Ali Mazalek

Towards a Framework for Tangible Narratives

This paper presents a preliminary framework to inform the analysis and design of tangible narratives. Researchers and designers have been using tangible user interfaces (TUIs) for storytelling over the past two decades, but to date no comprehensive analysis of these systems exists. We argue that storytelling systems that use digitally-enhanced physical objects form a unique medium with identifiable narrative characteristics. Our framework isolates these characteristics and focuses on the users perspective to identify commonalities between existing systems, as well as gaps that can be addressed by new systems. We find that the majority of systems in our sample require the user to perform exploratory actions from an external narrative position. We note that systems that cast the user in other interactive roles are rare but technologically feasible, suggesting that there are many underexplored possibilities for tangible storytelling.

Design of embodied interfaces for engaging spatial cognition

Aspects of spatial cognition, specifically spatial skills, are strongly correlated with interest and success in STEM courses and STEM-related professions. Because growth in STEM-related industries is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, it is important to develop evidence-based and theoretically grounded methods and interventions that can help train relevant spatial skills. In this article, we discuss research showing that aspects of spatial cognition are embodied and how these findings and theoretical developments can be used to influence the design of tangible and embodied interfaces (TEIs). TEIs seek to bring interaction with digital content off the screen and into the physical environment. By incorporating physical movement and tangible feedback in digital systems, TEIs can leverage the relationship between the body and spatial cognition to engage, support, or improve spatial skills. We use this knowledge to define a design space for TEIs that engage spatial cognition and illustrate how TEIs that are designed and evaluated from a spatial cognition perspective can expand the design space in ways that contribute to the fields of cognitive science and human computer interaction.

Evaluation of a Smart-Restorable Backspace Technique to Facilitate Text Entry Error Correction

We present a new smart-restorable backspace technique to facilitate correction of overlooked errors on touchscreen-based tablets. We conducted an empirical study to compare the new backspace technique with the conventional one. Results of the study revealed that the new technique improves the overall text entry performance, both in terms of speed and operations per character, by significantly reducing error correction efforts. In addition, results showed that most users preferred the new technique to the one they use on their tablets, and found it easy to learn and use. Most of them also felt that it improved their overall text entry performance, thus wanted to keep using it.

Sensing History: Contextualizing Artifacts with Sensory Interactions and Narrative Design

We present three prototypes that aim to elicit historical and experiential qualities of 16th century prayer-nuts through narrative design and sensory interactions. Our goal is to enhance the presentation of cultural artifacts that must be presented behind glass to ensure their conservation. We aim to provide visitors with opportunities to form personalized connections with the past through historical, sensory, and embodied information that is otherwise unavailable. We use narrative design as a strategy to conceptualize and ground an experience that considers the contexts of users, their interactions, and the space in which the interactions occur. Together, our prototypes create an experience that is embodied, visual, aural, tactile, and olfactory. We present a brief review of related work, descriptions of the prototypes, our design rationale, and the results of our user study.

A Survey of Text Entry Techniques for Smartwatches

The growing interest in wearable devices has resulted in a wave of novel and improved text entry techniques for smartwatches and other ultra-small devices. These techniques are not only diverse in nature but also evaluated in different experimental conditions. This makes it difficult for designers and researchers to compare the techniques, and their performances in terms of speed and accuracy. This paper reviews the most important text entry techniques for smartwatches and other ultra-small devices. It categorizes all techniques based on whether they use a variant of the standard Qwerty keyboard, a novel keypad or keyboard, or handwriting recognition, and discusses the design and evaluation of the techniques. It includes a table that displays the performances of these techniques in the most common text entry performance metrics.

TASC: Combining Virtual Reality with Tangible and Embodied Interactions to Support Spatial Cognition

A growing body of empirical evidence from the cognitive sciences shows that physical experience can enhance cognition in areas that involve spatial thinking. At the same time, virtual environments provide opportunities to engage learners with novel spatial tasks that cannot be achieved in the real world. Yet combining virtual worlds with tangible interfaces to engage spatial cognition is still not a well-explored area. This paper describes the TASC (Tangibles for Augmenting Spatial Cognition) system, which combines movement tracking and tangible objects in order to create a strong sense of embodiment in a virtual environment for spatial puzzle solving, designed to engage perspective taking ability. We describe the motivation, design process, and development of TASC. We also report the results from our user study, showing the participants positive experiences, linking to future research opportunities.

Learning New Words and Spelling with Autocorrections

We present a novel color-coded feedback method that highlights the types of corrections made by autocorrections. We then present results of a longitudinal user study with 7-8-year-old children that compared the new method with the conventional autocorrection feedback method, in terms of leaning new words and spelling. Results suggested that the new method better accommodates learning new words. Interestingly, learning was observed with the conventional feedback method as well, demanding further investigation into whether predictive methods are truly a barrier to learning new words and spelling.

Tangible VR: Diegetic Tangible Objects for Virtual Reality Narratives

We present a system for diegetic tangible objects in virtual reality (VR) narratives. The system integrates a custom-designed sensor unit, built with low-cost off-the-shelf hardware, to track objects in VR and to support a variety of custom-made and found tangibles. In its current form, the sensor unit tracks the objects orientation and supports the authoring of specifically designed interactions for each tangible object. We contribute our design rationale, sensor unit, and four proof of concept prototypes, including a cube, a stuffed animal, a treasure chest, and a wooden boat, demonstrating how we leverage passive and active haptics to create a closer link between real and virtual worlds. For developers and users of VR, we expand interaction possibilities to include the physical characteristics of tangible objects. For the field of tangible narratives, we expand the current use of diegetic objects.

Actibles: Open Source Active Tangibles

Actibles are an open source hardware/software platform for creating active tangibles. Actibles contain a smartwatch core, which eases both hardware and software development, and enables application developers to leverage various web technologies. The smartwatch core is augmented by custom hardware that enables an expanded set of tangible interactions, including shaking, tilting, stacking and neighbouring, as well as on-screen gestures and integrated LED feedback. Actibles can be used both independently or in conjunction with other devices, such as interactive tabletops. We describe the Actibles technical specifications and demonstrate several example applications.

Mobile-based tangible interaction techniques for shared displays

This tutorial explores the possibility of using touchscreen-based mobile devices as active tangibles on an interactive tabletop surface. The tutorial starts with an open discussion about various aspects of tangible interaction, including an overview of different approaches and design principles. It then guides participants through the design and development of innovative interaction techniques, where mobile phones are used as active tangibles on a shared tabletop display. The intent is to encourage the mobile HCI community to further explore the possibility of using everyday devices such as mobile phones as tangibles.