Intelligent Interfaces

IICS2208

vanessa.camilleri@um.edu.mt

Topic 4: Overview• Interaction Styles

• Direct Manipulation: characteristics & concepts

• Challenges of direct manipulation

• Scenarios for direct manipulation

• AR & VR: immersive spaces

Interaction StylesPositive emotions which such interfaces may cause in users include:

• Mastery of the interface

• Competence in performing tasks

• Ease in learning originally and in assimilating advanced features

• Confidence in retaining mastery over time

• Enjoyment in using the interface

• Eagerness to show off the interface to novices

• Desire to explore more powerful aspects

Direct ManipulationThe characteristics of direct manipulation interfaces include:

• Visibility of the objects and actions of interest;

• Rapid

• Reversible

• Incremental actions;

• Replacement of typed commands by a pointing action on the object of interest

Concepts of direct manipulation find their practice in ideas such as:

• Game design: Characters and NPCs controlled by novel pointing devices

• Science: Remote operated microscopes or fly drones

• Information visualisation: Presentation of thousands of objects on screen with dynamic user controls

• Virtual reality, augmented reality & tangible user interfaces: hand gestures allow users to point, select, grasp and navigate.

Using these principles it is possible to design systems with the following attributes:

1. Novices can learn basic functionality quickly usually through a demonstration by a more experienced user;

2. Experts can work rapidly to carry out a wide range of tasks even defining new functions and features;

3. Knowledgeable intermittent users can retain operational concepts;

4. Error messages are rarely needed;

5. Users can immediately see whether their actions are furthering their goals, and if the actions are counterproductive, they can simply change the direction of the activity;

6. Users experiences less anxiety because the interface is comprehensible and because actions can be reversed easily;

7. Users gain a sense of confidence and mastery because they are the initiators of actions, they feel in control, and they can predict the interface’s responses.

Transnational Distance

• Weak direct manipulation - large TD

• Medium direct manipulation

• Strong direct manipulation - small TD

Challenges of Direct Manipulation

• GUIs need to be complemented with speech enabled devices or audio designs to help vision impaired users interact;

• Direct manipulation devices need to find a balance between screen space and presenting information

• Users need to learn the meaning of visual representations and graphic icons

• There are times when typing commands can be more efficient than actually pointing on to a screen with a device

• Small mobile devices have limited screen space and a finger pointing at a device may partially block the display

• Programming rapid and incremental actions may be quite difficult to achieve

Game Scenarios with Direct Manipulation

Game Scenarios with Direct Manipulation

Immersive Interfaces• Provide overviews so that the users can see the big

picture (plan view display?)

• Allow teleportation

• Offer x-ray vision so that users can see into or beyond objects

• Provide history keeping

• Permit rich user actions on objects (copying, annotating, sharing)

• Enable remote collaboration

Immersive Interfaces• Give users control over explanatory text (pop, floating,

screen tips) and let them view details on demand

• Offer tools to select, mark and measure

• Implement dynamic queries to rapidly filter out unneeded items

• Support semantic zooming and movement

• Enable landmarks to show themselves even at a distance

• Allow multiple coordinated views

• Develop novel 3D icons to represent concepts that are more recognisable and memorable.

Applications of AR

Applications of VR

Conclusion• Appealing systems have an enjoyable user

interface with customised user generated content that offers a natural representation of the task objects and actions;

• AR & VR are being applied in an increasing number of domains;

• Research needs to be furthered in these areas, to enhance the user experience.