References:
Title: Emotional Design
Author: Donald Norman
Editor: Jo Ann Miller, New York, 2004.
Summary:
In this book, Norman describes how the designs of products can positively or negatively impact our perceptions before we even use them. He describes these influences as three different levels -- visceral, behavioral, and reflective.
The visceral level is influenced by the look and feel of the product. This level occurs before a user begins to use the product, and can put them in a positive mindset which can make the product "work" better.
The behavioral level is influenced by how well the product works. This level occurs as the user makes use of the product, and is slightly affected by the performance at the lower level. This level has been well described in Norman's other books.
The reflective level is influenced by the remembrances of the product. This level occurs far after the usage of the device; a positive influence here can bring the user back to use the product again if it works correctly.
With each of these in the book, Norman goes into significant detail of what influences each of these levels, as well as general design tips.
Discussion:
In general, like his last book, I liked this book because of how much I learned. However, after reading his last book he seems like less of a sage in this one, mostly because of how he seems to often reuse tips he as already given.
However, because the focus of this class is on design, I think that this along with the other design books by Norman are the most important books in this class. Following these design concepts well can help us make good products far down the road.
(Image courtesy of: )
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Microblogs #7 - Why We Make Mistakes
References:
Title: Why We Make Mistakes
Author: Joseph T. Hallinan
Editor: Donna Sinisgalli, 2009
Chapter #0:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes a few examples of common mistakes, why they can sometimes be helpful, and also some ways we can fix them. He then goes into an overview of the topics of the book in brief.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because of all of the experiments he talked about related to mistakes. My definite favorite was being able to remember better if you studied in the same situation as you are remembering. I want to try this for a test at some point.
Chapter #1:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes how people don't see as well as they think they do. From missing the switching of people in a movie scene to misjudging the sizes of tables, he describes many examples of our lack of sight. He also mentions that this one we cannot correct.
Discussion:
I really enjoyed this chapter because the author presented many examples that I enjoyed reading about and subjecting myself to. Not to mention, he also mentioned some scary facts about cancer examination and TSA screenings.
Chapter #2:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses errors in our memory. He talks about forgetting passwords, faces, and names. He then talks about how our minds remember based on meaning, not base observations, and how by applying meaning to objects in your life, you can help your own memory.
Discussion:
As with the last chapter, the most memorable part of the chapter was the finish, in which he describes the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. I figured it was quite reliable, like I am sure most people do, so learning that it is not is shocking.
Chapter #3:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes how we rely on our first instinct in many situations when we shouldn't. From the influence of faces to the influences of colors, he shows that we allow our initial impression to take control.
Discussion:
The most interesting part of this chapter for me is again at the end, when he talks about switching test answers. I remember when I was studying for the SAT that I was told not to switch my answer, and it still seems right to me now. I don't know if given the chance I could change my answer on a test even if I wanted to.
Chapter #4:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes how our perceptions are biased, often without us knowing. He talks about how we like to make ourselves look better in hindsight -- from grades, to the statements we make -- and how we deny it later. He then describes the negative influence this causes in the real world.
Discussion:
The part of this chapter that was the most eye-opening was the section discussing the effects of industry warnings. I found it interesting that people would take a bigger advantage of you if you were warned about them than otherwise.
Chapter #5:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses our ability to multitask -- or more accurately how we do not have an ability to multitask. He talks about how the constant distractions of multiple tasks actually impede our ability to work. He then describes how this can be a fatal problem in real-time situations such as planes or cars.
Discussion:
This chapter had a lot of scary examples that truly hammer in the point of how bad distractions can be. When I saw the Microsoft sync system before I thought it was a really cool idea, but now after seeing all of the statistics of accidents caused by such systems, I think that maybe they should hold off on it.
Chapter #6:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses the psychological influences of framing -- that is, influences around a decision that affect that decision consciously or otherwise. For example, low sale prices driving sales when other prices actually rise or french music causing an increase in french wine sales.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because you get to see more of the tactics of economics. So far, many of our books have pointed out the interesting psychology behind making money-- and every time I've seen it so far, it's been frighteningly effective. I am never going to think about buying things in the same way again.
Chapter #7:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the human tendency to skim -- not just with words, but also with information. He discusses the problems with proofreading as well as how much we rely on context to determine the truth of a situation.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting to me because of the section on how experts tend to skip over the details. For programmers like us, this is probably a liability, since we might make small mistakes and it will take us forever to finally discover the real problem. This is also why it's a good idea to have someone else look over your code.
Chapter #8:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses the human trait of reorganizing information. From distorting locations in maps to distorting the truth in stories, people change the information that they give all of the time. Even more interestingly, they sometimes do it unconsciously.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because Stanley Milgram got mentioned again. However, for once, he wasn't mentioned solely for the obedience to authority experiment, although it was mentioned. I have to say that the experiment he mentioned here seemed a lot less interesting than the authority experiment, though.
Chapter #9:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the differences in psychology between the sexes. From asking for directions to confidence in stock trading, men and women have differing viewpoints on the world.
Discussion:
By far the most interesting part of this chapter was the section on how overconfident men tend to be. I think this is probably because we are raised to show ourselves as confident even when we are not. Also, the section on the lack of women in CS was also interesting to read, mostly because I can see how true it is by looking in our department.
Chapter #10:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan shows us the power of overconfidence in shaping our mistakes. From horse races to credit cards, people everywhere are taking advantage of our tendencies to think we are better than we are.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because of how many of these mistakes I have made. Both the gym example and the confidence quiz example made a fool out of me. Interestingly enough though, I think that overconfidence is actually necessary; if we didn't have it, we would probably be frozen whenever we had to make a choice.
Chapter #11:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the errors that come because we would rather not learn new things. From nail-guns to simple puzzles, we would rather not read the instructions -- and even if we do, we probably won't do it a second time.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we got to hear from our best friend Donald Norman again. Also, I liked the thinking outside the box problem, even though I didn't figure it out.
This probably has some lessons for computer scientists, too. For example, people probably won't use all of the new features on your product because they like doing it their way -- even if the new feature makes that method shorter.
