would allow for programs to focus on other aspects to create more holistic experiences.  One of the greatest challenges to overcome, in my opinion, will be getting users used to interacting with objects that are not only virtual, which they have become accustomed to through mobile technology, but not visually represented much.

Picture Source: "Combining Multiple Depth Cameras and Projectors for Interactions On, Above, and Between Surfaces"

Paper Reading #12: Enabling Beyond Surface Interactions for Interactive Surface with An Invisible Projection

• Title:
• Enabling Beyond Surface Interactions for Interactive Surface with An Invisible Projection
• Reference Information:
• Li-Wei Chan, Hsiang-Tao Wu, Hui-Shan Kao, Ju-Chun Ko, Home-Ru Lin, Mike Y. Chen, Jane Hsu, and Yi-Ping Hung. 2010. Enabling beyond-surface interactions for interactive surface with an invisible projection.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  263-272. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866072 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866072
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Li-Wei Chan is a student at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had twelve ACM publications in the last four years.
• Hsiang-Tao Wu  is a student at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had four ACM publications in the last year.
• Hui-Shan Kao  is a student at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had four ACM publications in 2009 and 2010.
• Ju-Chun Ko is a student at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had six ACM publications in 2009 and 2010.
• Home-Ru Lin  is a student at the National Taiwan University. Chan had two ACM publications in 2010.
• Mike Y. Chen is a student at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had seven ACM publications in the last year.
• Jane Hsu  is a professor at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had thirty six ACM publications in the last twenty two years.
• Yi-Ping Hung  is a professor at the National Taiwan University. Chan has had sixty seven ACM publications in the last twenty two years.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesized that they could create an interactive table that is interactive through infrared projections.  By using more than one projector, the researchers hoped to give placement information to the system while displaying various visual information to the users.  
• Methods
• Infrared projections displayed tags that are invisible to the human eye but are used by the system as place markers.  These place markers allowed additional devices, such as modified tablets, to determine their 3D location with 6 degrees of freedom and present information accordingly.  Both projectors, the infrared as well as the color, were placed below the surface.  A diffuser layer was added to the table to reduce glare, but it introduced unwanted spots in reading the infrared data so a second camera was introduced.  Three additional devices (a lamp, a flashlight and a modified tablet) were produced to show interaction possibilities.
• Results
• Reading the infrared codes did allow the additional items to determine their 3D location. This allowed additional information to be displayed, such as a more zoomed in picture of an area or a 3D display of buildings shown in 2D on the table.  A problem labelled as 'dead reckoning' quickly emerged.  When the users tilted the tablets too far, in order to inspect the top of a building, the tablet would lose sight of the infrared tags therefore losing its 3D location.
• Contents
• The paper presents a method for enabling interactions beyond simple touch interactions on a surface.  These additional input methods and augmented reality aspects allow users to obtain more information than can be simply displayed by a 2D surface.  This includes displaying unique information to various users all at the same time, depending on what the user wants to focus on.
• Discussion
• The paper effectively demonstrates a working prototype of the researchers hypothesized system.  Hopefully this system will have further research put into it because I can see it being a powerful augmented reality tool.  For example, if people are at a museum and the room is filled with infrared tags, every individual could be inspecting and interacting with the same object at the same time without harming another person's experience.  Additionally, physical space would not be required to display textual information that only a limited number of people would be interested in, and that information would only be displayed if the user focused on it.  This system appears to give a powerful experience that can be personalized for every individual utilizing it.

Picture Source: "Enabling Beyond Surface Interactions for Interactive Surface with An Invisible Projection"

Paper Reading #11: Multitoe: High-Precision Interaction with Back-Projected Floors Based on High-Resolution Multi-Touch Input

• Title:
• Multitoe: High-Precision Interaction with Back-Projected Floors Based on High-Resolution Multi-Touch Input
• Reference Information:
• Thomas Augsten, Konstantin Kaefer, Ren\&\#233; Meusel, Caroline Fetzer, Dorian Kanitz, Thomas Stoff, Torsten Becker, Christian Holz, and Patrick Baudisch. 2010. Multitoe: high-precision interaction with back-projected floors based on high-resolution multi-touch input.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  209-218. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866064 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866064
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Thomas Augsten is a masters student at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam Germany.
• Konstantin Kaefer develops web applications.  Kaefer is a full time student at the Hasso Plattener Institute.
• Rene Meusel is a student at the Hasso Plattner Institute who develops various projects, such as a construction game for the iPhone.  Meusel is also interested in photography.
• Caroline Fetzer is another student at the Hasso Plattner Institute.  This paper was her first publication.
• Dorian Kanitz researcher at the Hasso Plattner Institute.  
• Thomas Stoff researcher at the Hasso Plattner Institute, first publication.
• Torsten Becker a graduate student at the Hasso Plattner Institute.  Specializes in human-computer interaction as well as mobile and embedded devices.
• Christian Holz a Ph.D. student in Germany.  Recently published a paper titled "Imaginary Phone" to appear in UIST 11.
• Patrick Baudisch earned his PhD in Computer Science from Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany.  Prior to becoming a professor at Hasso Plattner Institute, Baudisch reasearched adaptive systems and interactions at both Microsoft Research and Xerox PARC.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesized that an interactive display can be created to handle tens of thousands of items in a way that maintained accurate and convenient input methods.  In particular, they desired to create a floor that both displayed information as well as accepted input in the form of foot gestures and postures.  Additionally, they wanted to avoid awkward interactions with the device, such as walking across the entire surface to reach a menu or creating walking paths to avoid unwanted input.
• Methods
• The floor is composed of a screen, followed by a layer of acrylic with 34mm glass below that.  The glass installed in the lab was 1.2 tons and they only installed one small section for testing purposes.  They utilized frustrated total internal reflection for the input detection.  The researchers held a few small studies in order to better understand potential interactions utilizing feet.  For example, they had a study to help determine appropriate 'selection' gestures.
• Results
• Based on the studies, the researchers developed appropriate software solutions for various problems.  Selection of a context menu occurred when a user jumped on the floor.  Selection 'points' are set by the user, allowing them to select items as naturally as possible.  Virtual keyboards do not have to have extremely large buttons, this would actually make the typing process more uncomfortable for users since they have to reach to get to the key they want.
• Contents
• The paper demonstrated several features of the interactive device.  One of these features were additional degrees of freedom, effectively partitioning the foot into additional sections (as opposed to simply 'ball' and 'heel' sections).  When this is done it allows for a much greater array of input gestures.  So many, in fact, that researchers enabled users to play a first person shooter game using only their feet as input for the game.  This paper lays the foundation for the development of extremely large interactive displays that are not possible utilizing traditional touch input methods alone.
• Discussion
• The researchers certainly accomplished their goal with this paper.  They have continued their research by building an alternative, and larger, version of the floor.  Demonstration videos posted online show some of the features discussed in the paper, such as typing on a keyboard. Allowing users to stroll freely across displays without the fear of accidentally interacting with them is a powerful development and is essentially the key for achieving their goals.  Personally, I am just curious about alternative input methods.  I like what the researchers have done, but I don't feel as if foot interaction is always appropriate.  Allowing various input methods in additional to the feet gestures would, in my opinion, make this an even more powerful device.

