Raine Kajastila

Augmented climbing: interacting with projected graphics on a climbing wall

This paper describes our efforts in developing a novel augmented climbing wall. Our system combines projected graphics on an artificial climbing wall and body tracking using computer vision technology. The system is intended for accelerating motor skill learning or to make monotonous parts of the training fun by adding relevant goals and encouraging social collaboration. We describe six initial prototypes and the feedback obtained from testing them with intermediate and experienced climbers.

The Augmented Climbing Wall: High-Exertion Proximity Interaction on a Wall-Sized Interactive Surface

We present the design and evaluation of the Augmented Climbing Wall (ACW). The system combines computer vision and interactive projected graphics for motivating and instructing indoor wall climbing. We have installed the system in a commercial climbing center, where it has been successfully used by hundreds of climbers, including both children and adults. Our primary contribution is a novel movement-based game system that can inform the design of future games and augmented sports. We evaluate ACW based on three user studies (N=50, N=10, N=10) and further observations and interviews. We highlight three central themes of how digital augmentation can contribute to a sport: increasing diversity of movement and challenges, enabling user-created content in an otherwise risky environment, and enabling procedurally generated content. We further discuss how ACW represents an underexplored class of interactive systems, i.e., proximity interaction on wall-sized interactive surfaces, which presents novel human-computer interaction challenges.

Eyes-free interaction with free-hand gestures and auditory menus

Auditory interfaces can overcome visual interfaces when a primary task, such as driving, competes for the attention of a user controlling a device, such as radio. In emerging interfaces enabled by camera tracking, auditory displays may also provide viable alternatives to visual displays. This paper presents a user study of interoperable auditory and visual menus, in which control gestures remain the same in the visual and the auditory domain. Tested control methods included a novel free-hand gesture interaction with camera-based tracking, and touch screen interaction with a tablet. The task of the participants was to select numbers from a visual or an auditory menu including a circular layout and a numeric keypad layout. Results show, that even with participants full attention to the task, the performance and accuracy of the auditory interface are the same or even slightly better than the visual when controlled with free-hand gestures. The auditory menu was measured to be slower in touch screen interaction, but questionnaire revealed that over half of the participants felt that the circular auditory menu was faster than the visual menu. Furthermore, visual and auditory feedback in touch screen interaction with numeric layout was measured fastest, touch screen with circular menu second fastest, and the free-hand gesture interface was slowest. The results suggest that auditory menus can potentially provide a fast and desirable interface to control devices with free-hand gestures.

A gesture-based and eyes-free control method for mobile devices

A novel interaction method for eyes-free control of a mobile phone or a media player is introduced. The method utilizes acceleration sensors along three axes to sense input gestures, such as pointing and tilting. A spherical auditory menu and feedback are provided using speech and 3D sound. A gestural pointing interface, multiple menu configurations, and their implementation details is presented. Evaluation results suggest that fast and accurate selection of menu items is possible without visual feedback. Combining the gestural interface, positions of menu items in 3D and a browsing method with a dynamically adjustable target size of the menu items allow large menus with intuitive, easy access.

Body-controlled trampoline training games based on computer vision

This work in progress -paper describes our efforts in developing trampoline training games using computer vision technology. The study is part of a project about developing digitally augmented exercise environments for faster, safer and more engaging sports training. We describe four initial prototypes and the feedback obtained from testing them both with circus students and with people with no background in trampolining.

Utilizing Gravity in Movement-Based Games and Play

This paper seeks to expand the understanding of gravity as a powerful but underexplored design resource for movement-based games and play. We examine how gravity has been utilized and manipulated in digital, physical, and mixed reality games and sports, considering five central and gravity-related facets of user experience: realism, affect, challenge, movement diversity, and sociality. For each facet, we suggest new directions for expanding the field of movement-based games and play, for example through novel combinations of physical and digital elements. Our primary contribution is a structured articulation of a novel point of view for designing games and interactions for the moving body. Additionally, we point out new research directions, and our conceptual framework can be used as a design tool. We demonstrate this in 1) creating and evaluating a novel gravity-based game mechanic, and 2) analyzing an existing movement-based game and suggesting future improvements.

Motion games in real sports environments

I N T E R A C T I O N S . A C M .O R G The past decade has brought about interesting developments in combining video games, sports, and exercise. Motion games, also known as exergames or active video games, have become mainstream thanks to technologies like Microsoft Kinect, PlayStation Move, and Nintendo Wii. Unfortunately, commercial games are often optimized for an average customer facing a television in an average living room, which limits the variety and intensity of movements. This is a constraint for effective exercise and hinders the learning of real sports skills while playing motion games. We argue that a way to support vigorous physical exercise and learning sports-related skills is to move motion games away from the T living room to places where sports are actually practiced. This gives the player more space, allows increased movement diversity, and reduces the risk of colliding with furniture. A pleasurable exercise experience also requires appropriate ventilation, which indoor sports centers typically have. However, motion games are not always more entertaining than real practice, and a skill learned in a game might not transfer to a real sport. More research is needed on how to design and implement motion games that are both fun and effective as exercise and motorlearning environments. We have investigated how practicing real skills can be made more motivating in real sports settings. Here, we introduce two approaches: a game played by jumping on a trampoline and an augmented climbing wall that enables getting feedback and playing games on a real climbing wall.

Benefits of 3D topos for information sharing and planning in rock climbing

In outdoor rock climbing, routes are commonly marked in topos, which are typically implemented as annotated photographs or hand-drawn pictures. 3D technologies, such as structure from motion (SfM), enable the creation of detailed 3D models. These technologies are now within the reach of almost everybody, and they are becoming increasingly simple to utilize. We present an interactive 3D topo of a large boulder and discuss the creation process using SfM and 3D modelling software. Furthermore, we conducted an online user study with 52 respondents investigating how 3D topos can be utilized for information sharing and planning, and how 3D topos might change rock climbing. Results show that 3D topos are seen highly useful compared to normal web topos.

Virtual ball catching performance in different camera views

Virtual camera design is an important but tricky part of creating virtual reality experiences; interaction can feel awkward if the camera is not placed exactly at the users eyes, but on the other hand a 3rd person perspective (3PP) can provide a better view of the environment and/or the avatar. To inform camera design, we contribute the first study that systematically explores and quantifies how interaction difficulty changes when the camera is moved between a natural 1st person perspective (1PP) and a typical 3PP where the camera is behind and above the user. In our experiment, 24 participants catched flying virtual balls in seven different camera views. Catching performance degraded almost linearly as a function of camera distance from 1PP, and adaptation to non-1PP was slow or non-existent after a quick initial and partial adaptation. Our result suggest that natural 1PP should be used whenever possible, and transitions between views should be minimized to minimize the user constantly struggling to adapt. We also discuss how our results can be explained by the relation of camera perspective and retinal optical flow, and what interaction techniques can mitigate 3PP interaction problems.

Augmented climbing: testing prototypes in wizard of oz experiment

The video showcase describes our efforts in developing a novel augmented climbing wall illustrated. Our system combines projected graphics on an artificial climbing wall and body tracking using computer vision technology. The system is intended for accelerating motor skill learning or to make monotonous parts of the training fun by adding relevant goals and encouraging social collaboration. Video shows six initial prototypes and lessons learned from testing them with intermediate and experienced climbers in a Wizard of Oz experiment.