Chapter #12:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses the problems we have when we do not use constraints. Without constraints and affordances, people are significantly more likely to make mistakes. Additionally, since these mistakes are often blamed on the lowest person, we also miss their root causes.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because Donald Norman appeared again in this book, but not by name. Instead, his concepts of affordances and constraints showed up. I guess that shows how useful they are.
Chapter #13:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the effects of our future perspectives. He shows us that while we think we know what we will like later, often we are wrong. In fact, many of the people we expect to be least happy are actually the happiest, for example.
Discussion:
I thought this chapter was interesting because I never new there was such an immigration and emigration flow into California. I have relatives there and visit regularly and would NEVER want to live there. I think that I probably have incorrect perceptions about living in other areas, though.
Conclusion:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan sums up the book by giving us some fixes we can apply to our own lives to keep from repeating the errors he has shown. His biggest tip is just to think small -- that is, look at the small details behind your actions and you will be able to see why you make mistakes.
Discussion:
I liked this chapter because we finally get a list of tips we can use to keep from making all of these errors ourselves. Hallinan does a good job of iterating through all of the chapters and giving small tips that can help us. I don't know if I will be able to learn any or all of them, but it's something to strive for.
Title: Why We Make Mistakes
Author: Joseph T. Hallinan
Editor: Donna Sinisgalli, 2009
Chapter #0:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes a few examples of common mistakes, why they can sometimes be helpful, and also some ways we can fix them. He then goes into an overview of the topics of the book in brief.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because of all of the experiments he talked about related to mistakes. My definite favorite was being able to remember better if you studied in the same situation as you are remembering. I want to try this for a test at some point.
Chapter #1:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes how people don't see as well as they think they do. From missing the switching of people in a movie scene to misjudging the sizes of tables, he describes many examples of our lack of sight. He also mentions that this one we cannot correct.
Discussion:
I really enjoyed this chapter because the author presented many examples that I enjoyed reading about and subjecting myself to. Not to mention, he also mentioned some scary facts about cancer examination and TSA screenings.
Chapter #2:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses errors in our memory. He talks about forgetting passwords, faces, and names. He then talks about how our minds remember based on meaning, not base observations, and how by applying meaning to objects in your life, you can help your own memory.
Discussion:
As with the last chapter, the most memorable part of the chapter was the finish, in which he describes the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. I figured it was quite reliable, like I am sure most people do, so learning that it is not is shocking.
Chapter #3:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes how we rely on our first instinct in many situations when we shouldn't. From the influence of faces to the influences of colors, he shows that we allow our initial impression to take control.
Discussion:
The most interesting part of this chapter for me is again at the end, when he talks about switching test answers. I remember when I was studying for the SAT that I was told not to switch my answer, and it still seems right to me now. I don't know if given the chance I could change my answer on a test even if I wanted to.
Chapter #4:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes how our perceptions are biased, often without us knowing. He talks about how we like to make ourselves look better in hindsight -- from grades, to the statements we make -- and how we deny it later. He then describes the negative influence this causes in the real world.
Discussion:
The part of this chapter that was the most eye-opening was the section discussing the effects of industry warnings. I found it interesting that people would take a bigger advantage of you if you were warned about them than otherwise.
Chapter #5:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses our ability to multitask -- or more accurately how we do not have an ability to multitask. He talks about how the constant distractions of multiple tasks actually impede our ability to work. He then describes how this can be a fatal problem in real-time situations such as planes or cars.
Discussion:
This chapter had a lot of scary examples that truly hammer in the point of how bad distractions can be. When I saw the Microsoft sync system before I thought it was a really cool idea, but now after seeing all of the statistics of accidents caused by such systems, I think that maybe they should hold off on it.
Chapter #6:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses the psychological influences of framing -- that is, influences around a decision that affect that decision consciously or otherwise. For example, low sale prices driving sales when other prices actually rise or french music causing an increase in french wine sales.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because you get to see more of the tactics of economics. So far, many of our books have pointed out the interesting psychology behind making money-- and every time I've seen it so far, it's been frighteningly effective. I am never going to think about buying things in the same way again.
Chapter #7:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the human tendency to skim -- not just with words, but also with information. He discusses the problems with proofreading as well as how much we rely on context to determine the truth of a situation.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting to me because of the section on how experts tend to skip over the details. For programmers like us, this is probably a liability, since we might make small mistakes and it will take us forever to finally discover the real problem. This is also why it's a good idea to have someone else look over your code.
Chapter #8:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses the human trait of reorganizing information. From distorting locations in maps to distorting the truth in stories, people change the information that they give all of the time. Even more interestingly, they sometimes do it unconsciously.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because Stanley Milgram got mentioned again. However, for once, he wasn't mentioned solely for the obedience to authority experiment, although it was mentioned. I have to say that the experiment he mentioned here seemed a lot less interesting than the authority experiment, though.
Chapter #9:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the differences in psychology between the sexes. From asking for directions to confidence in stock trading, men and women have differing viewpoints on the world.
Discussion:
By far the most interesting part of this chapter was the section on how overconfident men tend to be. I think this is probably because we are raised to show ourselves as confident even when we are not. Also, the section on the lack of women in CS was also interesting to read, mostly because I can see how true it is by looking in our department.
Chapter #10:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan shows us the power of overconfidence in shaping our mistakes. From horse races to credit cards, people everywhere are taking advantage of our tendencies to think we are better than we are.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because of how many of these mistakes I have made. Both the gym example and the confidence quiz example made a fool out of me. Interestingly enough though, I think that overconfidence is actually necessary; if we didn't have it, we would probably be frozen whenever we had to make a choice.
Chapter #11:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the errors that come because we would rather not learn new things. From nail-guns to simple puzzles, we would rather not read the instructions -- and even if we do, we probably won't do it a second time.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we got to hear from our best friend Donald Norman again. Also, I liked the thinking outside the box problem, even though I didn't figure it out.
This probably has some lessons for computer scientists, too. For example, people probably won't use all of the new features on your product because they like doing it their way -- even if the new feature makes that method shorter.
