Minna Pakanen

Squeezy bracelet: designing a wearable communication device for tactile interaction

While smartphones are increasing in size and complex features, new form factors for simple communication devices are emerging. In this paper, we present the design process for a wrist worn communication device, which enables the user to send text messages over a paired mobile phone. The process includes concept design, user evaluation, design iteration, prototype implementation, and evaluation of alternative interaction techniques. Our particular focus is towards the use of naturally tactile interfaces in a wearable wristband form factor. We present how users perceive deformable communication device concepts and two alternative squeeze based interaction techniques.

Service fusion: an interactive 3D user interface

This paper describes an interactive 3D user interface which allows different real-time services to cooperate in order to complete a user task on a mobile tablet sized device. The UI is based on objectifying data and describing it in an ontological language and combing this with behavioral scripts. The 3D UI is used to visualize the different data and services, while providing a means for object selection and manipulation. Two use cases, a cinema and music service, have been implemented in a prototype, which demonstrates how a general 3D user interface can be used to provide added value to users. The prototype is also meant to advance the thinking of what 3D UIs can accomplish, for virtual environments and mobile augmented reality, by showing practical use cases in action.

Hybrid avatars: enabling co-presence in multiple realities

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies are quickly making their way into peoples everyday lives. Typically, these technologies are used separately to create either plain VR or AR applications rather than harnessing the possibilities of combining the two. In this position paper, we introduce a novel concept of hybrid avatar that enables avatar-based interactions between VR and AR users visiting the same place both in the real world and its virtual counterpart. We illustrate a generic architecture for implementing hybrid avatar interactions, present our prototype implementation and discuss the implementation related challenges. Main contribution of this paper is to provide new ideas for research on the areas of VR, AR, and hybrid reality.

User experiences with web-based 3D virtual travel destination marketing portals: the need for visual indication of interactive 3D elements

The tourism sector has found virtual reality technology to be a good way to market travel destinations for consumers. In this paper, we describe two user studies with three web-based 3D virtual travel destination marketing portals. These three portals were developed to support and attract wintertime tourism into the region by offering a possibility to experience in advance, a virtual snowy scenery with different activities, for example downhill skiing. In both user studies with 21 subjects the focus was on user experience with the 3D virtual travel destination marketing portals. In the second study also the visual design aspects within these portals were studied. Our studies indicate that 3D virtual travel destination marketing portals can enhance 2D web pages, if they offer the possibility to explore the location freely and through different kinds of virtual activities. Also our studies support prior findings of the efficiency of glow effect for indicating interactive 3D elements within a 3D virtual environment.

Immersive Street-level Social Media in the 3D Virtual City: Anticipated User Experience and Conceptual Development

In this paper we explore immersive street-level integration of social media content into collaborative virtual 3D city environments on two levels: i) public, where the virtual environment is populated with relevant social media content (e.g. Twitter and Facebook feeds of shops, non-governmetal organizations, the City organization); and ii) personal, where the virtual user, through his/her avatar, is able to access his/her personal social media feeds while immersed in the virtual city. We conducted a qualitative anticipated user experience study with 14 participants in four focus groups, who were asked to create designs of how they imagined social networking services could be integrated into virtual city environments. Further, participants were asked to comment on two visual concepts created by researchers. Results show that people appreciate the concept of having virtual cities populated with up-to-date content from social media services, but linking their own social media accounts is a more complex issue.

Utilizing Self-Expression Template Method in User Interface Design - Three Design Cases

In this paper, we introduce our Self-Expression Template Method for design. We also briefly present three different UI design cases utilizing the template with authentic users and UI professionals from both research and industry. This method provided lots of valuable information to our design process of 3D UIs on touch screen tablet devices. We can recommend this type of low-fidelity method to other visual GUI designers also when involving users into the design process. This method is flexible, cost-effective and time-saving to be used in various different participatory or co-design cases among UI development process.

Anarchy or Order on the Streets: Review Based Characterization of Location Based Mobile Games

Location based mobile games have traditionally relied on implicit codes of conduct, legal ordinances, common social norms, or community emergent rules. However, these games are becoming increasingly popular and enforcing these implicit or explicit restrictions has become difficult. In this paper, we present a critical and systematic review of both commercial and non-commercial location based mobile games. We list selected characteristics of the games and highlight their connection to the affordances and restrictions on urban game arenas. We also demonstrate the feasibility of our characterization by applying it to two recent location based mobile games, Pokemon GO [53] and Street Art Gangs [4].

Exploring smart handbag concepts through co-design

In this paper, we explore design preferences and possibilities for smart handbags from the user perspective. We present designs and findings derived through a co-design process, which consisted of two studies; first with individual drawing based brainstorming (n=20), and second with two co-design workshops (n=10), where participants assessed different designs and features, and created low-fi prototypes of smart handbag concepts. Participants proposed large shape and style variations for smart handbags, according to the intended contexts, use cases, and lifestyle. In this respect the desire for modifiability, e.g. adapting in size and shape, was highlighted. The handbags durability, weatherproofness and use of high quality materials were also raised.

Visual Indication while Sharing Items from a Private 3D Portal Room UI to Public Virtual Environments

In this paper, we describe the user experience evaluation results of a 3D Portal Room UI for sharing 3D objects from private space to remote public virtual environments. The user evaluation with 30 participants was conducted with a functional prototype and additional high quality images that were printed on paper sheets. The evaluation indicated that participants liked this way of sharing objects and found it also useful. However, it also raised some privacy concerns, especially if the target virtual environment was perceived as public. Evaluation elicited that the visual indication while sharing objects is important; therefore, designers of 3D virtual environments should prefer a distinguishable glow around the shared object and portal.

Visual Indication of Interactive 3D Elements in 3D Virtual Environments

In this paper we present the user evaluation results on the indication of interactive three dimensional elements in a virtual environment. The evaluation was conducted with a functional prototype and additional high quality images that were printed on paper sheets. The evaluation indicated that without any visual indication provided in the prototype, participants were not sure which items in the office scene are interactable when they enter to the scene. Also the indication while a user is interacting with the prototype, needs to be distinctive enough. For the visual indication of interactable elements in the virtual environment, participants preferred a glow effect in both circumstances; 1st while they enter to the virtual environment and 2nd while they are interacting with the elements. This information is useful to HCI researchers, 3D UI designers and developers to improve user experiences with virtual environments.