Timothy Neate

Mediating Attention for Second Screen Companion Content

There is increasing interest in providing content to users on secondary devices while they watch TV. This material, termed companion content, can be anything from textual information, to interactive quiz games. It can be delivered throughout a broadcast and often directly relates to specific scenes in a show. This new scenario has exposed a challenging design space for creators of both the content and the enabling technology. A key question when introducing content on a secondary device is how much it detracts from, or enhances, the show the user is currently engaged with. To examine this, we investigated methods for mediating attention from the TV and onto a secondary device. By examining a typical use case we have been able to gain new insights into how best to design additional stimuli to alert users to companion content from both a broadcasting, and an HCI perspective.

Designing Visual Complexity for Dual-screen Media

So many people are now using handheld second screens whilst watching TV that application developers and broadcasters are designing companion applications Second screen content that accompanies a TV programme. The nature of such dual-screen use cases inherently causes attention to be split, somewhat unpredictably. Dual-screen complexity, a clear factor in this attention split, is largely unexplored by the literature and will have an unknown (and likely negative) impact on user experience (UX). Therefore, we use empirical techniques to investigate the objective and subjective effect of dual-screen visual complexity on attention distribution in a companion content scenario. Our sequence of studies culminates in the deployment of a companion application prototype that supports adjustment of complexity (by either content curator or viewer) to allow convergence on optimum experience. Our findings assist the effective design of dual-screen content, informing content providers how to manage dual second screen complexity for enhanced UX through a more blended, complementary dual-screen experience.

Cross-device media: a review of second screening and multi-device television

Television viewers interacting with second screens has become a common sight in the modern living room. Such activities are a mixture of related, semi-related, and non-related browsing of content. This growing trend is revolutionising the way that broadcasters think about their content. Through the envisioned connected home, driven by end-to-end IP connected networks, television content creators and app developers are now considering the design space for multi-device, interactive experiences. In this review paper, we consider the pre-digital beginnings of such scenarios and progress to discuss how the introduction of mobile devices has affected the TV viewing experience. We discuss dual-screen usage over a variety of contexts in the connected home, with a focus on ‘designed’ dual-screen experiences such as companion applications. We conclude with reflections on the future of this area so that app developers, broadcasters, and academics may push further the space and improve future dual- and multi-screen experiences.

Designing attention for multi-screen TV experiences

In this Work-In-Progress we discuss our work on designing attention for multi-screen TV experiences. We first briey describe the current trends, and then progress to touch on two investigations we have conducted. In the first study we look at current viewing habits, paying particular attention to how we deal with attention overload when viewing secondary devices while watching television. Then, we go on to describe work we have conducted into investigating how we may orchestrate attention between displays. We conclude by discussing our works current trajectory, and then go on to state what it could mean for broadcasters and those who wish to design applications for multi-display TV experiences.

Interdevice Media: Choreographing Content to Maximize Viewer Engagement

Results of a survey and interviews point to certain trends in second screening--the use of a mobile device while watching television--that can inform content design. Of particular concern is how to help users manage their attention across multiple screens so that they are not overloaded and remain engaged.

Reproducible sonification for virtual navigation

The use of sonification for navigation, localization and obstacle avoidance is considered to be one of the most important tasks in auditory display research for its potential application to navigation systems in vehicles and smartphones, assistive technology and other eyes-free applications. The aim of this technology is to deliver location-based information to support navigation through sound. In this paper a comparison of two sonification methods for navigation and obstacle avoidance is presented. These methods were initially developed during a sonification hack day that was ran during the Interactive Sonification (ISon) workshop 2013. In order to allow the formal comparison of methods, we followed a reproducible sonification approach using a set of guidelines provided by SonEX (Sonification Evaluation eXchange). SonEX is a community-based environment that enables the definition and evaluation of standardized tasks, supporting open science standards and reproducible research. In order to allow for reproducible research, the system has been made publicly available.

Programmable Liquid Matter: 2D Shape Deformation of Highly Conductive Liquid Metals in a Dynamic Electric Field

In this paper, we demonstrate a method for the dynamic 2D transformation of liquid matter and present unique organic animations based on spatio-temporally controlled electric fields. In particular, we deploy a droplet of liquid metal (Gallium indium eutectic alloy) in a 7x7 electrode array prototype system, featuring an integrated image tracking system and a simple GUI. Exploiting the strong dependance of EGaIns surface tension on external electric voltages, we control multiple electrodes dynamically to manipulate the liquid metal into a fine-grained desired shape. Taking advantage of the high conductivity of liquid metals, we introduce a shape changing, reconfigurable smart circuit as an example of unique applications. We discuss system constraints and the overarching challenge of controlling liquid metals in the presence of phenomena such as splitting, self-electrode interference and finger instabilities. Finally, we reflect on the broader vision of this project and discuss our work in the context of the wider scope of programmable materials.

Tangible Drops: A Visio-Tactile Display Using Actuated Liquid-Metal Droplets

We present Tangible Drops, a visio-tactile display that for the first time provides physical visualization and tactile feedback using a planar liquid interface. It presents digital information interactively by tracing dynamic patterns on horizontal flat surfaces using liquid metal drops on a programmable electrode array. It provides tactile feedback with directional information in the 2D vector plane using linear locomotion and/or vibration of the liquid metal drops. We demonstrate move, oscillate, merge, split and dispense-from-reservoir functions of the liquid metal drops by consuming low power (450 mW per electrode) and low voltage (8--15 V). We report on results of our empirical study with 12 participants on tactile feedback using 8 mm diameter drops, which indicate that Tangible Drops can convey tactile sensations such as changing speed, varying direction and controlled oscillation with no visual feedback. We present the design space and demonstrate the applications of Tangible Drops, and conclude by suggesting potential future applications for the technique.

Usability Testing – An Aphasia Perspective

This paper reports the experience of participating in usability testing from the perspective of a person with aphasia. We briefly report adaptations to classic usability testing to enable the participation of people with aphasia. These included the use of short, direct tasks and physical artefacts such as picture cards. Authors of the paper include Ian, a user with aphasia who participated in adapted usability testing and Abi, a speech and language therapist researcher who facilitated sessions. Ian reports that these methods allowed him, as a person with aphasia, to engage with the usability testing process. We argue that such adaptations are essential in order to develop technologies which will be accessible to people with aphasia. This collaborative report provides a case for both how and why these adaptations can be made.

Investigating Mobile Accessibility Guidance for People with Aphasia

The World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) have become widely accepted as the standard for web accessibility evaluation. This poster investigates how the mobile version of these guidelines caters for people with aphasia (PWA) by comparing the results from user testing against that of an audit using the guidelines. We outline the efficacy of the guidelines in the broader context of how they cater for various impairments and offer some recommendations for designing for people with aphasia.