Lars Lischke

Pick from here!: an interactive mobile cart using in-situ projection for order picking

Order Picking is not only one of the most important but also most mentally demanding and error-prone tasks in the industry. Both stationary and wearable systems have been introduced to facilitate this task. Existing stationary systems are not scalable because of the high cost and wearable systems have issues being accepted by the workers. In this paper, we introduce a mobile camera-projector cart called OrderPickAR, which combines the benefits of both stationary and mobile systems to support order picking through Augmented Reality. Our system dynamically projects in-situ picking information into the storage system and automatically detects when a picking task is done. In a lab study, we compare our system to existing approaches, i.e, Pick-by-Paper, Pick-by-Voice, and Pick-by-Vision. The results show that using the proposed system, order picking is almost twice as fast as other approaches, the error rate is decreased up to 9 times, and mental demands are reduced up to 50%.

RAMPARTS: Supporting Sensemaking with Spatially-Aware Mobile Interactions

Synchronous colocated collaborative sensemaking requires that analysts share their information and insights with each other. The challenge is to know when is the right time to share what information without disrupting the present state of analysis. This is crucial in ad-hoc sensemaking sessions with mobile devices because small screen space limits information display. To address these tensions, we propose and evaluate RAMPARTS - a spatially aware sensemaking system for collaborative crime analysis that aims to support faster information sharing, clue-finding, and analysis. We compare RAMPARTS to an interactive tabletop and a paper-based method in a controlled laboratory study. We found that RAMPARTS significantly decreased task completion time compared to paper, without affecting cognitive load or task completion time adversely compared to an interactive tabletop. We conclude that designing for ad-hoc colocated sensemaking on mobile devices could benefit from spatial awareness. In particular, spatial awareness could be used to identify relevant information, support diverse alignment styles for visual comparison, and enable alternative rhythms of sensemaking.

Thaddeus: a dual device interaction space for exploring information visualisation

This paper introduces Thaddeus---a mobile phone-tablet system for mobile interaction with information visualisations. Our work is motivated by the roles smartphones and tablets play in everyday interactive spaces as well as anticipated developments in mobile sensing technology. We also aim to meet the social challenges of a data-driven society. We designed and implemented a system that uses mutual spatial awareness as an input mode, producing new interaction patterns for mobile settings. We gathered extensive user insight from two design studies and evaluated the system in a controlled experiment. We used qualitative and quantitative measures in the final evaluation. The results show that the system does not have a significant impact on performance, but users perceive it as pleasurable and easy to use. Thaddeus offers an enhanced user experience when exploring information on the go, and provides insights for future designs of mobile multi-device systems.

Towards Supporting Remote Cheering during Running Races with Drone Technology

The increasing availability of drones produces a number of opportunities for integrating them in everyday settings and using drones to create engaging experiences for users. In this paper, we investigate how drones can support amateur runners in their endeavours. We explore the possible roles for drones during amateur running races. Through two field studies and multiple semi-structured interviews, we gain new insights on how drones could augment the experience of both runners and supporters during organised races. Finally, we contribute a set of future directions for integrating drones into the sports experience.

Screen arrangements and interaction areas for large display work places

Size and resolution of computer screens are constantly increasing. Individual screens can easily be combined to wall-sized displays. This enables computer displays that are folded, straight, bow shaped or even spread. As possibilities for arranging the screens are manifold, it is unclear what arrangements are appropriate. Moreover, it is unclear how content and applications should be arranged on such large displays. To determine guidelines for the arrangement of multiple screens and for content and application layouts, we conducted a design study. In the study, we asked 16 participants to arrange a large screen setup as well as to create layouts of multiple common application windows. Based on the results we provide a classification for screen arrangements and interaction areas. We identified, that screen space should be divided into a central area for interactive applications and peripheral areas, mainly for displaying additional content.

Understanding Work in Public Transport Management Control Rooms

Urban transport systems are increasingly important for modern cities as they provide sustainable transport and a positive social environment. The systems that allow controlling transport infrastructures integrate many legacy systems and require increasing resources for maintenance. Authorities managing public transport facilities not only need to dynamically adapt to the daily fluctuations in city life, but they also strive to be in constant dialogue with the citizens. In this poster paper, we present our preliminary insights from a study where we looked closely at the operations centre of a light rail and bus operator in a major German city. Through contextual inquiry, we chart emerging issues and design challenges. We showcase how urban facility managers negotiate legacy systems and cooperate with each other to keep transport systems functioning.

How to communicate new input techniques.

Touchscreens are among the most ubiquitous input technologies. Commercial devices typically limit the input to 2D touch points. While a body of work enhances the interaction through finger recognition and diverse gestures, advanced input techniques have had a limited commercial impact. A major challenge is explaining new input techniques to users. In this paper, we investigate how to communicate novel input techniques for smartphones. Through interviews with 12 Ux experts, we identified three potential approaches: Depiction uses an icon to visualize the input technique, Pop-up shows a modal dialog when the input technique is available, and Tutorial explains all available input techniques in a centralized way. To understand which approach is most preferred by users we conducted a study with 36 participants that introduced novel techniques using one of the communication methods. While Depiction was preferred, we found that the approach should be selected based on the complexity of the interaction, novelty to the user, and the device size.

Pac-Many: Movement Behavior when Playing Collaborative and Competitive Games on Large Displays

Previous work has shown that large high resolution displays (LHRDs) can enhance collaboration between users. As LHRDs allow free movement in front of the screen, an understanding of movement behavior is required to build successful interfaces for these devices. This paper presents Pac-Many; a multiplayer version of the classical computer game Pac-Man to study group dynamics when using LHRDs. We utilized smartphones as game controllers to enable free movement while playing the game. In a lab study, using a 4m × 1m LHRD, 24 participants (12 pairs) played Pac-Many in collaborative and competitive conditions. The results show that players in the collaborative condition divided screen space evenly. In contrast, competing players stood closer together to avoid benefits for the other player. We discuss how the nature of the task is important when designing and analyzing collaborative interfaces for LHRDs. Our work shows how to account for the spatial aspects of interaction with LHRDs to build immersive experiences.

Using Variable Movement Resistance Sliders for Remote Discrete Input

Despite the proliferation of screens in everyday environments, providing values to remote displays for exploring complex data sets is still challenging. Enhanced input for remote screens can increase their utility and enable the construction of rich data-driven environments. Here, we investigate the opportunities provided by a variable movement resistance slider (VMRS), based on a motorized slide potentiometer. These devices are often used in professional soundboards as an effective way to provide discrete input. We designed, built and evaluated a remote input device using a VMRS that facilitates choosing a number on a discrete scale. By comparing our prototype to a traditional slide potentiometer and a software slider, we determined that for conditions where users are not looking at the slider, VMRS can offer significantly better performance and accuracy. Our findings contribute to the understanding of discrete input and enable building new interaction scenarios for large display environments.

MochaTop: building ad-hoc data spaces with multiple devices

We present MochaTop-a system using multiple mobile devices that is part of our on-going inquiry into ad-hoc multi-device environments on tabletops. In this progress report, we describe the motivation for designing multi-device, ad-hoc systems for single and multiple users, and explain the design and implementation of our prototype system. We report on preliminary user studies made with focus groups and sandbox explorations of the prototype, with video analysis. By designing new interaction patterns, we focus on investigating if multiple mobile devices can be used to transform everyday settings into new environments for data exploration. Our research indicates that users value the extended interactive space created by multiple mobile devices.