Fadi Chehimi

PhoneTouch: a technique for direct phone interaction on surfaces

PhoneTouch is a novel technique for integration of mobile phones and interactive surfaces. The technique enables use of phones to select targets on the surface by direct touch, facilitating for instance pick&drop-style transfer of objects between phone and surface. The technique is based on separate detection of phone touch events by the surface, which determines location of the touch, and by the phone, which contributes device identity. The device-level observations are merged based on correlation in time. We describe a proof-of-concept implementation of the technique, using vision for touch detection on the surface (including discrimination of finger versus phone touch) and acceleration features for detection by the phone.

Using “tilt” as an interface to control “no-button” 3-D mobile games

Mobile phones offer considerable challenges for game developers, and not least among them is the user interface, which is primarily optimized for number entry rather than for playing games. In fact, due to the limitations one of the most desirable criteria for mobile games has the design of games controlled by a one-button interface. However, this type of interface has only been seen as applicable for casual games, where mastering the interface is de-emphasized. As a number of mobile phones are starting to appear with 3-D accelerometers, game developers have the opportunity to investigate new interface mechanisms. In this article we illustrate how accelerometers provide the possibility of a no-button mobile game. While 3-D accelerometers offer a range of possible interface mechanisms, the one that requires minimal signal processing and no external references is motion, and in particular, tilt, and as such is eminently suitable for mobile phones. In this article we explore a tilt interface for a 3-D graphics first-person driving game titled Tunnel Run, and compare the user experience playing the same game with a traditional phone joypad interface and with a tilt interface in two different modes. The results show that the tilt interface was experienced as fun, and certainly seemed more attractive to players, who said they would not have played this type of game otherwise.

Motion controlled mobile 3D multiplayer gaming

Due to limitations in the user interface one of the oft cited most desirable features for mobile games is that they can be played using a single button. However, games using this type of control are extremely difficult to design and thus far it has been primarily utilized for casual games. As a number of mobile phones are starting to appear with accelerometers, mobile game developers have the opportunity to investigate new interaction mechanisms and as this paper we illustrate how accelerometers can greatly simplify the interaction for 3D graphical action games. In particular we present the design and user trials for a novel motion controlled 3D Bluetooth multiplayer space game. The results show that this experience is seen as fun and much more intuitive for gamers and non-gamers alike.

Augmented Reality 3D Interactive Advertisements on Smartphones

Whilst augmented reality (AR) has been a prevalent research topic it has proved difficulty to implement and apply in commercial situations as it generally requires complex and expensive hardware. With the proliferation of mobile phones amongst the world population with ever increasing sets of advanced features such as cameras and high resolution screens AR has the opportunity to emerge from laboratories and enter the high street. In this paper we discuss a unique system that will allow complex and highly interactive visual 3- D adverts to be viewed on mobile phones equipped with cameras. The 3-D adverts are contained within a novel visual code design which allows the system to be deployed without the requirement for additional network infrastructure making it both practical and affordable for advertisers.

Evolution of 3D mobile games development

Abstract3D computer graphics have been an important feature in games development since it was first introduced in the early 80s and there is no doubt that 3D based content is often viewed as more attractive in games than the more abstract 2D graphics. Many games publishers are keen to leverage their success in the console market into the mobile phone platform. However, the resource constraints of mobile phones and the fragmented nature of the environment present considerable challenges for games developers. In this paper we consider some of the current constraints together with current and, probable, future developments both in the software and hardware of mobile phones. As part of this process we benchmark some of the latest and most prevalent software and hardware devices to ascertain both the quality of the graphics produced and the effects upon battery life. Whilst our test results highlight that the current market does indeed present challenges, our research into the future developments highlights the fact we are approaching greater standardization, which will be an important factor for the successful development of 3D mobile games.

Evolution of 3D games on mobile phones

While there is no doubt that there will be an increasing trend towards 3D games on mobile devices the resource constraints of the devices themselves and the highly variable nature of the environment present considerable challenges for games developers. In this paper we consider some of the current constraints together with current and, probable, future developments both in the software and hardware of mobile phones that will enable more sophisticated games to be developed. As part of this process we benchmark some of the latest and most prevalent software and devices to ascertain both the quality of the graphics produced and the effects on the battery life. Whilst we are certain that 3D games play an important future in the success of future mobile services the current baseline for development is highly variable and presents difficulties for games programmers both in development and wide scale distribution.

Throw your photos: an intuitive approach for sharing between mobile phones and interactive tables

Many approaches have been proposed to connect mobile phones with interactive tables. Most rely on having the phone placed on table all times, which may hinder the overall user experience with applications on phones in general and with photo sharing ones in particular: privacy, intuitiveness of use, and technology limits are on stake. We introduce in this paper an approach which allows users to have the phone in hand when interacting with photo manipulation applications on tables, supported with natural gestures of throwing photos off the phone onto the table and dragging them into it to enhance the connected relationship between the two physical entities even when placed apart.

3D Motion Control of Connected Augmented Virtuality on Mobile Phones

Applications of 3 dimensional (3-D) virtual reality are now possible on current mobile phones due to the advances in mobile 3-D graphics technologies. However, the user-interface to these applications is generally still limited to the basic phone keypad which detracts from the sophisticated experience 3-D worlds can provide. In this paper we present a solution to this problem which utilizes the accelerometers on mobile phones to provide 3-D motion-controlled navigation through networked 3-D environments. This mechanism not only eliminates the use of buttons on the phone for control but also bridges the physical world to the virtual one to maintain optimum user experience.

Using a camera phone as a mixed-reality laser cannon

Despite the ubiquity and rich features of current mobile phones, mobile games have failed to reach even the lowest estimates of expected revenues. This is unfortunate as mobile phones offer unique possibilities for creating games aimed at attracting demographics not currently catered for by the traditional console market. As a result, there has been a growing call for greater innovation within the mobile games industry and support for games outside the current console genres. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a novel location-based game which allows us turn a camera phone into a mixed-reality laser cannon. The game uses specially designed coloured tags, which are worn by the players, and advanced colour tracking software running on a camera phone, to create a novel first person shoot-em-up (FPS) with innovative game interactions and play.

C++ Optimizations for Mobile Applications

Mobile application development requires many techniques unfamiliar to the general PC developer due to the limitations presented by the mobile platforms. Unlike the PC environment where hardware capabilities can easily be upgraded to accommodate more complex applications, in the mobile environment the onus is on the ability of the developer to produce optimized software with minimal overhead to outcome the desired results. In this paper we define generic paradigms relating to memory and code optimizations for Symbian C++ applications on mobile phones. We illustrate through testing, on an actual device, the advantages that these techniques can produce and their importance for mobile application developers