Multi-Sensory Feedback (5) - By Yasmin Aftab

Multi-sensory feedback technology is widely adopted in virtual reality environments. In order to evaluate its usability proper tests should be performed. In the study of Zhang et. al. (2007) an assessment of multi-sensory feedback on the usability of a Virtual Assembly Environment was conducted. VAE in the manufacturing industry, allows easy evaluation of assembly-related engineering decisions through analysis, predictive models, visualisation and data presentation. In addition, it has the potential to factor the human elements and considerations of the completed product without needing a physical realisation. For the non-command interface an optical tracking system was applied which provides a real time measurement of the position and orientation of the tracked targets i.e. user’s head and hands.

The experiment assessed 3 different attributes of the system: efficiency of use, user satisfaction and reliability. In order to evaluate the attributes task completion times, questionnaires and human performance error rates were used respectively. A group of 16 people was invited to conduct the tests. The research assumed several hypotheses:

• The use of visual feedback can lead to better usability than neutral condition (neither visual nor auditory feedback)
• The use of 3D auditory feedback can lead to better usability than the neutral condition
• The use of integrated feedback (both visual and auditory) cal lead to better usability than either feedback used in isolation

The results of the experiment show that the use of multi-sensory feedback(integrated) improves the efficiency of use (as the tasks were completed much faster), user satisfaction (more participants prefer the integrated feedback and it is more helpful) and reliability (mistakes, slips, lapses and mode errors happen less frequently with the integrated feedback).

Apart from the evaluation of the usability, the multi-sensory feedback still has some design issues that need to be overcome. The design issues of spatial input (Hinckley et. al.) might be grouped in two categories: human perception and ergonomics and facility of interaction. Multi-sensory feedback is essential to the understanding of space (Gibson). However, some of the appliances used in a virtual reality interface may not provide appropriate feedback for the user. According to the experiment (Hinckley et. al.) with a virtual flashlight, the glove-based input might be helpful but there are some kinematics constraints of a hand that does not allow certain movements.

For example: it is easier to rotate something held in fingers that to rotate the whole hand itself. Additionally, the mass of a tool is quite important as it can damp instabilities in the user’s hand motion which is very important i.e. for the surgeons. As far as ergonomics is concerned, several problems may occur. In case of complex applications such as document editor, direct manipulation needs to be constrained by techniques like girding. Appropriate feedback mechanisms still need to be developed for use in spatial interfaces.

In short hand, “The design hurdle is this: provide an interface which effectively integrates rapid, imprecise, multiple degree-of-freedom object placement with slower, but more precise object placement, while providing feedback that makes it all comprehensible. In a nutshell, the usability evaluation of multi-sensory feedback technology is possible after the product is launched. It is done by the people who will buy or use the product. Because of the financial reasons it might be a risky venture, but it is essential for the development of pervasive computing. In most cases, applied multi-sensory feedback technologies are successful and helpful in our life. The last example presents how people’s sensory processing disorder can be overcome with the use of new technologies.
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1 year ago 4,287 views twardURS
References:
Evaluation of Multi-sensory Feedback on the Usability of a Virtual Assembly Environment [online] available from http:// www.academypublisher.com/jmm/vol02/no01/jmm02013847.pdf [February 2007]
2. Hinckley, K. , Pausch, R. , Goble, J. C. , Kassell, N. F. (1994) Proc. ACM UIST'94 Symposium on User Interface Software & Technology [online] available from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~stage3/publications/94/conferences/UIST/Survey.html [April 1994]3. Gibson, J., The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