Chapter #12:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan discusses the problems we have when we do not use constraints. Without constraints and affordances, people are significantly more likely to make mistakes. Additionally, since these mistakes are often blamed on the lowest person, we also miss their root causes.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because Donald Norman appeared again in this book, but not by name. Instead, his concepts of affordances and constraints showed up. I guess that shows how useful they are.
Chapter #13:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan describes the effects of our future perspectives. He shows us that while we think we know what we will like later, often we are wrong. In fact, many of the people we expect to be least happy are actually the happiest, for example.
Discussion:
I thought this chapter was interesting because I never new there was such an immigration and emigration flow into California. I have relatives there and visit regularly and would NEVER want to live there. I think that I probably have incorrect perceptions about living in other areas, though.
Conclusion:
Summary:
In this chapter, Hallinan sums up the book by giving us some fixes we can apply to our own lives to keep from repeating the errors he has shown. His biggest tip is just to think small -- that is, look at the small details behind your actions and you will be able to see why you make mistakes.
Discussion:
I liked this chapter because we finally get a list of tips we can use to keep from making all of these errors ourselves. Hallinan does a good job of iterating through all of the chapters and giving small tips that can help us. I don't know if I will be able to learn any or all of them, but it's something to strive for.
Paper Reading #18 - News Browsing
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Aspect-level News Browsing: Understanding News Events from Multiple Viewpoints
Authors: Souneil Park, SangJeong Lee, and Junhwa Song
Venue: IUI 2010, Feb. 7-10 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a method of alleviating media bias in the news by providing varied versions of stories on the same subject. They call this method aspect-level news browsing.
Their system involves partitioning articles about a certain topic into different quadrants depending on the article's subject matter. They do this by analyzing articles in two different ways. One way they analyze is by dissecting the article and examining the first paragraph, where journalists tend to cluster main information. The second way they analyze it is to analyze articles near the beginning and ends of events, since journalists tend to report on more diverse parts of the issue further after the event. They then do an examination on how good their system is by checking its results to other algorithms.
Discussion:
I think that this system is a great idea. I personally know family members who will not talk to each other because they are so politically polarized from each other. Hopefully with a system like this they could learn to analyze the issues further.
In reality though, I think that a system like this won't help because most people won't spend the time reading multiple articles. Most people will just read one article and move on, which completely ruins the point of the program.
(Image courtesy of: Frogtown blog)
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Aspect-level News Browsing: Understanding News Events from Multiple Viewpoints
Authors: Souneil Park, SangJeong Lee, and Junhwa Song
Venue: IUI 2010, Feb. 7-10 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a method of alleviating media bias in the news by providing varied versions of stories on the same subject. They call this method aspect-level news browsing.Their system involves partitioning articles about a certain topic into different quadrants depending on the article's subject matter. They do this by analyzing articles in two different ways. One way they analyze is by dissecting the article and examining the first paragraph, where journalists tend to cluster main information. The second way they analyze it is to analyze articles near the beginning and ends of events, since journalists tend to report on more diverse parts of the issue further after the event. They then do an examination on how good their system is by checking its results to other algorithms.
Discussion:
I think that this system is a great idea. I personally know family members who will not talk to each other because they are so politically polarized from each other. Hopefully with a system like this they could learn to analyze the issues further.
In reality though, I think that a system like this won't help because most people won't spend the time reading multiple articles. Most people will just read one article and move on, which completely ruins the point of the program.
(Image courtesy of: Frogtown blog)
Paper Reading # 17 - Personalized Reading Support
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Personalized Reading Support for Second-Language Web Documents by Collective Intelligence
Authors: Yo Ehara, Nobuyuki Shimizu, Takashi Ninomiya, and Hiroshi Nakagawa
Venue: IUI 2010, Feb. 7-10 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a new method of providing definitions for ESL readers through information gathering. Many people for whom English is the second language use programs called glossers when reading; these programs provide definitions for unfamiliar words. Most glossers automatically show the definitions for some words, and they provide this feature by choosing words that appear less frequently in the language.
With their program, they instead choose words picked by what words each individual person clicks for definitions on. They take this information and use it to calculate a person's difficulty index; that is, they determine what difficulty words they are likely to know and only gloss words that are above that difficulty. They discuss many varying algorithms that they could have used, and then show that only one method for this was suitable because it is the only one that works online. Finally, they show that the online algorithm is just as efficient as local algorithms.
Discussion:
I thought this article was interesting because I had never heard of a glosser before, and now that I have I feel like I could use one sometimes, especially when reading papers like this. The paper was very technical, which I feel is a positive, but I had a significant amount of trouble following the algorithmic analysis during the latter part of the paper. Overall however, I feel like their method would work better than previous methods and that they should make a final product out of this.
(Image courtesy of: this paper)
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Personalized Reading Support for Second-Language Web Documents by Collective Intelligence
Authors: Yo Ehara, Nobuyuki Shimizu, Takashi Ninomiya, and Hiroshi Nakagawa
Venue: IUI 2010, Feb. 7-10 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a new method of providing definitions for ESL readers through information gathering. Many people for whom English is the second language use programs called glossers when reading; these programs provide definitions for unfamiliar words. Most glossers automatically show the definitions for some words, and they provide this feature by choosing words that appear less frequently in the language.With their program, they instead choose words picked by what words each individual person clicks for definitions on. They take this information and use it to calculate a person's difficulty index; that is, they determine what difficulty words they are likely to know and only gloss words that are above that difficulty. They discuss many varying algorithms that they could have used, and then show that only one method for this was suitable because it is the only one that works online. Finally, they show that the online algorithm is just as efficient as local algorithms.
Discussion:
I thought this article was interesting because I had never heard of a glosser before, and now that I have I feel like I could use one sometimes, especially when reading papers like this. The paper was very technical, which I feel is a positive, but I had a significant amount of trouble following the algorithmic analysis during the latter part of the paper. Overall however, I feel like their method would work better than previous methods and that they should make a final product out of this.