Picture Source: " Multitoe: High-Precision Interaction with Back-Projected Floors Based on High-Resolution Multi-Touch Input"

Gang Leader for a Day

Sudhir Venkatesh's work is, to say the very least, both inspiring and motivating.  Prior to entering the CHI course at Texas A&M, I had never really imagined spending time with anybody except for the people I was familiar with while participating in tasks that I was familiar with.  Entering college, for example, was a fairly nerve-racking experience.  It incorporated the introduction of both unknowns: new people and new activities.  I quickly settled in to the computer science environment and stuck close by it.  Over the years I have had introductions to new people and experiences, but only on a minimal level.  For example, a very good friend of mine was met through tutoring and he was somebody that I would have never approached outside of the college environment.  That didn't stop us from becoming best friends, however, which now makes me consider how much I am possibly missing out on from staying in my comfort zone.
While Venkatesh questions the validity of his friendship with J.T., I feel as if they were.  Granted, they may not have had the same kind of relationship that Venkatesh maintained with his other 'friends', but what if their friendship wasn't determined by Venkatesh's point of view?  J.T. was in charge of hundreds of Black Kings, all of whom he certainly had to consider were at least friends.  Look at J.T.'s senior officers T-Bone and Price, both of them had been friends with J.T. since high school yet they were both using J.T. as a means to better their own life (similar to how J.T. relied on them).  That is powerful evidence against the idea that Venkatesh was simply using J.T for his own personal advancement and therefore could not have still had a friendship with him.
While neither I, nor Venkatesh, are suggesting that it is a brilliant idea to go out and mingle with the local gangs, I am suggesting that a key social experience cannot be obtained without stepping outside of one's box.  I have done countless things over the past year that I would have NEVER even considered doing if I had never crossed paths with my friend.  Similarly, I have been able to introduce my friend to things that are brand new to him.  It has been a mutually beneficial stroke of luck that I could not be more thankful for.  So, personally, I will never forgo an opportunity afforded to me again.  While not every opportunity to step out of one's comfort zone will have such a spectacular outcome, the innumerable opportunities that will certainly be missed by never doing so is something worth trying for.
  

Paper Reading #10: Sensing Foot Gestures from the Pocket

• Title:
• Sensing Foot Gestures from the Pocket
• Reference Information:
• Jeremy Scott, David Dearman, Koji Yatani, and Khai N. Truong. 2010. Sensing foot gestures from the pocket.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  199-208. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866063 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866063
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Jeremy Scott is a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  His undergraduate thesis was the topic of this research paper.
• David Dearman is a professor at Dalhousie University.  In the last 6 years he has published 21 research papers through the ACM. 
• Koji Yatani is finishing up his Ph.D. this summer at the University of Toronto and will be working at Microsoft Research beginning this fall.  His interests include mobile devices and hardware for sensing technologies.
• Khai N. Truong is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto.  Truong's research is in improving the usability of mobile computing devices.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesize that utilizing foot gestures as input is both plausible (they can be accurately recognized) as well as socially acceptable.  This paper focused primarily on the first of these two statements, with another future study planned to investigate the second.
• Methods
• The researchers conducted two small studies to complete this research paper.  The first of which was to measure the plausible range of accurate foot selection motion.  Additionally, the researchers used the feedback from this study to determine what moves (rotations of the foot) were the most comfortable to perform.  The second study was designed to determine if a cell phone with a triple-axis accelerometer could recognize these various selection gestures when in the users pocket or mounted on their waist. 
• Results
• The first study primarily showed the researchers the range of motion that potential users would be able to easily reach.  The interviews after this study also revealed that rotations of the heel were the most comfortable movement to perform.  The second study showed that a mobile device mounted on the side of a user was the most effective at recognizing gestures.  The next most accurate position is in the user's front pocket.  Researchers hypothesize that this placement is not as accurate as the side mount since the phone has a small area to move around in when placed in the pocket.
• Contents
•   The research paper presents an alternative interaction method with mobile devices.  This interaction method is aimed to be socially acceptable, as well as visually feedback free.  This method would allow users to perform tasks on their phone, such as changing songs, without actually having to pull it out to do so.  Other visual-feedback free methods are already being investigated, see my blog about Imaginary Interfaces (titled "Paper Reading #1), or already in use (such as voice commands).  The goal of this investigation was to discover a new method that was accurate while avoiding being socially awkward. 
• Discussion
• Immediately upon reading this article I recalled the Imaginary Interfaces paper.  Both papers are essentially studying input methods that don't require visual feedback.  Both have a question about accuracy, since implementing a system which had a low recognition rate would essentially defeat its own purpose.  This paper is very exciting because of the fact that it requires absolutely nothing more than what a large percentage already have, a smart phone carried in a pocket.  The early accuracy of this system is encouraging, the researchers have certainly shown what they set out to prove.  The biggest disappointment about this paper is that they haven't performed the study in daily life yet.  I am very eager to learn more from reading their follow-up paper.

