Monday, January 19, 2009
Touch Screen Interaction in Public Spaces: Room for Improvement if "Every Surface is to be a Computer"!
With Win7's "multi-touch" capabilities, Bill Gate's statement that every surface will be a computer might come true, but from what I can see, we have a long way to go before we get it right!
One of the concerns I have about "touch" screen interaction in public spaces is that not much thought is given to the environmental factors surrounding the system. The system that is tested for the first time after installation might work just fine, but not when it is put to use under a variety of conditions or situations.
EXAMPLES (I've recycled a few of these from previous posts.)
Below is a shot of my husband, trying to see what is on the screen. This photo shows exactly what the screen looked like at the time:
The next picture tells it all. You can see that there is some sort of alphabet on the right side of the screen, but the reflection of my husband is easier to see. We couldn't figure this one out.
The following clip demonstrates how environmental concerns, such as wind and "sideways" rain, can make an interactive display at a shopping center difficult to use. During this clip, you can hear me muttering about the difficulties I had interacting with the information on the touch-screen display. It is possible that the system wasn't working well because of the exposure to the elements.
In my opinion, an interactive wayfinding application should run on a larger display and support two or more people, since many hospital visitors often run in pairs or small groups.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Screens of All Sizes: Nielson Wire Report: Television, Internet and Mobile Usage in the US (3rd Quarter 2008)
Those of you who regularly follow this blog know that I'm obsessed with off-the desktop technology, including screens of all sizes, used in various situations and settings. On this blog, as well as the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog, I've noted how various disciplines and industries have been converging over time, often right in front of my eyes as I travel, shop, attend events, or hang out at home and elsewhere, by myself, with family, or with friends & colleagues.
Via Nielsen wire and The Web Outside blog:
Graphic from The Nielsen Company
(I will take this graphic down if requested.)
Although I've documented trends related to screen-based technologies at personal level, I haven't come across much hard data to support my hunches and observations. For this reason, I was happy to come across the report, Television, Internet, and Mobile Usage in the U.S., published the Nielsen Company. Here are some facts from the report, confirming what I've known in my bones for a while:
Summarized from page 4 of the report:
- Television remains the dominant screen for watching video, and time spent watching television has increased over the past year.
- People who watch recorded television, known in the industry as "timeshifted TV" also watch video online, but on average, but half as much.
- Men are likely to watch video on their mobile phones, and women are more likely to watch video on the Internet.
- During the third quarter of 2008, there was much online video content related to sports, politics, and finance, and online video use grew over the quarter.
Of course, television producers have made efforts to engage audiences across screens. For example, American Idol fans can vote with their cell phones, and people can visit sites related to their favorite television programs via their mobile devices (i.e. iPhones) when they are out and about. Web addresses are often flashed across the television screen, and CNN encourages viewers to share their video clips of news as it happens via "iReport".
The impulse to "cross-screen"** has carried over to movie theaters. On a recent visit to the theater, I noticed a sign forbidding texting during the show. Too many people were texting during the movies, I guess. Or maybe they were on-line, looking at movie trailers?
Television, Internet, and Mobile Usage in the US: A2/M2 Three Screen Report 3rd Quarter 2008 (pdf)
RELATED
A good resource for information about the Internet is the Pew Internet & American Life Project website. Here are a few good articles and reports, along with a few quotes from the sources:
Seeding the Cloud: What Mobile Access Means for Usage Pattens and Online Content (pdf)(John B. Horrigan)
"Our recent research shows that 62% of American adults have either accessed the internet wirelessly or used non-voice data applications, such as texting, emailing, taking a picture, or recording video, with a handheld. On the average day, 42% of those with cell phones or other wireless-enabled handhelds use the devices for at least one non-voice data application."
Mobile Access to Data and Information (pdf) (John B. Horrigan)
Networked Families (pdf) (Tracy L.M. Kennedy, Aaron Smith, Amy Tracy Wells, Barry Wellman)
"The internet enables shared "Hey, Look at this!" experiences."
"25% of online adults say that the internet has decreased the amount of time they spend watching television."
Adults and Video Games (pdf)
(Amanda Lenhart, Sydney Jones, Alexandra Rankin Macgill)
"More than half - 53% - of all American adults play video games of some kind, whether on a computer, on a gaming console, on a cell phone or other handheld device, on a portable gaming device, or online."
Demographics of Internet Users
Daily Internet Activities
Total Internet Activities
People are accessing the Internet more and more when not at home or at work, usually with their own device, and not a public screen or web-based interface.
This is changing, I think. Bill Gates says that every surface will be a computer, and we all know that computers = Internet. We are living in the dawning of the age of the Internet of Things, or should we say, the Internet of Screens?
Somewhat Related
Example of "cross-screen" interaction:
Fast-food operator serves up digital signage (via Self Service & Kiosk Association)
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Every Surface a Computer: "Scratch" - Capturing Finger Input on Surfaces using Sound. (Chris Harrison and Scott Hudson's Video - UIST '08)
Chris Harrison and Scott Hudson, from the Human-Computer Interaction Group at Carnegie-Mellon University, presented their latest research at the UIST '08 conference. Take a look at the video below to see how gestures that result in sounds can can transformed on unpowered finger input surfaces, using a stethoscope sensors and filters:
Yes, every surface is a computer!
(Even your pants...)
For detailed information, read the paper presented at UIST '08 by Chris Harrison and Scott E. Hudson:
Scratch Input: Creating Large, Inexpensive, Unpowered, and Mobile Finger Input Surfaces
RELATED:
The Best Paper Award at UIST '08 was "Bringing Physics to the Surface", by Andrew Wilson, of Microsoft Research, and Ahahram Izadi, Otmar Hilliges, Armando Garcia-Mendoza, and David Kirk, of Microsoft Research, Cambridge.
Here is the abstract:
"This paper explores the intersection of emerging surface technologies, capable of sensing multiple contacts and of-ten shape information, and advanced games physics engines. We define a technique for modeling the data sensed from such surfaces as input within a physics simulation. This affords the user the ability to interact with digital objects in ways analogous to manipulation of real objects. Our technique is capable of modeling both multiple contact points and more sophisticated shape information, such as the entire hand or other physical objects, and of mapping this user input to contact forces due to friction and collisions within the physics simulation. This enables a variety of fine-grained and casual interactions, supporting finger-based, whole-hand, and tangible input. We demonstrate how our technique can be used to add real-world dynamics to interactive surfaces such as a vision-based tabletop, creating a fluid and natural experience. Our approach hides from application developers many of the complexities inherent in using physics engines, allowing the creation of applications without preprogrammed interaction behavior or gesture recognition."
Preparation for the Internet of Surfaces & Things?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Link to "Internet of Surfaces" Photo Examples
Here is a link to a wide assortment of photos that provide examples of what an "Internet of Surfaces" might look like:
INTERNET OF SURFACES: Photo Examples of Screens of All Sizes
Some of the photos are from my team projects. Other photos are from the Microsoft Surface website, NUI-Group members, and odds and ends from other sources.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Internet of Surfaces?
Internet of Surfaces? Microsoft's Pete Thompson discusses screens and surfaces of all sizes.
(Video clip via gottabemobile, plus a few of my comments related to surfaces and universal usability, on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.)