(Image courtesy of: this paper)
Paper Reading #16 - UIMarks
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: UIMarks: Quick Graphical Interaction with Specific Targets
Authors: Olivier Chapuis and Nicolas Roussel
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a system called UIMark for integrating target-aware pointing techniques with normal pointing techniques. The system allows for the programming of hot spots like the one pictured on the right. The user can activate these nodes by switching into a special pointing mode and moving a bubble cursor towards it. Then, the system performs the action specified by the node. The hot spots have symbols on them to indicate the actions performed on the hot spot; in this case, the hot spot will single click on the icon and return to the previous mouse position.
They then perform a study to determine the usability of the pointing system. They found that for most complex clicking tasks, UIMarks is faster than the traditional pointing method. However, if it is only used for mouse movement and not clicking, the system is slower than the traditional method. They then describe some future studies they would like to perform with the system.
Discussion:
I think that this is a reasonably good pointing system, but I'm not sure if many people would use it. I believe that having to program the system to provide the marks makes it a little to difficult and time-consuming for most. However, for power users, the system would be a boon. Being able to quickly move and click icons would be very useful; for example, the example above shows possibilities for Photoshop.
(Image courtesy of: the UIMarks paper)
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: UIMarks: Quick Graphical Interaction with Specific Targets
Authors: Olivier Chapuis and Nicolas Roussel
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a system called UIMark for integrating target-aware pointing techniques with normal pointing techniques. The system allows for the programming of hot spots like the one pictured on the right. The user can activate these nodes by switching into a special pointing mode and moving a bubble cursor towards it. Then, the system performs the action specified by the node. The hot spots have symbols on them to indicate the actions performed on the hot spot; in this case, the hot spot will single click on the icon and return to the previous mouse position.They then perform a study to determine the usability of the pointing system. They found that for most complex clicking tasks, UIMarks is faster than the traditional pointing method. However, if it is only used for mouse movement and not clicking, the system is slower than the traditional method. They then describe some future studies they would like to perform with the system.
Discussion:
I think that this is a reasonably good pointing system, but I'm not sure if many people would use it. I believe that having to program the system to provide the marks makes it a little to difficult and time-consuming for most. However, for power users, the system would be a boon. Being able to quickly move and click icons would be very useful; for example, the example above shows possibilities for Photoshop.
(Image courtesy of: the UIMarks paper)
Book Reading #3 - Obedience to Authority
References:
Title: Obedience to Authority
Author: Stanley Milgram
Editor: 1975
Summary:
In this book, Milgram details his famous experiment on the effects of authority, from its inception to the many different iterations of the experiment that were performed.
Milgram begins by discussing how he came up with the experiment and how they brought in the candidates for the experiment. He then briefly describes the expected results that he received from asking people.
Then, he begins describing the various versions of his experiment. He mentions many different iterations, including learner in separate room, conflicting orders, female teachers, and even one where the authority is not in the room. After each set of experiments, he gives stories of individual subjects, which further illustrate the quandaries that the subjects were in.
At the end of the book, he describes in deep detail his theories on why we are so susceptible to authority, from both a biological and mechanical perspective. He then closes the book by refuting some of the most basic arguments against his theories.
Discussion:
I really liked this book because of how it changed my perceptions of the experiment. In the other book we read as well as the IRB tests, they lambasted Milgram and his experiment. However, even though the experiment definitely caused people some problems, it also taught people valuable lessons about themselves.
Furthermore, because of the detailed manner in which he experimented, I feel like Milgram gave us valuable knowledge about the nature of authority. In fact, in a few parts of the book where he mentioned experiments he was unable to do, I was saddened because I was curious what theories he could have gleaned had he been able to do them.
(Image courtesy of: All About Psychology)
Title: Obedience to Authority
Author: Stanley Milgram
Editor: 1975
Summary:
In this book, Milgram details his famous experiment on the effects of authority, from its inception to the many different iterations of the experiment that were performed.Milgram begins by discussing how he came up with the experiment and how they brought in the candidates for the experiment. He then briefly describes the expected results that he received from asking people.
Then, he begins describing the various versions of his experiment. He mentions many different iterations, including learner in separate room, conflicting orders, female teachers, and even one where the authority is not in the room. After each set of experiments, he gives stories of individual subjects, which further illustrate the quandaries that the subjects were in.
At the end of the book, he describes in deep detail his theories on why we are so susceptible to authority, from both a biological and mechanical perspective. He then closes the book by refuting some of the most basic arguments against his theories.
Discussion:
I really liked this book because of how it changed my perceptions of the experiment. In the other book we read as well as the IRB tests, they lambasted Milgram and his experiment. However, even though the experiment definitely caused people some problems, it also taught people valuable lessons about themselves.
Furthermore, because of the detailed manner in which he experimented, I feel like Milgram gave us valuable knowledge about the nature of authority. In fact, in a few parts of the book where he mentioned experiments he was unable to do, I was saddened because I was curious what theories he could have gleaned had he been able to do them.
(Image courtesy of: All About Psychology)
Ethnography Results - Week 7
The only local band that played this weekend cancelled, so we were unable to attend a concert this weekend.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Ethnography Results - Week 6
I was out of town both weekends of the break and was thus unable to attend a local concert.
Paper Reading #15 - Jogging over a Distance
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Jogging over a Distance between Europe and Australia
Authors: Florian Mueller, Frank Vetere, Martin Gibbs, Darren Edge, Stefan Agamanolis, and Jennifer Sheridan.
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a framework for distributed social exercising called Jogging over a Distance. This system allows two users to be able to jog together regardless of their location together -- hopefully allowing them to exercise better.
The system works by having a headset connected to a heart monitor, a mobile phone, and a small computer, which makes it similar to the Nike plus system pictured at left. After setting a heart rate, the user can converse with their workout partner over the course of the exercise session using the headset.
The social aspect comes in because instead of displaying results after the workout, real-time heart rate information is given to the user and their partner through the direction of the sound during their conversation. If the user is not working as hard as their partner, they sound like they are ahead of you, and vice-versa. This links the desire to talk to the desire to work out; this strengthens the jogger's resolve.
The authors conducted a usage study on the framework, and found that most users liked the system, and thought it helped in their workouts. They found that they worked harder because they wanted to be able to hear the conversation better.
