Interaction Styles

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Interaction Styles

• Graphical User Interfaces

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Graphical User Interfaces (GUI)

• GUIs
• WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers)
• NERD (Navigation, Evaluation, Refinement
  Demonstration)
• GUIs are graphical interfaces.
• Most computer interfaces are GUI based.

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GUI Interaction Styles

1. Typed-Command Languages (Not really GUI)
2. Data Scientific Visualization
3. Visual Databases
4. Video
5. Animation
6. Virtual Reality
7. Multimedia-Hypermedia
8. Touchscreens
9. Speech Synthesis
10. Natural Language

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Interaction Styles

• Typed-Command Languages

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Typed-Command Languages

• Typed-Command Languages
• UNIX, DOS, SQL
• Advantages
• Provides powerful, brief and rapid HCI.
• Great for power users
• Disadvantage
• Extensive training to learn all of the commands.
• Large number of errors due to typos

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Design Guides

• Choose meaningful, specific, distinctive names.
• Command format should be consistent.
• Examples ls l , head -10 x.txt, etc.
• Allow easy correction of typing errors.
• UNIX uses arrow keys
• Allow users to create macros, shortcuts

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Interaction Styles

• Data and Scientific Visualization

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Data and Scientific Visualization

• Interfaces that use graphics to represent data.
• Models real world data (sometimes in real time)
• Creates visual representation of physical
  phenomenon
• Examples
• Medical Imaging of the human body (full body
  scans)
• Fluid flow (air over an airplanes wing)
• Weather patterns
• 3D Imaging of Molecules, DNA, etc.

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Interaction Styles

• Visual Databases

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Visual Databases

• Represent data (usually textual) in a visual
  format.
• Multimedia databases are visual databases.
• Examples
• A collection of images in a museum under a common
  interface.
• Scatter plots, graphs, Treemaps (U of Maryland)

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Whats The Difference?

• Data Scientific Visualization
• Typically represents real time physical
  phenomenon
• Created as real world changes
• Visual Databases
• Not changing at the time visualization is
  created.
• Usually a historical point of view.
• Historical meaning not right now.

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Interaction Styles

• Video

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Video

• Captures the real world in the form of digital
  video.
• Disadvantages
• Formats mpeg, avi, Quicktime, etc.
• Size
• Advantages
• Good for some training environments
• Gives the real perspective on the world
• Entertaining

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Interaction Styles

• Animation

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Animation

• Where visual databases and scientific
  visualization meet.
• Cartoon like representations of characters and
  their world.
• Common uses
• Training simulation.
• Entertainment
• Education

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Animation vs. Video

• Animation is made up, fictional.
• Video is real, reality.
• Both are used for the same purposes.
• When to use video vs. animation?
• Depends can you get real video?
• Do you have animation software?

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Interaction Styles

• Virtual Reality

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Virtual Reality

• Allows people to immerse into interface.
• Advantages
• Great for training.
• Good simulation environment
• Disadvantages
• Expensive, at the moment
• Dangerous to your health if it is too real

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Interaction Styles

• Multimedia-Hypermedia

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Multimedia-Hypermedia

• World Wide Web
• Advantages
• Accessibility is growing
• We all know and use the web
• Access from almost anywhere
• Disadvantages
• So easy to develop, design is compromised.

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Interaction Styles

• Touchscreens

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Touchscreens

• Your finger is the pointer/mouse.
• Advantages
• More people have fingers than those with a mouse.
• Durable in harsh environments and public areas.
• Disadvantages
• Arm fatigue can be an issue when typing is
  needed.
• Screen space is not always appropriate

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Touchscreens

• Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) are touchscreen
  devices.

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Interaction Styles

• Speech Synthesis

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Speech Synthesis

• Audible sounds and words from the computer.
• Advantages
• Visually and physically disabled users
• It is natural to listen
• Disadvantages
• Synthetic voices can be annoying for some users

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Agent User Interfaces
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Interaction Styles

• Natural Language

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Natural Language

• HCI is accomplished using natural language.
• This could be spoken or typed natural language.
• HCI is close to Human-Human Interaction.

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Natural Language

• Advantages
• It is natural to interact natural
• Requires less training
• Disadvantages
• Speech recognition is good, but not really good.

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Interaction Styles

• Interaction Style Selection

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How To Select Interaction Style?

1. Typed-Command Languages (Not really GUI)
2. Data Scientific Visualization
3. Visual Databases
4. Video
5. Animation
6. Virtual Reality
7. Multimedia-Hypermedia
8. Touchscreens
9. Speech Synthesis
10. Natural Language

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Interaction Style Selection

• User Centered Design
• Do the users like cartoons, video?
• Visually and/or physically disabled?
• What interaction style are the users use to
  using?
• Environment
• Public access
• Internet access
• Classroom access
• Infrastructure

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Interaction Style Selection

• Money
• How much do they want to spend?

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Example

• Client Local school district.
• Goal Provide students with up to date
  information on school events.
• How do you proceed?

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Example

• Client Local school district.
• Goal Educate students on racial tensions in
  America in the 20th Century, for their school
  districts region.
• How do you proceed?

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Example

• Client Google.
• Goal Provide employees with 401K updates.
• How do you proceed?

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Example

• Client FOX Sports.
• Goal Provide online viewers with up to date
  stats on currently running games.
• How do you proceed?