Multi-Sensory Feedback (4) - By Yasmin Aftab

Multi Sensory Feedback enhances the users’ experiences into one that is more “realistic” and more “responsive” to what they intend. Take the example of a typical desktop computer. Before mouse’s were generally used to navigate around a page on the desktop screen and used to select different options with the buttons being clicked.
Nowadays, more keyboards are coming out especially the ones on laptops with touch pads that can be used to navigate around a page which occurs whit the movement of ones finger to which the feedback is shown on the screen and to the coordinates the user wants. Also take the example of the games consoles. On most games consoles like Sony Play station, Xbox or even the Nintendo Wii the controller pads contain a rumbling device to provide sensory feedback, for example when you crash your car in a game the pad rumbles.
This is very useful to gamers as it adds to “naturalness” of their game play and is very useful feedback to their gaming motions.
By “naturalness” I mean that control is left to the human manipulator rather than transferred to some machinery and therefore gives then more control over their actions. In all, I think that Multi Sensory Feedback stimulates human imagination far more then the traditional intuitive interface of desktop computing. A movement is done with respect to ones inner intention which adds to the “naturalness” of a particular experience.
Sources:
Continuous Multisensory Interaction - http://cnx.org/content/m14293/latest/
Jacob Nielsen’s paper - http://www.useit.com/papers/noncommand.htmlhttp://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7919BC43-2691-4AA2-9ADD-2C9C93C16C2D/45321/FeedbackontheMultiSensoryRoomnovtodec06.pdf

Multi-Sensory Feedback (3) - By Yasmin Aftab

Picture 1 presents photo from the multi-sensory room.
Source: http://www.visualvoicepro.com/

Advantages of multi-sensory technology:

. Technology allows to joining visual, sound, tactile and other components.
. The message or information can be passing by using different ways.
. Much more people can better understand the message, because it is send by using various effects.
· Statistics shows that the systems, which use this technique, are more efficiency, reliability and give more users’ satisfaction.
· The feedback of integrator method gives better results than individual visual or sound method.
· Human errors or mistakes can be easily recognised.
· Time to recover the error is shorter than in other methods.
· The method has various effects in the different systems, but determines the substitution of 3D auditory feedback for force feedback in the manipulation assignments

Multi-sensory technology and traditional desktop computing

Picture 2 shows ‘Wave station’.
Source: http://www.visualvoicepro.com/

References:

Dai, F. (1998) Virtual Reality for Industrial Applications. Springer Verlag
Wickens, C. D. and Hollands, J. G. (1999) Engineering Psychology
and Human Performance (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall Press
Wikipedia (2008). Desktop metaphor [Online] Available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_metaphor [April 2008]
Raskin, J. (2002-2005). The humane interface comes to life [Online] Available:
http://jef.raskincenter.org/home/index.html [2005]

Multi-Sensory Feedback (2) - By Yasmin Aftab

Multi Sensory Feedback as a learning tool

When using multi sensory feedback it utilizes touch hearing and vision to help improve the user interface. It moves away from the paradigm of desktop computing to a more pervasive computing experience as it enhances the experience of performing tasks into a more entertaining one or a task that can be learnt much easier.

Multi sensory feedback can enhance the learning experience for people with learning difficulties or for young people.Most modern teaching is done by sight and hearing. Sight is used to read information written in books or by a teacher, or to look at diagrams and pictures. Hearing is used to listen at what is being said. These are both good ways for learning for people without learning difficulties.

When young people learn they tend to listen to and read what is being said by a teacher, but in some cases a child may be distracted easily or have difficulties taking in information has they cannot handle both visual and audible stimulation. Using current technology, someone can type something using a keyboard and then what is typed is spoken out by the computer.

By using multi sensory feedback as a technique for learning, it can help children with learning difficulties by allowing the child to focus on one task with multiple outcomes. Using touch screens, a child could visually follow an object on screen, and then be asked to touch on the correct object based on a particular colour on screen or sound made by an object. This method can also help those with learning difficulties coordinate on more then one thing. This principle can also be used for young children as a method for quick learning. It makes learning more entertaining then the usual reading and listening method.

A good example of this technology being utilised currently are games on the Nintendo DS called Brain Training and Big Brain Academy, which utilises basic touch, sound and visual feedback to provide an entertaining yet useful tool for helping with memory.