Discussion:
This paper is interesting because this is a product I could see myself using. In order to stick to a workout plan, I need to have another person working with me. A system like this could allow me to expand the pool out beyond the local area.
Additionally, I think the system has more applications than just exercise. A more refined version of this system could probably allow people to "race" each other on foot without being in the same location, using GPS or other methods. Additionally, a further social aspect could be added by allowing people to randomly connect to other joggers if they don't have someone available to partner with. My other concern with the current implementation is all of the equipment involved. They need to make a more compact prototype to determine how feasible this design would be as a real product.
(Image courtesy of: Apple Gazette).
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Jogging over a Distance between Europe and Australia
Authors: Florian Mueller, Frank Vetere, Martin Gibbs, Darren Edge, Stefan Agamanolis, and Jennifer Sheridan.
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a framework for distributed social exercising called Jogging over a Distance. This system allows two users to be able to jog together regardless of their location together -- hopefully allowing them to exercise better.The system works by having a headset connected to a heart monitor, a mobile phone, and a small computer, which makes it similar to the Nike plus system pictured at left. After setting a heart rate, the user can converse with their workout partner over the course of the exercise session using the headset.
The social aspect comes in because instead of displaying results after the workout, real-time heart rate information is given to the user and their partner through the direction of the sound during their conversation. If the user is not working as hard as their partner, they sound like they are ahead of you, and vice-versa. This links the desire to talk to the desire to work out; this strengthens the jogger's resolve.
The authors conducted a usage study on the framework, and found that most users liked the system, and thought it helped in their workouts. They found that they worked harder because they wanted to be able to hear the conversation better.
Discussion:
This paper is interesting because this is a product I could see myself using. In order to stick to a workout plan, I need to have another person working with me. A system like this could allow me to expand the pool out beyond the local area.
Additionally, I think the system has more applications than just exercise. A more refined version of this system could probably allow people to "race" each other on foot without being in the same location, using GPS or other methods. Additionally, a further social aspect could be added by allowing people to randomly connect to other joggers if they don't have someone available to partner with. My other concern with the current implementation is all of the equipment involved. They need to make a more compact prototype to determine how feasible this design would be as a real product.
(Image courtesy of: Apple Gazette).
Monday, March 21, 2011
Microblogs #6 - Obedience to Authority
References:
Title: Obedience to Authority
Author: Stanley Milgram
Editor:
Chapter #1:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the events in WWII that gestated the experiment, as well as some of the difficulties with finding an answer to this question. He then describes in brief the surprising findings of this experiment
Discussion:
This chapter was a solid beginning to the book. Milgram clearly provides his reasoning behind beginning this now controversial experiment, and so far I can agree with his principles.
Chapter #2:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the experimental setup from invitation to debriefing and details how the participants were dealt with in each. He also describes briefly some of the iterations they went through in the development of the experiment.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we got to see the scientific basis behind the experiment. I enjoyed seeing some of the photos of the equipment and people behind the act. Also, I find it interesting that they had to scale up the experiment to show less amazing results, instead of trying to pad it to get more amazing results.
Chapter #3:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes a survey he performed, in which he asked a series of psychiatrists, students, and other people to predict how they and others would perform. They believed that very few people would go to the max level and that they definitely would not.
Discussion:
This chapter is interesting mostly because I already know the results. If I didn't already know the results, I would probably be caught off-guard just as much as the people who took this poll. However, knowing the outcome, the irony and foreshadowing here is quite interesting to watch.
Chapter #4:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram details the influences of distance to the subject on obedience. He finds that the closer the subject and the victim were, the more they identified with him, and vice-versa. He also gives a few reasons why this could be.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because I didn't know that they tried changing how much the subject and victim interacted from any of the other books. I was also equally surprised by the fact that even when the subjects had to force the victim to take shocks, more than a quarter of subjects went to maximum power.
Chapter #5:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the reactions of many of the subjects of the experiments. While he doesn't show any anecdotes from the least proximity experiment, he shows a large gamut of responses from different people.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because, like in Skinner's Box, we can see how the differing values of each subject not only affect how they respond during the experiment, but also how they are affected afterwards. I was actually not surprised at all when the military man followed through with barely any pushing.
Chapter #6:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes a few other versions of the experiment they attempted to discern how much differing social factors had on obedience. Some of the changes they tried were female subjects, non-local scientist, and having the subjects choose the voltage. Many of them had no effect on the results, but a few had drastic results.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we got to see many different theories as to the powers of authority. My favorite part was seeing the passive-aggressive behavior displayed by the subjects when the scientist character was not in the room.
Chapter #7:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes more examples of reactions given by participants. In this case, the participants were involved in the special situations shown in chapter 6. Most of the focus is on the women subjects in this set.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we get to see more human reactions to this unreal situation. I don't have a favorite out of this batch, but that's because there are quite a few that I thought were quite intriguing responses.
Chapter #8:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes further modifications to the experiment. In this grouping, they tested different combinations of scientist and ordinary man as victim and authority. They found that the ordinary man could not wield authority as the scientist did, but the scientist could easily become the victim.
Discussion:
This was interesting because of how clear-cut the responses were to authority as victim and victim wanting the shocks. In both cases the shocking did not continue 100% of the time. I figured that if the victim wanted to continue, there would be a decent chance that someone would continue even just one more up the board, but apparently not.
Chapter #9:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes two more modifications to his experiment involving the influences of others in our ability to obey. In these modifications, he tests both the effects of allowing someone else to do the dirty work and having others disobey first.
Discussion:
Even though it seemed obvious, seeing that people were more likely to quit when someone else did first was interesting to see. Additionally, finding out that having someone else doing the bad activity decreased the disobedience rate was intriguing as well.
Chapter #10:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes his theories of why people are obedient. He describes it using a robotic model, as well as an evolutionary model, and then uses these to define a state of mind he calls the agentic state.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we finally get to see the theories he creates to manage the data. I have to admit that the descriptions of both models bored me a little bit, but I am curious to see how he will tie it together in the next chapter.