Picture Source: "Sensing Foot Gestures from the Pocket"

Paper Reading #9: Jogging over a distance between Europe and Australia

• Title:
• Jogging over a distance between Europe and Australia
• Reference Information:
• Florian Mueller, Frank Vetere, Martin R. Gibbs, Darren Edge, Stefan Agamanolis, and Jennifer G. Sheridan. 2010. Jogging over a distance between Europe and Australia.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  189-198. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866062 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866062
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Floyd Mueller is a worldwide expert in exertion games, games which require intense physical effort from the users. Floyd has 18 years of experience across 4 continents.
• Frank Vetere is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne.  Vetere's interests are in utilizing emerging communication technologies in helpful applications.
• Martin Gibbs is a lecturer at the University of Melbourne.  Gibbs is currently conducting research on people who play the MMORPG World of Warcraft.
• Darren Edge is a researcher in the Human-Computer Interaction group at Microsoft Research Asia.  Edge got his undergraduate degree as well as his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.
• Stefan Panayiotis Agamanolis is associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Agamanolis has been publishing articles since 1997 and has 29 through the ACM.
• Jennifer Sheridan is the Senior User Experience Consultant and Director of User Experience at BigDog Interactive.  Sheridan has published more than 40 research papers. 
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesized that there are certain design elements that should be taken into consideration when building an exertion activity program.  The researchers were NOT attempting to prove that there is a social aspect to exercising.  The three aspects to take into consideration when designing a social experience are communication integration, virtual mapping, effort comprehension.
• Methods
• The researchers developed a system to test their hypothesis.  The system they designed was one that utilized a cellphone, heart rate sensor, mini computer and headset.  Each of the two runners were equipped with these devices.  Researchers then asked their friends to pair up and determine running times.  Whether the users were in the same city or continents apart, the users would be able to communicate using their headset.  Additionally, participants could fall behind their partners if their heart rate fell to a lower percentage of their set guideline than their partner's.
• Results
• The researchers determined that the three aspects (communication integration, virtual mapping and effort comprehension) all need to be considered when designing a exertion system.  Each of the three aspects have benefits as well as consequences depending on what the developers are attempting to produce.  For example, more competitive users consider absolute distance/time a better measurement of winning as opposed to perceived effort.
• Contents
•   The researchers would ultimately like to determine whether or not adding a social aspect to exercising has any impact on the motivation to exercise or performance.  One theory is that users are just excited by the new technology but that excitement will eventually fade and the systems will not help overall.  This will require a longer study than the one performed for this research paper. For the casual users, the experience of being able to run 'with' someone of a different skill level was quite a novel and useful idea.
• Discussion
• This paper was of particular interest to me since I actively use one of the systems they mentioned (the Nike+ system).  The motivation behind the Nike+ system is to gain motivation by making running a social event.  Personally, I love the post-event feedback given from the Nike+ system, and I am encouraged by the findings of this research paper about making it real-time feedback.  The audience feature they mentioned in future research is something I think would work well for people in different time zones.  I don't feel as if the researchers accomplished very much in this paper though.  For me, it seems as if they developed a system that should be used for further research papers but nothing more.

Picture Source: "Jogging over a distance between Europe and Australia"

Paper Reading #8: Gesture Search: A Tool for Fast Mobile Data Access

• Title:
• Gesture Search: A Tool for Fast Mobile Data Access
• Reference Information:
• Yang Li. 2010. Gesture search: a tool for fast mobile data access.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  87-96. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866044 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866044
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Yang Li is the sole author of this paper.  Li received his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences which he followed up with postdoctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley.  Li helped found the Design Use Build community while a professor at the University of Washington before becoming a Senior Research Scientist at Google.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researcher hypothesized that traditional methods used to enter queries for searching phones may be inappropriate in some situations.  Voice-based queries, for example, are inappropriate in quiet or exceptionally loud locations.  Keyboard based entries are difficult to use, especially with the small real estate of mobile devices.  Gesture searching, on the other hand, should be natural and easy to use in any situation. ("We hypothesized that Gesture Search provides a quick and less stressful way for users to access mobile data.")
• GUI-oriented touch input should have less variation in its trajectory than gestures.
• Methods
• The researcher developed an Android application that he made available for download within the company.  The application logged user data which was then analyzed at the end of a trial period.  Users were not obligated to use the application and they could quit using it at anytime.  When choosing the data to analyze the researcher required that the user had used the application at least once a week for a month.  
• To collect data pertaining to the difference between a GUI-based interaction and a gesture, the researcher set up a study which asked participants to perform various tasks on a mobile device.  The interactions were recorded without the users knowing what the study was about, this was to create natural interaction.
• Results
• The data collected supported the hypothesis that Gesture-based queries were applicable for a mobile device in various situations.  Users typically used the application to find contacts.  Less than a third of the time was the search used to find applications with a minimal amount of queries used for web pages or bookmarks.  The majority of searches were completed in under 3 seconds with 2 or fewer characters entered.  The average rating was 4/5 stars.  A majority of users commented that they liked the application because it alleviated the user of having to navigate through menus to find information.
• The hypothesis that there was less variation in a GUI gesture was also supported in the study's results.  While the application is unsure about a potential gesture, it is shown in a faded yellow line and the ambiguity is usually resolved in less than a quarter second.
• Contents
•   This paper presented an application which combined Gestures recognition with search technology.  There are several key features which feed the success of this application.  The ambiguity of the gesture, such as not being able to properly identify an "A" versus an "H" is taken into account when acquiring the results, which in this case would include both "A" and "H" words.  Additionally, the system learns from previous results, with selected results having a higher likelihood of being presented at the top of the results.  The longer a user goes without selecting an item the more that weight fades out.
• Discussion
• This paper combines powerful technology with a fantastic idea.  Personally, navigating through a menu in some situations can be frustrating, such as when on the bus.  I downloaded Gesture Search and gave it a shot in that exact situation and, true to the researcher's findings, it worked well in that environment.  In fact, I did find it easier to use than launching the Contacts app to find friends.  
• In that particular situation, however, I was just as comfortable using the traditional text-based queries. The only reasoning for this is that the query can be entered faster, not having the down time of recognizing each letter as it is entered (and not having to spend as much time entering each letter).  The point of this paper was not advocating this as a faster alternative to keyboard entered queries; rather, it allows for easier entry of queries.  This goal was accomplished, as I frequently used it when walking around campus and at other times when I didn't want to pay as much attention to my phone as I did to the environment around me.  The learning feature of the search as well as the ambiguity resolution make it a viable application.
  
