Lars-Erik Janlert

The character of things

Abstract People, as well as things, appear to have character—high-level attributes that help us understand and relate to them. A character is a coherent set of characteristics and attributes that apply to appearance and behaviour alike, cutting across different functions, situations and value systems—esthetical, technical, ethical—providing support for anticipation, interpretation and interaction. Consistency in character may become more important than ever in the increasingly complex artifacts of our computer-supported future.

Complex interaction

An almost explosive growth of complexity puts pressure on people in their everyday doings. Digital artifacts and systems are at the core of this development. How should we handle complexity aspects when designing new interactive devices and systems? In this article we begin an analysis of interaction complexity. We portray different views of complexity; we explore not only negative aspects of complexity, but also positive, making a case for the existence of benign complexity. We argue that complex interaction is not necessarily bad, but designers need a deeper understanding of interaction complexity and need to treat it in a more intentional and thoughtful way. We examine interaction complexity as it relates to different loci of complexity: internal, external, and mediated complexity. Our purpose with these analytical exercises is to pave the way for design that is informed by a more focused and precise understanding of interaction complexity.

Behavior recognition for Learning from Demonstration

Two methods for behavior recognition are presented and evaluated. Both methods are based on the dynamic temporal difference algorithm Predictive Sequence Learning (PSL) which has previously been proposed as a learning algorithm for robot control. One strength of the proposed recognition methods is that the model PSL builds to recognize behaviors is identical to that used for control, implying that the controller (inverse model) and the recognition algorithm (forward model) can be implemented as two aspects of the same model. The two proposed methods, PSLE-Comparison and PSLH-Comparison, are evaluated in a Learning from Demonstration setting, where each algorithm should recognize a known skill in a demonstration performed via teleoperation. PSLH-Comparison produced the smallest recognition error. The results indicate that PSLH-Comparison could be a suitable algorithm for integration in a hierarchical control system consistent with recent models of human perception and motor control.

A Situative Space Model for Mobile Mixed-Reality Computing

This article proposes a situative space model that links the physical and virtual realms and sets the stage for complex human-computer interaction defined by what a human agent can see, hear, and touch, at any given point in time.

The easy ADL home: A physical-virtual approach to domestic living

Smart environments worthy of the name need to capture, interpret, and support human activities that take place within their realms. Most existing efforts tend to focus on either real world activities or activities taking place in the virtual world accessed through digital devices. However, as digital computation continues to permeate our everyday real world environments, and as the border between physical and digital continues to blur for the human agents acting in these environments, we need system design approaches that can cope with human activities that span the physical-virtual gap. In this paper, we present such an approach and use it for designing a smart home intended to support Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The easy ADL home is designed based on a wearable personal server that runs a personal ADL support middleware and a set of computationally augmented everyday objects within the easy ADL home. An initial qualitative study of the system involving 20 subjects revealed a highly positive attitude (score 4.37 out of 5) towards the systems capability of co-locating and synchronizing physical and virtual events throughout the everyday activity scenarios, while classical usability aspects in particular related to the gesture-based input (score 2.89 out of 5) leaves room for improvement.

Learning High-Level Behaviors From Demonstration Through Semantic Networks

In this paper we present an approach for high-level behavior recognition and selection integrated with alow-level controller to help the robot to learn new skills from demonstrations. By means of S ...

The Meaning of Interactivity—Some Proposals for Definitions and Measures

New interactive applications, artifacts, and systems are constantly being added to our environments, and there are some concerns in the human–computer interaction research community that increasing interactivity might not be just to the good. But what is it that is supposed to be increasing, and how could we determine whether it is? To approach these issues in a systematic and analytical fashion, relying less on common intuitions and more on clearly defined concepts and when possible quantifiable properties, we take a renewed look at the notion of interactivity and related concepts. The main contribution of this article is a number of definitions and terms, and the beginning of an attempt to frame the conditions of interaction and interactivity. Based on this framing, we also propose some possible approaches for how interactivity can be measured.

Effects of interactivity and 3D-motion on mental rotation brain activity in an immersive virtual environment

The combination of virtual reality (VR) and brain measurements is a promising development of HCI, but the maturation of this paradigm requires more knowledge about how brain activity is influenced by parameters of VR applications. To this end we investigate the influence of two prominent VR parameters, 3d-motion and interactivity, while brain activity is measured for a mental rotation task, using functional MRI (fMRI). A mental rotation network of brain areas is identified, matching previous results. The addition of interactivity increases the activation in core areas of this network, with more profound effects in frontal and preparatory motor areas. The increases from 3d-motion are restricted to primarily visual areas. We relate these effects to emerging theories of cognition and potential applications for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Our results demonstrate one way to provoke increased activity in task-relevant areas, making it easier to detect and use for adaptation and development of HCI.

Egocentric interaction as a tool for designing ambient ecologies-The case of the easy ADL ecology

The visions of ambient intelligence demand novel interaction paradigms that enable designers and system developers to frame and manage the dynamic and complex interaction between humans and environments populated with physical (real) and virtual (digital) objects of interest. So far, many proposed approaches have adhered to a device-centric stance when including virtual objects into the ambient ecology; a stance inherited from existing interaction paradigms for mobile and stationary interactive devices. In this article, we introduce egocentric interaction as an alternative approach, taking the human agents body and mind as the center of reference. We show how this interaction paradigm has influenced both the conception and implementation of the easy ADL ecology, comprising of smart objects, a personal activity-centric middleware attempting to simplify interaction given available resources, ambient intelligence applications aimed at everyday activity support, and a human agent literally in the middle of it all.

Faceless Interaction—A Conceptual Examination of the Notion of Interface: Past, Present, and Future

In the middle of the present struggle to keep interaction complexity in check, as artifact complexity continues to rise and the technical possibilities to interact multiply, the notion of interface is scrutinized. First, a limited number of previous interpretations or thought styles of the notion are identified and discussed. This serves as a framework for an analysis of the current situation with regard to complexity, control, and interaction, leading to a realization of the crucial role of surface in contemporary understanding of interaction. The potential of faceless interaction, interaction that transcends traditional reliance on surfaces, is then examined and discussed, liberating possibilities as well as complicating effects, and dangers are pointed out, ending with a sketch of a possibly emerging new thought style.