Chapter #11:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the agentic state from its inception to how we enter and exit it. He describes the factors that teach us to obey when we are young, what the agentic state feels like to us, and the factors that keep us from exiting it.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because as he was listing off the factors, I was able to think of situations that I had been involved with that I had felt that way in. I was also interested to learn of why we have so much trouble disobeying.
Chapter #12:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram begins to theorize how disobedience begins through the process of strain. He describes some of the methods we use to reduce the strain and how it may be a positive thing.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because he actually turned around the perspective. Suddenly, he begins to describe disobedience as a positive, and then describes obedience in many situations as being negative.
Chapter #13:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the most often hypothesis to counter his theory, aggression by the participants, and gives his own rebuttal. He describes why most people think that aggression is the true cause, and why his idea works better.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we get to see how he counters what seems to be the obvious explanation for the behavior in his experiments. I liked how he gave examples not only from his experiments but also others to show how incorrect that hypothesis is.
Chapter #14:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram continues to defend his hypothesis by showing that the claims that his method is incorrect are wrong. He shows that he did select a diverse population, they did believe they were administering real shocks, and that the laboratory can be extrapolated to real life.
Discussion:
I liked this chapter mostly because I was impressed by Milgram's arguments. I thought of a few of these arguments, and was pleased enough by his rebuttals to believe that the experiment was accurate.
Title: Obedience to Authority
Author: Stanley Milgram
Editor:
Chapter #1:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the events in WWII that gestated the experiment, as well as some of the difficulties with finding an answer to this question. He then describes in brief the surprising findings of this experiment
Discussion:
This chapter was a solid beginning to the book. Milgram clearly provides his reasoning behind beginning this now controversial experiment, and so far I can agree with his principles.
Chapter #2:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the experimental setup from invitation to debriefing and details how the participants were dealt with in each. He also describes briefly some of the iterations they went through in the development of the experiment.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we got to see the scientific basis behind the experiment. I enjoyed seeing some of the photos of the equipment and people behind the act. Also, I find it interesting that they had to scale up the experiment to show less amazing results, instead of trying to pad it to get more amazing results.
Chapter #3:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes a survey he performed, in which he asked a series of psychiatrists, students, and other people to predict how they and others would perform. They believed that very few people would go to the max level and that they definitely would not.
Discussion:
This chapter is interesting mostly because I already know the results. If I didn't already know the results, I would probably be caught off-guard just as much as the people who took this poll. However, knowing the outcome, the irony and foreshadowing here is quite interesting to watch.
Chapter #4:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram details the influences of distance to the subject on obedience. He finds that the closer the subject and the victim were, the more they identified with him, and vice-versa. He also gives a few reasons why this could be.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because I didn't know that they tried changing how much the subject and victim interacted from any of the other books. I was also equally surprised by the fact that even when the subjects had to force the victim to take shocks, more than a quarter of subjects went to maximum power.
Chapter #5:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the reactions of many of the subjects of the experiments. While he doesn't show any anecdotes from the least proximity experiment, he shows a large gamut of responses from different people.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because, like in Skinner's Box, we can see how the differing values of each subject not only affect how they respond during the experiment, but also how they are affected afterwards. I was actually not surprised at all when the military man followed through with barely any pushing.
Chapter #6:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes a few other versions of the experiment they attempted to discern how much differing social factors had on obedience. Some of the changes they tried were female subjects, non-local scientist, and having the subjects choose the voltage. Many of them had no effect on the results, but a few had drastic results.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we got to see many different theories as to the powers of authority. My favorite part was seeing the passive-aggressive behavior displayed by the subjects when the scientist character was not in the room.
Chapter #7:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes more examples of reactions given by participants. In this case, the participants were involved in the special situations shown in chapter 6. Most of the focus is on the women subjects in this set.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we get to see more human reactions to this unreal situation. I don't have a favorite out of this batch, but that's because there are quite a few that I thought were quite intriguing responses.
Chapter #8:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes further modifications to the experiment. In this grouping, they tested different combinations of scientist and ordinary man as victim and authority. They found that the ordinary man could not wield authority as the scientist did, but the scientist could easily become the victim.
Discussion:
This was interesting because of how clear-cut the responses were to authority as victim and victim wanting the shocks. In both cases the shocking did not continue 100% of the time. I figured that if the victim wanted to continue, there would be a decent chance that someone would continue even just one more up the board, but apparently not.
Chapter #9:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes two more modifications to his experiment involving the influences of others in our ability to obey. In these modifications, he tests both the effects of allowing someone else to do the dirty work and having others disobey first.
Discussion:
Even though it seemed obvious, seeing that people were more likely to quit when someone else did first was interesting to see. Additionally, finding out that having someone else doing the bad activity decreased the disobedience rate was intriguing as well.
Chapter #10:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes his theories of why people are obedient. He describes it using a robotic model, as well as an evolutionary model, and then uses these to define a state of mind he calls the agentic state.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we finally get to see the theories he creates to manage the data. I have to admit that the descriptions of both models bored me a little bit, but I am curious to see how he will tie it together in the next chapter.
Chapter #11:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the agentic state from its inception to how we enter and exit it. He describes the factors that teach us to obey when we are young, what the agentic state feels like to us, and the factors that keep us from exiting it.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because as he was listing off the factors, I was able to think of situations that I had been involved with that I had felt that way in. I was also interested to learn of why we have so much trouble disobeying.
Chapter #12:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram begins to theorize how disobedience begins through the process of strain. He describes some of the methods we use to reduce the strain and how it may be a positive thing.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because he actually turned around the perspective. Suddenly, he begins to describe disobedience as a positive, and then describes obedience in many situations as being negative.
Chapter #13:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram describes the most often hypothesis to counter his theory, aggression by the participants, and gives his own rebuttal. He describes why most people think that aggression is the true cause, and why his idea works better.
Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because we get to see how he counters what seems to be the obvious explanation for the behavior in his experiments. I liked how he gave examples not only from his experiments but also others to show how incorrect that hypothesis is.
