Callum Parker

Controller-less Interaction Methods for Google Cardboard

Google Cardboard was recently released as Googles attempt to virtual reality (VR) which has made it more accessible, with its low-cost and easy assembly. The purpose of this research is to provide an initial analysis of controller-less interaction and highlight its potential for enabling a truly portable and accessible VR experience.

To Dwell or Not to Dwell: An Evaluation of Mid-Air Gestures for Large Information Displays

This paper investigates user preferences for mid-air gestures to interact with large public information displays. We designed and implemented a public display application that allows people to navigate between Twitter feeds and to find details about particular tweets. The application supports selection and navigation through (1) point-and-dwell and (2) push and grab-and-pull. A within-subject evaluation with 10 participants found that although point-and-dwell was perceived to be more accurate, push was preferred for selecting items and grab-and-pull was preferred for navigation. Based on our findings we derive recommendations for designing gesture-based information displays.

Design implications for interacting with personalised public displays through mobile augmented reality

Due to their situated nature, digital public displays have the potential to provide information and messages to large groups of people. However, in practice, non-customised content typically is not relevant to every passerby, while personalising information tailored to individuals is associated with privacy concerns. Previous research has identified mobile augmented reality as a promising method for keeping digital displays public, yet enabling customised views for interested passersby in a way that retains privacy. By building on this previous work, the aim of this paper is to understand user preferences for interacting with personalised information on digital public displays through their mobile device. The paper reports on a study that was conducted with a prototype augmented reality app and public display system. Findings from the study highlight the need for contextual personalisation based upon user activities and objectives at the time of the interaction. Additionally, interactions should be adaptable between public and covert, depending upon what the user wants to share. Based on these findings the paper presents a series of design implications for personalising public displays.

Keeping it private: an augmented reality approach to citizen participation with public displays

With the availability of displays in public space increasing, they have been proposed and studied as platform for civic engagement. Due to their situated nature, public displays have the potential to enable a larger cross-section of the public to participate in community consultation processes, compared to focus groups or online surveys. Previous research has investigated a range of interaction methods for enabling this form of citizen participation with public displays. Through an analysis of related work we identified four main categories of interaction methods: remote indirect, kiosk, mid-air gestural and mobile. In this paper we propose a formerly introduced interaction method, based upon mobile augmented reality, which promises to enable pervasive participation by making interactions more private and simultaneous, through a familiar and convenient interface.

Towards Adaptive Height-Aware Public Interactive Displays

Public interactive displays (PIDs) are becoming more pervasive in urban environments as a means to engage passers-by and to provide interactive features such as wayfinding. However, one of the problems with current PIDs is that they are typically designed around an average specification, potentially excluding a large range of users that for instance might not be able to reach interactive elements. To address this challenge, we propose a number of design concepts for adjusting PIDs to users of different heights. We present a preliminary evaluation of our concepts through a cognitive walk-through study with 10 design experts using a custom-developed experience prototype featuring four height-aware modes. Based on qualitative feedback and observations we discuss design suggestions for future work.

Designing a Personalized VR Exergame

Exercise is essential for health and well-being. However, it can be difficult for people to meet the recommended amount of daily exercise simply due to the lack of motivation. It has recently become apparent that virtual reality games, even though they were not explicitly designed for exercise, have the potential to provide enough exercise to achieve recommended levels of activity for a day, while keeping people motivated. However, as these games have not generally not been designed for exercise, there is a risk that people may either under- or over-exert themselves. Therefore, in this paper we present and discuss our design for a virtual reality exergame that utilizes a user model and dynamic difficulty adjustment to deliver personalized activity levels and experiences.

Bridging the interaction gulf: understanding the factors that drive public interactive display usage

Previous HCI studies have identified challenges when designing public displays that often result in users ignoring them. In this paper, we explore the factors that drive passers-by to become active users and provide suggestions to guide the design of public interactive displays (PIDs). We contrast the findings from two different studies: (1) an observation of existing non-research PIDs to understand the issues currently facing displays in the wild; and (2) a field study of a PID research prototype. Based on the findings from both studies, the paper concludes with a discussion of three factors that have an effect on the utilisation of PIDs: position, content and function.

Device-free: an implicit personalisation approach for public interactive displays

Previous research on making public interactive displays more relevant to passers-by has focused on using profiles to personalise the content. However, profiles can potentially compromise privacy and may also create barriers for interaction as implementations usually require users to set up a personal profile, for example, through a smartphone app. In this paper, we explore an implicit personalisation approach for public interactive displays as an alternative to user profiles. We present findings from two evaluation studies of public interactive displays that implicitly adapt the display, based on a users goals and characteristics. From these studies, we build on our definition of implicit personalisation and derive insights into how the user interface and content on public interactive displays should adapt in order to be perceived relevant by their users.

Does the Public Still Look at Public Displays?: A Field Observation of Public Displays in the Wild

Public displays are widely used for displaying information in public space, such as shopping centres. They are typically programmed to display advertisements or general information about the space in which they are situated. Due to recent advances in technology, public displays are becoming ubiquitous in space around cities and can potentially enable new interactions with public space. However, despite these advances, research reports that public displays are often found to be: (1) generally irrelevant to the space in which they are situated; and (2) ignored by passers-by. Although much research has focused on tackling these issues, a gap remains regarding knowledge about how public displays in the wild are currently being used at a time when people are increasingly relying on their smartphones as a main source for accessing information and for connecting with others. The study reported in this article aims to address this gap by presenting new insights about the current practices of non-research public displays and their role in a hyperconnected society. To achieve this, we provide results from a field observation study of non-research public displays and contextualise our findings within an analysis of related work. This article makes three main contributions: (1) identifying how user engagement with public displays has changed over the past 10 years; (2) understanding how the pervasiveness of smartphones and other connected devices has modified whether users notice public displays and their interactions with public displays; and (3) outlining design recommendations and opportunities towards making public displays more relevant in a hyperconnected society.

Data Visualisation Trends in Mobile Augmented Reality Applications

According to Google Trends, mobile augmented reality (AR) apps will, after a brief hype-associated peak and decline, show again a more steady growth in the near future. Indeed, a review of currently available mobile AR apps suggests that they are embracing practical uses instead of simply showing off the capabilities of AR. Many of these apps are making information more ubiquitous without making the user necessarily aware of the datas origins, using graphics to represent multiple datasets. There has been however little research focusing on the trends in AR and the types of data visualisations used in mobile AR. The purpose of this paper is to fill that void by presenting an analysis of currently popular mobile AR apps on the market. Our findings from this small-scale investigation give an indication of the types of visualisation styles used in current mobile AR apps and highlight suggestions for how to make the information presented more relevant, for example by using better filtering methods.