Arto Puikkonen

Evaluating capacitive touch input on clothes

Wearable computing and smart clothing have attracted a lot of attention in the last years. For a variety of applications, it can be seen as potential future direction of mobile user interfaces. In this paper, we concentrate on usability and applicability issues concerned with capacitive touch input on clothing. To be able to perform user studies, we built a generic platform for attaching, e.g., capacitive sensors of different types. On top of that, several prototypes of wearable accessories and clothing and implemented various application scenarios. We report on two studies we undertook with these implementations with a user group randomly sampled at a shopping mall. We provide a significant set of guidelines and lessons learned that emerged from our experiences and those studies. Thus, developers of similar projects have to put major efforts into minimizing the delay between button activation and feedback and to make location and identification of controls and their function as simple and quick as possible. Issues that have to be treated in all designs include the requirement of one-handed interaction and that, even for minimal functionality, to find a general solution with regard to layout and button-to-function mapping is hardly possible. Additionally, in order to generate a satisfactory user experience good usability must be combined with aesthetical factors.

Towards designing better maps for indoor navigation: experiences from a case study

Recent development in indoor navigation systems and related studies imply that these applications will become common in the future. A variety of solutions utilizing different mediums is being developed. Lately, a range of mobile devices have started to support outdoor pedestrian navigation, and these devices presumably keep guiding the users also when moving indoors. However, the design patterns from the outdoor world do not necessarily work indoors. In order to understand the distinctive UI requirements of indoor navigation, we conducted a user study involving 23 people using a mobile phone-based, location-sensitive service. In this paper, we reveal our findings that the visualizations and UI designs resembling conventional outdoor maps or floor layouts are not optimal for indoor navigation, and present recommendations for the future design of indoor navigation systems.

Practices in creating videos with mobile phones

Mobile phones with integrated video cameras have become ubiquitous tools that people use both to document everyday surroundings and to express themselves artistically. In this paper we report the findings of a user study on user created mobile videos, where the actions of 11 active mobile video users were documented for 2 weeks, the collected material including diaries, device logs, and altogether 255 videos. We describe the patterns related to the creation, sharing and consuming mobile videos, revealing characteristics of both context and content of the video material.

Cool interaction with calm technologies: experimenting with ice as a multitouch surface

In this paper we describe our interactive ice-wall installation, which is a multi-touch surface built from ice. Our demo seeks to stretch the boundaries of current ubiquitous computing systems by trying out a new material, which embeds itself to the environment -- here, outdoors in a snowy winter. In addition to the function of the interactive installation, where we show that ice as a material can be used for such purposes, we seek to offer an inspirational aspect to the design of ubiquitous computing systems. We also present the feedback collected from 33 surveyed and 10 interviewed users who interacted with the system.

Sketching with strangers: in the wild study of ad hoc social communication by drawing

We describe an in-the-wild experiment with non-verbal ad-hoc communication between strangers. We connected two night clubs via two interactive tables that allowed people at each end interact via shared drawings, pre-made symbols and actions. We interviewed 50 and observed approximately 200 participants. In local interaction, collaboration was the preferred mode of use, whereas with remote interaction, communication prevailed. This study demonstrated that people have such a strong desire to communicate that they are willing to forgive many imperfections in the channel. It was also evident that people resorted to stereotypical information to ease the rapid flow of conversation, when they had only limited knowledge of the other party (just the place). This paper describes our system design, the user study, and discusses implications on designing for ad hoc communication and context sharing in urban everyday environment.

Playing, performing, reporting: a case study of mobile minimovies composed by teenage girls

Digital camera functionality integrated into mobile phones is providing a new tool for users to create content, however user created mobile videos have so far remained a rather unexplored area. In this paper we present a study of 263 teenage girls who created and authored minimovies using the N73 mobile phone. In a semi-controlled setting, the participants produced 82 minimovies, analysed in this paper for their structure, style and feature usage. We compare across age groups, and discuss lessons learnt regarding the social nature of mobile content creation.

Prochinima: using pico projector to tell situated stories

In this paper we explore the use of Prochinima, a mobile and ubiquitous storytelling tool concept utilizing small projectors and ready-made animations. We tested Prochinima in a field trial, where 6--10 year old children were using the system and creating stories, as well as capturing the stories on video. In addition to analyzing Prochinimas ability to support childrens storytelling and collaboration, we explore the affect of mobility and context on storytelling. Moreover, we discuss the importance of creativity and supporting users own content creation. We also argue that fun and playfulness is connected to the freedom of creativity.

Touching the ice: in-the-wild study of an interactive icewall

In this paper, we present an interactive installation consisting of a 3 m wide × 1.4 m high touch sensitive wall of ice, which was set up as an indoor installation during a music festival. During a one night in-the-wild study, the audience could draw on the back-projected icewall, either directly using it as a touch screen, or remotely via a mobile optimized webpage. We focus on reporting the lessons learnt from this in-the-wild experience, and on user experience aspects of interacting both with the physical ice and through the mobile interface. The results highlight that the material qualities of the tangible user interface are essential for creating engaging and intriguing user experiences, whereas remote interaction through a mobile app enhances the possibilities for social interaction and sharing.

Losing your creativity - storytelling comparison between children and adolescents

In this paper we study pico projector based storytelling among adolescents. We compare the results of our user study of 17 students to the results of our earlier study among young children. Our main focus was on creativity, playfulness and fun as well as on the ubiquitous nature of the technology and use of environment. The comparison highlighted interesting differences. The nature of creativity seems to be changing, but the sources of fun and playfulness still share similarities. Groups also utilize surroundings and the ubiquitous nature of the technology in a slightly different manner. The perceived capabilities of the provided technology also had a more profound effect on the adolescents, even to the extent of it restricting their creativity.

Feature Use in Mobile Video Creation

Todays mobile phones are also video cameras. People are using these ubiquitous cameras to document everyday surroundings as well as create more artistic videos. This paper examines emergent mobile film making patterns by tracking video composition and recording activities in ecologically valid contexts of use. We report the findings of a user study on user created mobile videos, where the actions of 11 active mobile video users were documented for 2 weeks. The collected material included diaries, device logs, and altogether 255 videos. Our findings characterize the features of a typical mobile video. Additionally, our study uncovers common practices, user motivations and pitfalls during filming and editing in the mobile context.