Chapter #14:
Summary:
In this chapter, Milgram continues to defend his hypothesis by showing that the claims that his method is incorrect are wrong. He shows that he did select a diverse population, they did believe they were administering real shocks, and that the laboratory can be extrapolated to real life.
Discussion:
I liked this chapter mostly because I was impressed by Milgram's arguments. I thought of a few of these arguments, and was pleased enough by his rebuttals to believe that the experiment was accurate.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Book Reading #2 - Opening Skinner's Box
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Opening Skinner's Box
Author: Lauren Slater
Editor: Angela von der Lippe, 2004
Summary:
In this book, Lauren Slater describes ten different psychology experiments that broke the mold and became controversial for one reason or another.
In each chapter, Slater carefully describes the story behind one side of the issue, usually the scientist's, describing their past up until they began their experiment. Then, she describes counterarguments that refute the previous experiments. Occasionally these reversals are scientifically based, but more often they are personal stories of people whose actions refute the theory.
For example, for B.F. Skinner, she described his past and experiments, including his cages like the one at left. She also described some of the rumors and legends about him that have propagated over the years. Then, she changed sides and showed the softer side of him from the perspective of his family members, and tried to refute the rumors.
Discussion:
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was a very interesting read and set up the debates on these issues very well. By the end of each chapter, I felt that I could argue both for and against the issue at hand in equal measure. Additionally, the narrative style made most of the stories riveting from start to finish.
However, I didn't like a lot of the chapter material. Many of the stories were so depressing that I could barely keep reading. I understand that it is unavoidable in some cases because of the subject matter, but I feel like in some cases it was unnecessary. In summary, while I enjoyed reading the book the first time, I'm probably not going to read it again.
(Image courtesy of: blog.games.com)
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Opening Skinner's Box
Author: Lauren Slater
Editor: Angela von der Lippe, 2004
Summary:
In this book, Lauren Slater describes ten different psychology experiments that broke the mold and became controversial for one reason or another.In each chapter, Slater carefully describes the story behind one side of the issue, usually the scientist's, describing their past up until they began their experiment. Then, she describes counterarguments that refute the previous experiments. Occasionally these reversals are scientifically based, but more often they are personal stories of people whose actions refute the theory.
For example, for B.F. Skinner, she described his past and experiments, including his cages like the one at left. She also described some of the rumors and legends about him that have propagated over the years. Then, she changed sides and showed the softer side of him from the perspective of his family members, and tried to refute the rumors.
Discussion:
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was a very interesting read and set up the debates on these issues very well. By the end of each chapter, I felt that I could argue both for and against the issue at hand in equal measure. Additionally, the narrative style made most of the stories riveting from start to finish.
However, I didn't like a lot of the chapter material. Many of the stories were so depressing that I could barely keep reading. I understand that it is unavoidable in some cases because of the subject matter, but I feel like in some cases it was unnecessary. In summary, while I enjoyed reading the book the first time, I'm probably not going to read it again.
(Image courtesy of: blog.games.com)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Ethnography Results - Week 5
This week, Joe, Shena, and I went to downtown Bryan on Friday night to the Lonely Hunter release party. Additionally, since it was First Friday, we walked around and examined some of the music events going on in the area.
First, we looked around and examined the music going on in the area for First Friday. Two music events were going on outside the concert. There was a TAMU drum group going on, which ended soon after we arrived, unfortunately. However, next to a wine bar in the area was a small jazzy group whose name we didn't get. They had a group of about 50 people who were much older than all of the concerts we had been at so far. I would guess that the average age was about 35-40 years old.
Then, we made our way to Stafford Main Street, where the release party was being held. Stafford Main Street is a renovated theater turned into a bar which hosts live music weekly. The bar is kind of hard to find, with only a small sign next to the door that I almost walked straight by.
We walked during the end of Bobby Pearson's performance. They were an acoustic rock band of some sort, but we were unable to get a good idea of their style before they finished their set. There were about 65 people in the bar, but most of them were at the back and didn't seem interested in the performance.
Next, at 9:50, Mike Mains and the Branches came on. They had a more traditional rock feel, and also did some really bizarre gestures during the performance. The crowd didn't grow much if at all during the performance, but they seemed much more focused on the act than earlier.
At 10:40, Gaitlin Elms came on, and they were a softer rock band compared to the others we had heard so far. The crowd had swelled to about 80 at this point, and a great majority were at the front with the band.
The final band we watched, Lonely Hunter, came on at 11:30. They had the most developed sound of the groups, and were the ones putting out their new CD. At this point, the bar was packed at the front, with some room at the back.
We probably won't be going back to this bar again for our studies. As you can probably see in the shots, the bar has bad ventilation and due to the fact that smoking indoors is legal in Bryan the bar was extremely smoky.
Some of the conclusions I have come by after this week are that release parties seem to bring in more bands as well as bigger bands than normal nights. Half of the bands were selling CDs and shirts, and most of them were actually from out of town, as opposed to the local bands we have seen lately who were not.
First, we looked around and examined the music going on in the area for First Friday. Two music events were going on outside the concert. There was a TAMU drum group going on, which ended soon after we arrived, unfortunately. However, next to a wine bar in the area was a small jazzy group whose name we didn't get. They had a group of about 50 people who were much older than all of the concerts we had been at so far. I would guess that the average age was about 35-40 years old.Then, we made our way to Stafford Main Street, where the release party was being held. Stafford Main Street is a renovated theater turned into a bar which hosts live music weekly. The bar is kind of hard to find, with only a small sign next to the door that I almost walked straight by.
We walked during the end of Bobby Pearson's performance. They were an acoustic rock band of some sort, but we were unable to get a good idea of their style before they finished their set. There were about 65 people in the bar, but most of them were at the back and didn't seem interested in the performance.
Next, at 9:50, Mike Mains and the Branches came on. They had a more traditional rock feel, and also did some really bizarre gestures during the performance. The crowd didn't grow much if at all during the performance, but they seemed much more focused on the act than earlier.
At 10:40, Gaitlin Elms came on, and they were a softer rock band compared to the others we had heard so far. The crowd had swelled to about 80 at this point, and a great majority were at the front with the band.