  
  

  
  

Picture Sources: "Gesture Search: A Tool for Fast Mobile Data Access"

Paper Reading #7: Performance Optimizations of Virtual Keyboards for Stroke-Based Text Entry on a Touch-Based Tabletop

• Title:
• Performance Optimizations of Virtual Keyboards for Stroke-Based Text Entry on a Touch-Based Tabletop
• Reference Information:
• Jochen Rick. 2010. Performance optimizations of virtual keyboards for stroke-based text entry on a touch-based tabletop.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  77-86. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866043 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866043
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Jochen "Jeff" Rick is the sole author of this paper.  He received his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech.  From 2007 to 2010 Rick was a research fellow at the Opera University.  He is currently a professor at Saarland University.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• A stroke-based virtual keyboard will be more efficient and more accurate for input on a touch device.
• There are more efficient layouts for a stroke-based device than the qwerty keyboard.
• Methods
• The author wanted to create a mathematical model which he could then use to compare the keyboard layouts.  To create the mathematical model he performed a user study to collect information about the speed of stroking in different directions and of turning times.  Once the author collected this information he analyzed it and created visual representation of it.  He used that data to figure out constants to plug into equations, one of them being Fitt's law equation for tap input.  Using these created a comparison for the speed, and therefore efficiency, of the different layouts.
• Results
• As predicted, compact layouts worked well for stroke-based text entry.  The reason for this is that there is a smaller distance that the finger is required to move between each character entered.  Similarly, wide keyboards which are efficient for tap-based text entry, such as Qwerty and Dvorak, performed poorly.  Also as predicted, stroke-based entry methods benefit from not requiring the space key be entered between words.  Finally, this study found a small contradiction with a previous study in that the OPTI II layout outperformed the Metropolis layout in tapping.  
• Contents
•   This paper presents a model for comparing the efficiency of different keyboard layouts for both tapping-based text entry as well as stroke-based.  This allows various layouts to be evaluated at a much higher rate of speed.  One of the largest barriers to introducing a new traditional (tap-based physical) keyboard is the strong support and familiarity with the current qwerty board.  The introduction of new entry methods (such as touch based devices) present an opportunity to introduce a new layout since users are already acquiring new input skills.
• Discussion
• While the work done in this study does not seem ground breaking to me, but valuable nonetheless.  The idea that a more compact keyboard would be a better fit for stroke-based input seems completely plausible.  The most interesting aspect about how this study was completed for me was that any hexagonal key layout was converted into a square key layout.  This seems to remove some of the advantage of designing a hexagonal key layout.  In particular, the hexagonal keys are designed to aid in the speed at which a key can be reached from any direction which, in turn, is an advantage to the more compact layout in the first place.  I'd be interested to see if the hexagonal key actually made any measurable difference in performance over square keys.
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

Picture Source: " Performance Optimizations of Virtual Keyboards for Stroke-Based Text Entry on a Touch-Based Tabletop"

