Hapgets, Towards Hapticallyenhanced Widgets based on a User Interface Description Language

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Hapgets, Towards Haptically-enhanced Widgets
based on a User Interface Description Language

• Nikolaos Kaklanis, Juan González Calleros, Jean
  Vanderdonckt, Dimitrios Tzovaras

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Outline

• Problem description
• Haptic Web Browser
• Conclusion

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Outline

• Problem description
• Haptic Web Browser
• Conclusion

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Audio Rendering of Web Pages -Problems

• There has been much work to offer an audio
  rendering of web pages to blind users, but even
  the best audio rendering engines still suffer
  from some intrinsic limitations such as
• sequential navigation
• long processing time
• difficult navigation within a long page or across
  web pages
• audio rendering only works when HTML is
  well-formed

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Haptic Rendering of Web Pages -Basic Idea

• Each HTML component
• is being transformed into a
• Hapget.
• Hapget 3D widget haptic feedback

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Haptic Rendering of Web Pages - Advantages

• The user may freely navigate within a scene
• the haptic pointer may asynchronously move from
  an object to another - no sequence is imposed
• The time required to switch from one screen
  object to another object may be reduced at the
  price of a haptic exploration of the scene
• The blind users can have a perception of the
  structure of the virtual environment, in our case
  the 3D corresponding of a web page, that is very
  close to the real one
• it cannot be exactly the same because 3D
  rendering puts some limitations in positioning
• It is essential not only to give blind people raw
  information but give them the opportunity to
  navigate through the internet in a way that makes
  navigation really interesting.

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Outline

• Problem description
• Haptic Web Browser
• Conclusion

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• Reuse of existing web pages
• Vocal Interaction

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• Reuse of existing web pages
• Vocal Interaction

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• mouse support
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• Reuse of existing web pages
• Vocal Interaction

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• mouse support
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• UsiXML
• Reuse of existing web pages
• Vocal Interaction

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• mouse support
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• UsiXML
• Reuse of existing web pages
• Vocal Interaction

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Haptic extension to UsiXML CUI model

• The new extension adds not just a new interaction
  type, the haptic, but also the 3-dimensional (3D)
  graphical representation.
• Each haptic component (hapget) has unique
  characteristics, such as
• shape
• surface properties
• appearance
• a set of effects that are supported by the haptic
  device, including
• buzzEffect
• constraintEffect
• inertialEffect

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Hapget Haptic 3D Widget
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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• mouse support
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• UsiXML
• Vocal Interaction
• speech synthesis
• speech recognition
• Reuse of existing web pages

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• mouse support
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• UsiXML
• Vocal Interaction
• speech synthesis
• speech recognition
• Reuse of existing web pages

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A Haptic Rendering Engine of Web Pages -
Requirements -

• Navigate through the internet by touch!
• PHANTOM desktop support
• Not restricted to haptic interaction.
• mouse support
• Formal definition of the User Interface
• UsiXML
• Vocal Interaction
• speech synthesis
• speech recognition
• Reuse of existing web pages

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During execution
Mozilla Firefox
Haptic Rendering Engine
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Guidelines

• The hapgets should be visually distinctive enough
  from each other to avoid any confusion.
• There is a need to supplement the visual
  distinction by other means.
• The hapgets should have colors that are
  distinctive enough from each other. The different
  colors should be radically different when they
  are turned into grayscale so as to support
  distinctiveness for color-blinded users.
• The hapgets should be haptically distinctive
  enough from each other.
• Each hapget should be perceivable enough per se.
  Otherwise, the haptic feedback is just ignored
  and do not provoke any emotional output.

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Outline

• Problem description
• Haptic Web Browser
• Conclusion

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Conclusion and Future work

• Hapgets
• Render engine
• Formalization in UsiXML
• Future work will be dedicated to analyze the
  graphical representation so as the interaction

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Conclusion and Future work

• What is your opinion about 3D?
• What is your opinion about UIDL?
• Thanks