Multi-Sensory Feedback - By Yasmin Aftab

Description and explanation of multi-sensory feedback

A multiple-sensory feedback is to use various input channel senses in order to receive a response of the system to the user's actions. These channels can be hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell and they can be used together interacting with each other or individually. It is used to show the user the results of the actions done by him/her in the system to check what the system is doing.

Multi-sensory feedback can be used, on one hand, to decrease the possibility of occurrence of human mistakes and, in the other hand, as an aid to improve the human abilities such as in medical and educational areas because the interaction of different sensory modalities can powerfully interact to improve the perception.

There are many examples about good uses of multi-sensory feedback. A good one can be how a pilot can improve the way of capturing the attention of unexpected changes without affecting his performance while piloting. If the sight was the only sense to highlight important system status or unexpected changes, the pilot would lose concentration. Instead, if the wide range of sensory modalities available to human beings such as hearing, sight and touch were used, an effective multi-sensory feedback would be provided to the pilots’ attention “without affecting their performance on concurrent tasks”.

Another example of multi-sensory interface can be “reactable” an interface for producing music. Its functionality is based on moving and rotating physical objects in a luminous table which draws different shapes and plays different tones according to the movements of these physical objects. The feedback received by the user is both the light and the music produced by the movements, that is, touch, hearing and sight are used in this interface.In the next video can be appreciated the basics of that user interface, how it works and the feedback it produces.



Picture 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPG-LYoW27E&feature=player_embedded[25 October 2006]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_FzLya8y4&feature=related

In education as well multi-sensory feedback can be used to increase students’ abilities and skills. There are teaching sessions called “Orton-Gillingham” which involves constant interaction between the teacher and the student and the simultaneous use of multiple sensory input channels”. With this interaction and the use of multiple input channels (hearing, sight, touch and kinaesthetic senses) not only an optimal learning is achieved, but enhances memory storage.

Multi-sensory feedback is the message sent to this sensory that can be used in different ways. Various methods are used so users have a better understanding of the message.

One of the uses of Multi-sensory feedback is for the teaching of handwriting skills to students which provides visual and aural signals during a writing exercise. Visually the accuracy is recorded on the student’s efforts in writing and traced letters which are reproduced are closely monitored, this is beneficial for student as they cannot record this if they did it themselves. By the use of this sensory immediate confirmation is given on how successful the writing exercise was as this is done by the muscle movement.

Multi-sensory becomes a greater value when students maybe impaired such as sight, mental or physical impairment. In this case the efforts would be closely monitored and more than one sensory input will be used.

References: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/hfes/hfproc/1998/00000042/00000003/art00012http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPG-LYoW27E&feature=relatedhttp://reactable.iua.upf.edu/http://http://www.orton-gillingham.com/

Pervasive Computing Definition

GROUP A's Definition of Pervasive Computing

Pervasive computing or ubiquitous computing as it is also known is a form of human computer interaction that aims to move beyond the standard use of the computer, keyboard and mouse. It aims to use the theory of computing with a user of being interactive without them actually knowing they are.

It can be seem as machines that are starting to fit the human environment more instead of the user being forced to enter a computing environment.

Its seen as 'COMPUTING DEVICES ARE EMBEDDED EVERYWERE'!!

Any computing technology that takes the user away from the single workstation (PC) is seen as pervasive computing. This in turn inspires application development away from the desktop!

It also breaks the paradigm of a standard PC and the way in which we interact with the physical world.

Pervasive computing has also led to important changes to input and output interactions which define our computing experience!

Welcome!

Welcome to Group A's 306IS Advanced Human Computer Interaction 2008-2009 Group Blog.

The blog contains research from each individual within the group on the Pervasive Computing topic. Each group member selected a topic to research and collated their research, information and ideas on their own post located within this blog.

Members who have contributed to this blog are

Yasmin Aftab,
Balroop Bhogal,
Kalpesh Chavda,
Saagar Parmar,
Pritpal Sarlech

ENJOY READING!