Paper Reading #6: TurKit: Human Computation Algorithms on Mechanical Turk

• Title:
• TurKit: Human Computation Algorithms on Mechanical Turk
• Reference Information:
• Greg Little, Lydia B. Chilton, Max Goldman, and Robert C. Miller. 2010. TurKit: human computation algorithms on mechanical turk.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  57-66. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866040 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866040
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Greg Little is affiliated with both Arizona State University as well as Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In the last 6 years he has published 22 papers through the ACM.
• Lydia Chilton is a graduate student at the University of Washington.  She has interned for Microsoft Research in Beijing.  She received both her Bachelor's degree as well as her Master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Max Goldman is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Goldman has 12 publications over the last 4 years and is associated with the User Interface Design Group
• Rob Miller is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Miller is the leader of the User Interface Design Group at the University. Miller is interested in web automation.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• Researchers hypothesized that abstracting human computation, through MTurk, as a function call and applying a crash-and-rerun programming style allows users to design experiments that can be duplicated and modified in a uniform method.
• Methods
• Researchers developed an Integrated Development Environment that allowed users to create and run their algorithms that involve human computation.  The system uses wrappers around the MTurk API and added functionality such as a keyword 'once'.  The additional functionality and underlying database enabled the crash-and-rerun programming model by only incurring costly function calls (a call to MTurk for example) only once, simply retrieving results stored in the database.
• Results
• The researchers have explored the use of Turkit over the past year.  When some of the experiments were run they were utilizing an early version of the product so many of the beneficial aspects were not implemented yet.  Their results show that the crash-and-rerun model can handle smaller projects.  The time it takes for the entire script to rerun is faster than nearly all of the human function calls.  The researchers also posted their own experiments and databases online so that anyone can replicate their results.
• Contents
•   Turkit automates the use of MTurk to allow for ease of use and repetition.  Key functionality for this project is the ability to do post-operation line debugging and modifications between reruns.  This allows users to produce a small program and edit it during operation to improve it on the next run.
• Discussion
• Researchers certainly met some of their goals, proving that it is possible to include human computation inside of a generic algorithm.  The slow time response of human computation works well with their crash-and-rerun programming model.  This is an interesting approach to systematically use the MTurk capabilities provided by Amazon.  I like how this can be used for Research but, as they stated, I doubt that it would be very useful for large scale production projects.  However, their idea is a good start and I hope that they continue to do research to ramp up their project for longer programs.
  
  
  

  
  

Picture Source: "TurKit: Human Computation Algorithms on Mechanical Turk"

Paper Reading #5: A Framework for Robust and Flexible Handling of Inputs with Uncertainty

• Title:
• A Framework for Robust and Flexible Handling of Inputs with Uncertainty
• Reference Information:
• Julia Schwarz, Scott Hudson, Jennifer Mankoff, and Andrew D. Wilson. 2010. A framework for robust and flexible handling of inputs with uncertainty.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  47-56. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866039 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866039
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Julia Schwarz is a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon University.  Schwarz had the opportunity to work with Andrew Wilson at Microsoft Research, for this paper.  Schwarz enjoys developing apps for the Windows Phone.
• Scott Hudson is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was the founding director of the HCII PhD program.  Hudson has published more than 100 technical paper and has served as the Program Chair for events such as UIST.
• Jennifer Mankoff is a professor at the Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.  Mankoff earned her PhD at the Georgia Institute of Technology and researches interactive technologies that empower people.
• Andrew (Andy) Wilson is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research.  Wilson received his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Laboratory and researches new gesture-related input techniques.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• The researchers hypothesized that if the uncertainty of a gesture is utilized as part of the decision making process when determining an appropriate action to take, the accuracy of gesture input would increase.
• Methods
• Researchers developed several examples to test their framework of event selection which included interactors and mediators. Their system fed the input to all possible recipients of the gesture, along with information about the gesture, to create a probability representing how likely it was that that action was the intended one by the user.  The system utilizes a lazy evaluation scheme, putting off actual determination as long as possible.  Once a finalization request is made, such as when the user lifts their finger off of the screen, the mediator is invoked to select the appropriate action.  One of their examples was speech text entry, in which a "2" and a "q" can sound the same.  In their program the input would be fed to all possible input boxes which could handle such inputs until either more information is given which distinguishes the information or the user finishes entering text and then must simply select the location the text is supposed to go.  Part of that system is combined with their smart text delivery which allows users to enter text without specifying a text box.  Both used very minimal amount of code to link their test example with their input system.
• Results
• All of their tests resulted in affirmation that their system improved the accuracy of input systems that contained uncertainty.  Particularly, a chart was included in the paper that displayed the percentage of incorrect selection of events from motor-impaired users.  For all four users the conventional system got between 5 and 20% of their intended inputs incorrect.  With the probabilistic input system, less than 3% of the inputs entered were misinterpreted, with two users not receiving any incorrect events.  Researchers believe that with a minimal more amount of time becoming accustomed to the system that the users would all receive near 100% accuracy. 
• Contents
• Rather than dispose of the uncertainty of inputs immediately when the event happens, researchers propose that this uncertainty should be saved throughout the decision making process of how to handle a given input.  This allows for the introduction of probabilities to help determine the most likely recipient of an event.  For example, if there are two buttons immediately next to one another, but one button is inactive, then a touch gesture covering both buttons is likely not meant for the inactive button.  Therefore, in this simple example, the probability that it was for the inactive button becomes a 0 and the probability that it was for the active button (assuming the touch gesture does not interact with any other item) becomes a 1 and that action is selected.  
• Discussion
• The researchers effectively demonstrated their point.  This is an interesting model because it has not been introduced into the computer human interaction world yet, even though the types of allowable inputs for computational devices have been changing for quite some time.  Consider the amount of smart phones out on the market and many various users of them. As such, their interactions may not be as perfect as developers would hope for.  Changing the input handling model is appropriate to handle these imperfect interactions.  A stronger underlying system has the potential to greatly improve the effectiveness and accuracy of gesture input which will help morph computer interaction and the computer experience.
  
  
  

  
  

Picture Source: "A Framework for Robust and Flexible Handling of Inputs with Uncertainty"

Paper Reading #4: Gestalt: Integrated Support for Implementation and Analysis in Machine Learning

