Fabian Göbel

Gaze-supported foot interaction in zoomable information spaces

When working with zoomable information spaces, we can distinguish complex tasks into primary and secondary tasks (e.g., pan and zoom). In this context, a multimodal combination of gaze and foot input is highly promising for supporting manual interactions, for example, using mouse and keyboard. Motivated by this, we present several alternatives for multimodal gaze-supported foot interaction in a computer desktop setup for pan and zoom. While our eye gaze is ideal to indicate a users current point of interest and where to zoom in, foot interaction is well suited for parallel input controls, for example, to specify the zooming speed. Our investigation focuses on varied foot input devices differing in their degree of freedom (e.g., one- and two-directional foot pedals) that can be seamlessly combined with gaze input.

DepthTouch: an elastic surface for tangible computing

In this paper we describe DepthTouch, an installation which explores future interactive surfaces and features elastic feedback, allowing the user to go deeper than with regular multi-touch surfaces. DepthTouchs elastic display allows the user to create valleys and ascending slopes by depressing or grabbing its textile surface. We describe the experimental approach for eliciting appropriate interaction metaphors from interaction with real materials and the resulting digital prototype.

Look & Pedal: Hands-free Navigation in Zoomable Information Spaces through Gaze-supported Foot Input

For a desktop computer, we investigate how to enhance conventional mouse and keyboard interaction by combining the input modalities gaze and foot. This multimodal approach offers the potential for fluently performing both manual input (e.g., for precise object selection) and gaze-supported foot input (for pan and zoom) in zoomable information spaces in quick succession or even in parallel. For this, we take advantage of fast gaze input to implicitly indicate where to navigate to and additional explicit foot input for speed control while leaving the hands free for further manual input. This allows for taking advantage of gaze input in a subtle and unobtrusive way. We have carefully elaborated and investigated three variants of foot controls incorporating one-, two- and multidirectional foot pedals in combination with gaze. These were evaluated and compared to mouse-only input in a user study using Google Earth as a geographic information system. The results suggest that gaze-supported foot input is feasible for convenient, user-friendly navigation and comparable to mouse input and encourage further investigations of gaze-supported foot controls.

The importance of visual attention for adaptive interfaces

Efficient user interfaces help their users to accomplish their tasks by adapting to their current needs. The processes involved before and during interface adaptation are complex and crucial for the success and acceptance of a user interface. In this work we identify these processes and propose a framework that demonstrates the benefits that can be gained by utilizing the users visual attention in the context of adaptive cartographic maps.

Improving map reading with gaze-adaptive legends

Complex information visualizations, such as thematic maps, encode information using a particular symbology that often requires the use of a legend to explain its meaning. Traditional legends are placed at the edge of a visualization, which can be difficult to maintain visually while switching attention between content and legend. Moreover, an extensive search may be required to extract relevant information from the legend. In this paper we propose to consider the users visual attention to improve interaction with a map legend by adapting both the legends placement and content to the users gaze. In a user study, we compared two novel adaptive legend behaviors to a traditional (non-adaptive) legend. We found that, with both of our approaches, participants spent significantly less task time looking at the legend than with the baseline approach. Furthermore, participants stated that they preferred the gaze-based approach of adapting the legend content (but not its placement).