Leena Ventä-Olkkonen

Design and evaluation of mobile phonebook application with stereoscopic 3D user interface

During recent years, stereoscopic 3D (S3D) mobile devices have entered the mass markets. Yet, mobile S3D user experience (UX) design has not been widely studied, and stereoscopy in todays products is used for purely visual design, whilst the potential for holistic UX has been neglected. In this work-in-progress paper we introduce the design, implementation and preliminary evaluation of a mobile S3D phonebook application, where stereoscopy was used to augment the 2D user interface (UI) design to provide information related to the time when the last call with each phonebook contact was made.

Clearing the virtual window: connecting two locations with interactive public displays

Public displays offer the possibility to open a virtual window to another place by showing a live video feed from a remote location. In this paper, we describe our research investigating connecting two spaces with pervasive displays, where the ability to see through the virtual window was user controlled. The set-up was designed to resemble a frozen window, where the user was able to melt the surface using gesture input. We organized a four day field study with four alternating designs to evaluate our system, and collected feedback from 14 users through online surveys and focus groups. Our salient findings reveal that Ice Window was perceived as fun and interesting, and it has potential for facilitate awareness and informal ways of collaboration not only between the two locations, but also at one side of the display. People were most comfortable with a design that implemented two-sided melting of the ice. This was perceived as best able to indicate communication attempts between the two locations whilst respecting privacy.

How to Use 3D in Stereoscopic Mobile User Interfaces: Study on Initial User Perceptions

So far, little research has been devoted to the user centric design of mobile stereoscopic 3D user interfaces (UIs). In this paper, we focus on charting peoples perceptions and suggestions on the purposes for which stereoscopic 3D (S3D) user interface designs could be used in typical mobile phone applications. For this, we conducted two user studies (n=33; n=27) charting initial user perceptions around four mobile S3D applications. The findings reveal that most commonly the stereoscopic effect was perceived to be used for visualizing contextually relevant or additional information related to a content item, users preferences, and grouping or selecting items.

Insights from Deploying See-Through Augmented Reality Signage in the Wild

Typically the key challenges with interactive digital signage are (1) interaction times are short (usually in the order of seconds), (2) interaction needs to be very easy to understand, and (3) interaction needs to provide a benefit that justifies the effort to engage. To tackle these challenges, we propose a see-through augmented reality application for digital signage that enables passersby to observe the area behind the display, augmented with useful data. We report on the development and deployment of our application in two public settings: a public library and a supermarket. Based on observations of 261 (library) and 661 (supermarket) passersby and 14 interviews, we provide early insights and implications for application designers. Our results show a significant increase in attention: the see-through signage was noticed by 46% of the people, compared to 14% with the non-see through version. Furthermore, findings indicate that to best benefit the passersby, the AR displays should clearly communicate their purpose.

Emergent practice as a methodological lens for public displays in-the-wild

In this paper, we seek to complement the current public display evaluation toolbox with the analytical lens of emergent practices. This evaluation method facilitates capturing the variety of ways in which a public display operates and creates value in a given context. From this viewpoint, a public display appears as a material resource for the urban practice, as well as a site for socio-cultural enactment. Our main argument is that this type of evaluation can lead to extraction of more sustained value from actual use of public displays. We discuss the theoretical foundations of emergent practices, their place and use within the public display evaluation toolbox, and situate practices as a valuable next step of in-the-wild studies. Through an empirical dataset, we also discuss real world emergent practices observed as part of the UBI-display network in Oulu, Finland.

Windows to other places: exploring solutions for seeing through walls using handheld projection

Mobile projection offers an interesting technology for creating displays on any surface without a situated screen. In this paper, we investigate two concepts that use handheld projection to see to other places through a virtual window. Firstly, we present a projector phone based prototype which, when pointed to the walls of a room, reveals images and a video stream from the physical space on the other side of the wall. Secondly, a novel handheld dual-display virtual reality browser that opens a virtual window to a remote location is presented. This prototype combines two displays, a screen and a projected display. Both concepts were evaluated in user studies (n=22 and n=23). We report, for example, that mobile projector based browsing was considered more fun and inspiring than a screen and mouse format, and that the horizon level of the projected image should be kept horizontal when browsing.

Jogging in a virtual city

In our research, we explore the possibilities for combining digital 3D city representation with a wellness application, and introduce our demo that aims to make running in a gym more inspiring and motivating. We present a prototype, where the running exercise on a treadmill is converted to a distance on the local city map, and visualized in a 3D mirror world presentation of the city. The user leaves a personalized tag on the spot reached, and in addition to his achievement, is able to see the performance of other runners on the streets of the virtual world. We evaluated the system in the gym, where 32 people tried out the prototype. The application was perceived entertaining and interesting, and especially the ability to compare the results with earlier runners was perceived motivating.

Design, implementation and evaluation of an autostereoscopic 3D mobile phonebook

Mobile stereoscopic 3D (S3D) user experience (UX) design has not yet been widely studied. Stereoscopy in todays products is used for visual design purposes, whilst the potential for holistic interaction design and utilitarian aspects have been neglected. In this paper we introduce the design, implementation and evaluation of a mobile S3D phonebook application. In the application stereoscopy was used to augment the 2D user interface (UI) design to provide information related to the time when the last call with each phonebook contact was made. We describe the results of the pilot study charting the design directions, laboratory study of first impressions, and results of a field trial, where 21 participants used the application for a few days. The S3D UI design provoked first impressions related to entertainment and 2D UI to practical qualities, whereas the field study showed that our S3D phonebook design successfully demonstrated that utilitarian value can be incorporated to the design.

Touching the ice: in-the-wild study of an interactive icewall

In this paper, we present an interactive installation consisting of a 3 m wide × 1.4 m high touch sensitive wall of ice, which was set up as an indoor installation during a music festival. During a one night in-the-wild study, the audience could draw on the back-projected icewall, either directly using it as a touch screen, or remotely via a mobile optimized webpage. We focus on reporting the lessons learnt from this in-the-wild experience, and on user experience aspects of interacting both with the physical ice and through the mobile interface. The results highlight that the material qualities of the tangible user interface are essential for creating engaging and intriguing user experiences, whereas remote interaction through a mobile app enhances the possibilities for social interaction and sharing.

Early perceptions of an augmented home

In this paper, we focus on charting future ubiquitous computing use cases utilizing mixed reality (MR) in domestic environments, which has so far been an unexplored domain for MR. We describe our early user research, where during one week participants from 12 households were asked to brainstorm and assess their perceptions of imaginary mixed reality in their homes. During the one-week period this resulted in 167 user generated concept ideas. We focus on the thematic findings that emerged from the collected material, and describe how people most often related the potential of MR concepts with applications related to wellbeing, home-related information, communication and entertainment.