• Title:
• Gestalt: Integrated Support for Implementation and Analysis in Machine Learning
• Reference Information:
• Kayur Patel, Naomi Bancroft, Steven M. Drucker, James Fogarty, Andrew J. Ko, and James Landay. 2010. Gestalt: integrated support for implementation and analysis in machine learning.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  37-46. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866038 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866038
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Kayer Patel is a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington.  He was previously funded by a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship and is currently funded through a Microsoft Research Fellowship.
• Naomi Bancroft was, at the time of publication of the paper, a senior undergraduate student at the University of Washington.  Her plans were to work for Google following graduation.
• Steven Drucker received both his Master's degree and Ph.D. from MIT.  He is an affiliate professor at the University of Washington while concurrently a Principle Researcher and manager at Microsoft Research. He researches human computer interaction dealing with large amounts of data.
• James Fogarty is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington teaching a senior level introduction class to HCI.  He received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.  His vast research is supported by the National Science Foundation, FXPAL, Google, Intel and Microsoft.
• Andrew Ko is an assistant professor at the University of Washington.  Ko is a member of the dub group which performs human computer interaction research and education. Ko is interested in developing software which will ease the software development process.
• James Landay is a professor at the University of Washington.  Landay received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 1996.  Landay is a founding member of the DUB center and has previously worked as the Director of Intel Labs Seattle.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• A general purpose Machine Learning tool that allows developers to analyze the information pipeline will aid in the development process by increasing efficiency and awareness.
• General purpose tools can solve many of the same problems that domain specific tools can solve.
• Methods
• After developing the Gestalt framework, the researchers added functionality to MATLAB to minimize the differences between the two programs, leaving key functionality out.  MATLAB was chosen as the comparison program because it is currently the most widely used machine learning aid.  Eight graduate students, all of whom had completed at least one machine learning class, were selected to test the two programs.  Researchers created two problems, one pertaining to movie reviews and another pertaining to gesture recognition.  Each of these had 5 bugs injected into them.  The participant's job was to find and fix these bugs.  Each participant solved each problem with both tools.  
• Results
• The study showed that participant's were able to find a significantly greater number of bugs when utilizing the Gestalt tool.  Three of the eight users took the time to create similar functionality in MATLAB that is found in Gestalt, two of which hadn't used Gestalt yet.  All eight users were unanimous in stating their preference for Gestalt.  During questioning, five users explicitly stated that they found the visual and interacting elements of the pipeline a useful feature that they would want in tools they used.  Additionally, participants were able to create their own views through Gestalt support in the limited amount of time they were using the system encouraging the idea that general purpose tools are powerful.   
• Contents
• Machine learning, which analyzes data to describe appropriate behavior, is a powerful tool for developers.  As opposed to fighting with describing appropriate behavior syntactically  developers can show desired behavior using data.  General purpose tools for this process have not been widely tested or developed.  Gestalt provides this general purpose tool that can be used for a range of different problems.  It remains to be seen as to whether general purpose tools can solve any problem that domain specific tools can. Gestalt's key strength is the its ability to aid developers in analyzing the data pipeline through visualization and interaction.
• Discussion
• Tools, such as Gestalt, are long overdue in the field of machine learning.  Demonstrated in other fields, general purpose tools are usually not quite as powerful as domain specific tools.  However, many times they are flexible enough to still be a powerful tool for a wide range of problems.  The key advancement introduced by this program is NOT its generalization of the machine learning problem.  Rather, it is their influential work in recognizing that the visualization of the data pipeline is key for efficient understanding of the problem.  Interacting with this visualized data pipeline furthers this advantage.
  
  
  

  
  

Picture Source: "Gestalt: Integrated Support for Implementation and Analysis in Machine Learning"

Paper Reading #3: Pen + Touch = New Tools

• Title:
• Pen + Touch = New Tools
• Reference Information:
• Ken Hinckley, Koji Yatani, Michel Pahud, Nicole Coddington, Jenny Rodenhouse, Andy Wilson, Hrvoje Benko, and Bill Buxton. 2010. Pen + touch = new tools.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  27-36. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866036 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866036
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Ken Hinckley has had 51 papers published by the ACM in the last 20 years.  He is affiliated with both the University of Virginia as well as Carnegie Mellon University and has also worked with Microsoft Research.
• Koji Yatani is finishing up his Ph.D. this summer at the University of Toronto and will be working at Microsoft Research beginning this fall.  His interests include mobile devices and hardware for sensing technologies.
• Michel Pahud is a Senior RSDE at Microsoft Research which he joined in 2000.  He received his Ph.D. in parallel computing from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and has won the LOGITECH prize for industrially-oriented innovative hardware/software senior project.
• Nicole Coddington has worked with Microsoft Research.  Coddington has 2 publications through the ACM, with similar fellow authors dealing with bi-manual input.
• Jerry Rodenhouse currently holds a position as an Experience Designer II at the Interactive Entertainment Division at Microsoft.  He received his Bachelor of Industrial Design from Syracuse University in 2008.
• Andrew (Andy) Wilson is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research.  Wilson received his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Laboratory and researches new gesture-related input techniques.
• Hrvoje Benko received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University in 2007 and has more than 25 conference papers published.  Benko researches novel interactive computing technologies.
• William (Bill) Buxton became the third recipient of the Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society Award in 1995, among many other awards.  He completed his Master's of Science in Computer Science at the University of Toronto.  He is currently the Principle Researcher at Microsoft Research. 
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• Embracing a wide range of both unimodal as well as bimodal input modes will declutter the User Interface by requiring fewer persistent items.
• Trying multiple ideas help expose flaws as well as insights into their effectiveness.
• Methods
• Prior to creating a prototype, researchers asked participants to make a scrapbook using physical items that were placed in front of them.  Researchers observed their actions and attempted to categorize them for development of software.  The hardware of the prototype constructed utilized a Microsoft Surface combined with an infrared pen.  The software was developed after analyzing patterns that emerged during the physical scrapbook construction.  The system supported operations such as stapling, cutting pictures and a bezel menu to handle creation of new objects (such as sticky notes).
• Results
• This study revealed an approach that was fluid in such a way that input never got stuck in a specific (e.g. tool) mode.  Similarly, while the range of options for a given action were generally large, the default action of drawing with the pen could always be accomplished by lifting the non-dominant hand off of the screen.  A couple users specifically commented about the ease of using the system, that the gestures were natural and what they would expect to physically perform.  Feedback provided by the system about the current action may aid some users, particularly novice ones.   
• Contents
• Touch-based input systems are continually growing, as is their user base.  Limitations in current systems make them feel unnatural thus making them difficult to interact with and use.  The research in this paper tests new techniques that utilize both a bare hand as well as a digital pen for input devices.  A complaint received by the researchers related to the fact that some of their input gestures conflicted with gestures they had become accustomed to (through products such as smart phones).  Simply because the user is unaccustomed to the gesture does not mean that it is not still natural in a sense.  This research is simply meant to expose possible new ideas, and suggest further combinations to be investigated in the future.
• Discussion
• The researchers had a modest goal, simply to try out a variety of different bimodal input gestures, which they accomplished.  Their idea to study actions in a physical situation, attempt to classify them and then use that information to develop virtual gestures would appear to be how more input systems should be developed.  The more natural a system is to use, relative to habits humans already have, the less awkward interaction will be and the more beneficial and efficient the entire experience will be.  I particularly like the bimodal aspect of input, as it would seemingly greatly improve the speed at which tasks can be accomplished.  Observing the participants build the physical scrapbook showed, not surprisingly, that they utilized both hands as they've surely done for most tasks their entire lives.  Even watching professional graphic designers currently reveals how quickly work can get down when an effective bimodal input system utilized.
  