The final band we watched, Lonely Hunter, came on at 11:30. They had the most developed sound of the groups, and were the ones putting out their new CD. At this point, the bar was packed at the front, with some room at the back.We probably won't be going back to this bar again for our studies. As you can probably see in the shots, the bar has bad ventilation and due to the fact that smoking indoors is legal in Bryan the bar was extremely smoky.
Some of the conclusions I have come by after this week are that release parties seem to bring in more bands as well as bigger bands than normal nights. Half of the bands were selling CDs and shirts, and most of them were actually from out of town, as opposed to the local bands we have seen lately who were not.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Paper Reading #14 - Sensing Foot Gestures
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Sensing Foot Gestures from the Pocket
Authors: Jeremy Scott, David Dearman, Koji Yatani, and Khai N Truong
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a method of input for mobile phones using the foot of the user. In order to create a concept, they performed a study to find out what gestures have the highest accuracy and are the most comfortable to the user using the apparatus to the right. They discovered that heel rotation, flexing at the toe, and double-tapping the foot were the most accurate and comfortable.
Then, they created an application for the iPhone to recognize these gestures, and then tested their accuracy from different locations on the body. They found that on a holster on the side and in a side pocket are the most accurate, after a small machine learning period. They then describe the limitations of the current system, including differentiating running from the double-tap and keeping the gestures accurate if the phone moves around in the user's pocket.
Discussion:
This paper, while scientifically strong and with an original concept, didn't interest me all that much. The uses for foot gestures don't seem readily apparent to me; additionally, I don't think it will be easy to determine inputs that the user means to perform versus innocuous activities like walking. I feel that other alternative input methods that they listed early in the paper such as speech input or rear buttons would probably work better than this one.
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Sensing Foot Gestures from the Pocket
Authors: Jeremy Scott, David Dearman, Koji Yatani, and Khai N Truong
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe a method of input for mobile phones using the foot of the user. In order to create a concept, they performed a study to find out what gestures have the highest accuracy and are the most comfortable to the user using the apparatus to the right. They discovered that heel rotation, flexing at the toe, and double-tapping the foot were the most accurate and comfortable.Then, they created an application for the iPhone to recognize these gestures, and then tested their accuracy from different locations on the body. They found that on a holster on the side and in a side pocket are the most accurate, after a small machine learning period. They then describe the limitations of the current system, including differentiating running from the double-tap and keeping the gestures accurate if the phone moves around in the user's pocket.
Discussion:
This paper, while scientifically strong and with an original concept, didn't interest me all that much. The uses for foot gestures don't seem readily apparent to me; additionally, I don't think it will be easy to determine inputs that the user means to perform versus innocuous activities like walking. I feel that other alternative input methods that they listed early in the paper such as speech input or rear buttons would probably work better than this one.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Paper Reading #13 - Multitoe
Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Multitoe: High-Precision Interaction with Back-Projected Floors Based on High-Resolution Multi-Touch Input
Authors: Thomas Augsten, Konstantin Kaefer, Rene Meusel, Caroline Fetzer, Dorian Kanitz, Thomas, Stoff, Torsten Becker, Christian Holz, and Patrick Baudisch
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe their method of making a multitouch floor, show some applications made for the floor, and briefly show the next level of their project. They begin by listing a series of problems they had during the design process; they then enumerate a series of studies they performed to find a solution. Some of the problems they dealt with were control size, where to place the user's inputs, and what inputs the users liked.
Then, in the second half, they detail the components that make up the floor and the applications developed for the floor. The floor is made up of a projector, some IR LEDs, and a IR camera covered by layers of glass, acrylic, and a projection screen. The floor uses diffuse illumination to get the outline of a users shoes(a), and uses the IR camera to find the pressure exerted by the foot(c). By observing the outline of the shoes and the pressure, the cameras can identify the user based on their shoe pattern, and subdivide the foot into pressure zones that can be watched for input. They showed a fish tank game and a foot-controlled version of Unreal Tournament 2004 that could run using these processes.
Discussion:
I am thoroughly impressed by this paper. The idea they have shown here is one I had never thought of before, but is one I would like to play around with. Additionally, I am impressed with all of the thought they put into devising this concept. They got large amounts of user inputs and used it augment their design in the way Norman's books described, and they seem to have created a solid product. Also, I can't wait to see what they do with the concept they showed at the very end of the paper, although it seems to take up a significant amount of space.
Comment 1
Comment 2
References:
Title: Multitoe: High-Precision Interaction with Back-Projected Floors Based on High-Resolution Multi-Touch Input
Authors: Thomas Augsten, Konstantin Kaefer, Rene Meusel, Caroline Fetzer, Dorian Kanitz, Thomas, Stoff, Torsten Becker, Christian Holz, and Patrick Baudisch
Venue: UIST 2010, Oct 3-6, 2010
Summary:
In this paper, the authors describe their method of making a multitouch floor, show some applications made for the floor, and briefly show the next level of their project. They begin by listing a series of problems they had during the design process; they then enumerate a series of studies they performed to find a solution. Some of the problems they dealt with were control size, where to place the user's inputs, and what inputs the users liked.Then, in the second half, they detail the components that make up the floor and the applications developed for the floor. The floor is made up of a projector, some IR LEDs, and a IR camera covered by layers of glass, acrylic, and a projection screen. The floor uses diffuse illumination to get the outline of a users shoes(a), and uses the IR camera to find the pressure exerted by the foot(c). By observing the outline of the shoes and the pressure, the cameras can identify the user based on their shoe pattern, and subdivide the foot into pressure zones that can be watched for input. They showed a fish tank game and a foot-controlled version of Unreal Tournament 2004 that could run using these processes.
Discussion:
I am thoroughly impressed by this paper. The idea they have shown here is one I had never thought of before, but is one I would like to play around with. Additionally, I am impressed with all of the thought they put into devising this concept. They got large amounts of user inputs and used it augment their design in the way Norman's books described, and they seem to have created a solid product. Also, I can't wait to see what they do with the concept they showed at the very end of the paper, although it seems to take up a significant amount of space.
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