Pawel W. Wozniak

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.

Freehand interaction with large-scale 3D map data

In this paper, we present our method and apparatus to visualize and interact with large-scale 3D map data on a 3D light-field display in real time. 3D map data are streamed over Internet to the display in real-time based on request sent by the application. On the user side, data is processed and visualized on a large-scale 3D light field display. We present a method to efficiently interact with the visualized 3D map using freehand gestures. We use a Leap Motion sensor that supports sufficient refresh rate for our current application and is able to accurately track and acquire information on the user hand position. This information is further processed to support natural and fast interaction. We have also developed a method to automatically adjust the maps plane to the screen plane of the display. The visualization and interaction method is scalable and allows the exploration of large-scale 3D maps down to the street level.

HeartChat: Heart Rate Augmented Mobile Chat to Support Empathy and Awareness

Textual communication via mobile phones suffers from a lack of context and emotional awareness. We present a mobile chat application, HeartChat, which integrates heart rate as a cue to increase awareness and empathy. Through a literature review and a focus group, we identified design dimensions important for heart rate augmented chats. We created three concepts showing heart rate per message, in real-time, or sending it explicitly. We tested our system in a two week in-the-wild study with 14 participants (7 pairs). Interviews and questionnaires showed that HeartChat supports empathy between people, in particular close friends and partners. Sharing heart rate helped them to implicitly understand each others context (e.g. location, physical activity) and emotional state, and sparked curiosity on special occasions. We discuss opportunities, challenges, and design implications for enriching mobile chats with physiological sensing.

HaptiColor: Interpolating Color Information as Haptic Feedback to Assist the Colorblind

Most existing colorblind aids help their users to distinguish and recognize colors but not compare them. We present HaptiColor, an assistive wristband that encodes discrete color information into spatiotemporal vibrations to support colorblind users to recognize and compare colors. We ran three experiments: the first found the optimal number and placement of motors around the wrist-worn prototype, and the second tested the optimal way to represent discrete points between the vibration motors. Results suggested that using three vibration motors and pulses of varying duration to encode proximity information in spatiotemporal patterns is the optimal solution. Finally, we evaluated the HaptiColor prototype and encodings with six colorblind participants. Our results show that the participants were able to easily understand the encodings and perform color comparison tasks accurately (94.4% to 100%).

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.

HoloLeap: towards efficient 3D object manipulation on light field displays

We present HoloLeap, which uses a Leap Motion controller for 3D model manipulation on a light field display (LFD). Like autostereo displays, LFDs support glasses-free 3D viewing. Unlike autostereo displays, LFDs automatically accommodate multiple viewpoints without the need of additional tracking equipment. We describe a gesture-based object manipulation that enables manipulation of 3D objects with 7DOFs by leveraging natural and familiar gestures. We provide an overview of research questions aimed at optimizing gestural input on light field displays.

Contextual processing of ECT measurement information towards detection of process emergency states

This papers shows attempt of using prior knowledge in order to learn about the industrial process system behaviour. The system being studied here is the pneumatic conveying of solids monitored with electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). The prior knowledge is the non-invasive measurement information derived on the basis of intentionally introduced structural change in the experimental process flow rig. The focus is on the examination of pseudo-emergency states of bulk flow. Real case pneumatic transport failure usually consists in pipeline blockage. Such blockage typically develops starting as material slug build up. In contrast, our experiments investigate artificially induced flow pre-blockage states monitored with ECT measurement system. Collected measurement data are contextually processed in order to detect the pipeline state in sense of flow regime and flow behaviour. ECT raw data analysis strives to uncover a relation between measured values and flow change tendency. This research is aimed at giving rise to conclusions about possibility of contextual data processing in order to properly adjust pneumatic conveying control and a possible role of ECT records in this aspect. Authors show here that for now it is possible to detect abnormal process state such as blockage signal and the presented methodology coupled with nowadays computational techniques are anticipated to lead to abnormal states forecasting such as blockage threat recognition.

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.

See through the fire: evaluating the augmentation of visual perception of firefighters using depth and thermal cameras

Our visual perception is limited to the abilities of our eyes, where we only perceive visible light. This limitation might influence how we perceive and react to our surroundings, however, this limitation might endanger us in certain scenarios e.g. firefighting. In this paper, we explore the potential of augmenting the visual sensing of the firefighters using depth and thermal imaging to increase their awareness about the environment. Additionally, we built and evaluated two form factors, hand held and head mounted display. To evaluate our built prototypes, we conducted two user studies in a simulated fire environment with real firefighters. In this workshop paper, we present our findings from the evaluation of the concept and prototypes with real firefighters.

Soil, Rock, and Snow: On Designing for Information Sharing in Outdoor Sports

While outdoor sport activities keep gaining popularity as part of a global trend to maintain a healthier lifestyle, current technology offers limited support for activity-specific needs. Therefore, a greater understanding of information sharing behaviours is necessary in order to build comprehensive, socially-embedded sports applications. To this purpose, we interviewed 46 practitioners in three outdoor sports: trail running, climbing, and skiing. Our qualitative study investigates how participants share information in the context of outdoor sports and how current technology supports this practice. Through thematic analysis, we derived five themes that describe the current information sharing practices: nature, risk and planning, content selection, audience selection, and privacy. Based on these themes, we present five recommendations for design that can inform, inspire and refine future sharing technologies for outdoor sport.