  
  
  
  

Picture Source: "Pen + Touch = New Tools"

Paper Reading #2: Hands-On Math: A page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving

• Title:
•  Hands-On Math: A page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving
• Reference Information:
• Robert Zeleznik, Andrew Bragdon, Ferdi Adeputra, and Hsu-Sheng Ko. 2010. Hands-on math: a page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving.  In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  17-26. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866035 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866035
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Robert Zeleznik has been the the Director of Research for the Computer Graphics Group at Brown University since 1996.  He received his Master's Degree in Computer Science from Brown University in 1989.  
• Andrew Bragdon is a second year Ph.D. student at Brown University.  He received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from their in 2007 and 2008 respectively.  He has previously worked at Microsoft working on the User Experience for Office.
• Ferdi Adeputra has helped author four papers published by the ACM.  The other three are all based upon a research project called code bubbles, which is a new way to develop integrated development environment.
• Hsu Sheng Sheng Ko is another affiliate of Brown University.  His second article for the ACM was just presented at CHI '11 that also dealt with gesture techniques.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• Integrating traditional input of pencil and paper with the power of a Computer Algebra System would allow for free-form transformations that gain the power of computational based systems while losing the error-prone process of manual manipulation.
• Methods
• The team created a system called Hands-On Math which utilizes a Microsoft Surface as well as a light pen to allow users to perform mathematical work on a computer system using, what was designed to feel like, a more natural input system.  The system made frequent use of bi-manual input, which used both hands simultaneously to perform operations.  Often, the non-dominant hand would sit on the surface with each finger in control of a menu option while the dominant hand held and manipulated the drawing pen.  The system made heavy use of pages which helped define a clear and logical work area.  A continuous virtual environment allowed the users to place their pages however they preferred which could be brought back later for further work.  The researchers chose a small group of volunteers to get initial feedback to their fully functional system.
• Results
• Each of the participants averaged about 45 minutes testing the system and, generally, the response was positive.  The light pen and text recognition software performed well when converting the written input into mathematical expressions.  Participants had the gestures explained to them since the system did not have a built-in gesture discovery, and they usually picked them up quickly especially after a demonstration.  Until the 'proper' techniques had been seen, participants would frequently make awkward movements to perform a gesture.  Researches noted what they describe as the sandwich problem, users would prefer if their non-dominant hand were not heavily relied upon in case they wanted to use it for an unrelated task.  Also noted was the fact that the likelihood of a misinterpreted gesture decreased dramatically when the input was bi-manual.
• Contents
• These researchers are simultaneously tackling two problems at once: namely, making the computational power of an electronic system more readily available to students and mathematicians as well as developing new input methods for touch-based input in general.  Of their tested gestures, most of them were well received by the participants in the study.  Bi-manual input, however, seemed to cause the users more trouble.  The system's recognition of these bi-manual inputs was much more accurate as compared to traditional uni-manual input.  The prototype only included basic algebraic manipulation techniques and more powerful techniques were requested, particularly the full power of Mathematica.    
• Discussion
• This research is both interesting and significant for me because I have always struggled with the barrier between the freedom of drawing and erasing on physical paper and the powerful tools offered by computer programs.  Frequently, particularly after my entry into college, I would have sheets lying all over my desk while Matlab was open and awaiting a single line to execute.  As the participants noted, this research certainly has practical applications, as I could have saved both a significant amount of frustration and a great number of trees.  Furthermore, my mother is a 7th grade math teacher who attempts to introduce as much technology into the classroom as possible.  Her biggest struggle is that the software she runs, while great at manipulating expressions pre-loaded into it, lacks the ability to easily accept input from a middle school student greatly limiting the amount of examples she can present. The results of this study show that there are still effective input methods that are still waiting to be discovered that will further ease the use of technology into daily life.
  
  

Pictures Source: "Hands-On Math: A page-based multi-touch and pen desktop for technical work and problem solving"

Paper Reading #1: Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback

• Title:
• Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback
• Reference Information:
• Sean Gustafson, Daniel Bierwirth, and Patrick Baudisch. 2010. Imaginary interfaces: spatial interaction with empty hands and without visual feedback.  In Proceedigns of the 23rd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 3-12. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866033 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866033
• UIST 2010 New York, New York.
• Author Bios:
• Sean Gustafson is a PhD student at the Hasso Plattner Institute located in Potsdam, Germany.  After receiving both his Bachelor and Master's degrees in Canada he worked as an embedded systems developer of medical devices.
• Daniel Bierwirth received his Bachelor degree in Computer Science and Media from Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany in 2008 followed by his Master's degree in IT-Systems Engineering from the Hasso-Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany in 2011.  He cofounded both Matt Halting & Company UG as well as the Agentur Richard GbR.
• Patrick Baudisch earned his PhD in Computer Science from Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany.  Prior to becoming a professor at Hasso Plattner Institute, Baudisch reasearched adaptive systems and interactions at both Microsoft Research and Xerox PARC.
• Summary
• Hypothesis:
• A screen-less input device, consisting of an imaginary plane, is feasible for practical use.
• Participants would perform fewer Graffiti recognition errors than were previously reported by Ni And Baudisch by utilizing their visuospatial memory.
• Intermittent activities will affect visual memory and therefore reduce accuracy.
• Utilizing one hand as a frame of reference will increase accuracy.
• Methods
• For the three accuracy studies performed the researchers compensated groups of 12 people, mainly in their twenties, to come perform some tests.  The testing environment was a closed room with an optical tracking system consisting of eight cameras set up.  The participants wore tracking gloves.  In a couple of the studies additional equipment was added, such as a foot pedal.  The information collected through the tracking system was rotated and transformed into two-dimensional data as the imaginary interfaces system is based on the idea of interacting with an invisible plane in front of the user.  A computer voice was utilized in one test to allow for a random ordering of coordinate requests.  The participants were instructed about what they would be doing prior to beginning each session.  
• Results
• Although the study group was not large enough to gather statistical data, the information that was collected from the first study appears to support the hypothesis that fewer Graffiti recognition errors were realized utilizing this system than previous systems.  The failure rate of the recognition in this study was a mere 5.5% as compared to 15% in a system that doesn't contain a reference point.  Additionally, the claims that visuospatial memory fades both over time and with intermittent activities appears to be supported as well.  The first of those two claims was tested when participants drew the same shape five consecutive times and the difference between the accuracy in the first and the last shape was much greater than the difference between the last two shapes.  When participants had to turn 90 degrees between activities, their accuracy decreased aiding the idea that other activities fade visuospatial memory.  Additionally, accuracy when pointing increased as the distance to the reference point decreased.  Finally, the accuracy testing performed was done in a controlled room but a prototype for a wearable device was created and tested.
• Contents
• A looming problem in mobile computing systems is the size limitation imposed by the visual feedback currently given through screens.  These screens can only shrink to a certain size become they lose their functionality, either from displayed information being too small to read or interactions becoming too inaccurate.  The authors explore other possibilities, by allowing input without a visual feedback element.  Further research is suggested to add audible cues and extend the project into the third dimension.  The concept was shown to be sound which will have implications in the future of miniaturization.  
• Discussion
• This is very exciting new research, however maybe not exactly as the authors had intended.  I cannot see this research creating an input system that does not have any visual feedback yet is still accurate enough to chart stocks. The authors did indeed show that simple input without a visual aid is not only possible but plausible as well.  The pointing, or button pressing, for example worked fairly well for brand new users to a completely different system and with a little bit of practice would certainly improve.  However, without audio or visual clues, the user would appear to be limited to a predefined number of buttons that they have committed to memory.  Although this is slightly addressed in the paper, during the discussion about improved accuracy for stock charting, I can see this system being used for simpler activities.  For example, I hate going through the hassle of taking my phone out of my pocket to only change the song or check why it just vibrated.  It would be much simpler to simply throw my hands in front of me, make an "L" shape with my left hand and push an imaginary button with my right hand to start a new song or have incoming information read to me.  Some may see this as lazy, but it would in fact be a fantastic time saver, and even a slight increase in efficiency translates to real world benefits in the modern world. 

Picture Source: "Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback"

On Computers

Personification, as defined by dictionary.com, is the representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art.  This is obviously a very powerful literary tool when authors are attempting to create strong imagery that many readers can picture.  This artistic tool, however, often seems to be utilized by society in a less artistic way when non-human phenomenon are explained by relating them to human characteristics.  Aristotle, it seems, was no exception.

In his On Plants article, which contains general musings and knowledge about plants, the author begins to compare traits of plants to traits of animals.  For example, roots are compared to mouths, the bark is related to skin and the fibers similar to sinews.  It further discusses the fact that certain aspects of plants can regrow, such as leaves, while certain parts of animals can do the same, such as hair.  Used alone this would just be a literary ploy designed to reveal plants in a new light, but the author goes on to use these comparisons in his contemplation about whether plants have a soul or sensations of sadness and pleasure.

Aristotle would not pose a question seeking to answer whether something had a soul, conscience or the ability to understand.  Indeed, after the conclusion that man has the greatest capacity for thought on the planet earth, we turned to the stars to seek others with similar functionality.  Humanity's need for companionship has long been recognized, and that companion has long been sought after.  While the search of the heavens has turned up fruitless thus far, efforts and hopes are still alive.

Recently, however, the search for consciousness and intelligence has returned to planet earth.  As the capabilities of computers continues to grow, the theoretical boundaries on what they may be capable appear to be bursting at the seams.  We have long since conceded computational superiority to computers yet there is still a fundamental debate as to whether they could ever truly understand the meaning of the actions they were performing.  Philosophically, intelligence may take on a variety of meanings, which is part of the reason that the debate is so open-ended as to the possibility of computers understanding.  

And, in an ironic twist, this query pertaining to the true nature of artificial intelligence has led many artists to personify computational systems, or robots, in various works such as movies.  Thus, Aristotle's musings of 2,300 years ago as to the true meaning of awareness still persist today as does the burning question of humanity's intellectual companionship.

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