Interaction with eyes-free and gestural interfaces

Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Raine Kajastila Name of the doctoral dissertation Interaction with eyes-free and gestural interfaces Publisher School of Science Unit Department of Media Technology Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 22/2013 Field of research Media technology Manuscript submitted 11 September 2012 Date of the defence 8 February 2013 Permission to publish granted (date) 17 December 2012 Language English Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Abstract Eyes-free interaction aims to control devices without the need to look at them. This is especially useful while driving, walking on a bustling street, or in other situations when looking at a display would be dangerous, inconvenient or restricted. Hand gestures and feedback with sound offer an eyes-free alternative to visual displays, and this thesis studies using them with devices and the surrounding environment.Eyes-free interaction aims to control devices without the need to look at them. This is especially useful while driving, walking on a bustling street, or in other situations when looking at a display would be dangerous, inconvenient or restricted. Hand gestures and feedback with sound offer an eyes-free alternative to visual displays, and this thesis studies using them with devices and the surrounding environment. In this thesis work, advanced circular auditory menus and three parallel control methods for using them were developed. Essentially, the thesis work concentrated on a circular interaction metaphor in auditory menus, in which the gesture was mapped directly to the position in the menu. The introduced control methods and auditory menu properties were tested with user experiments, and a mobile application integrating auditory and visual menus was built. The three gestural control methods to control circular auditory menus included accelerometer-based, touch screen-based, and camera-based interaction. All control methods were proven accurate and fast enough for efficient eyes-free use. Additionally, the same control methods were used in both visual and auditory domains, which facilitates switching to eyesfree use when needed and may also improve the accessibility of the interface for visually impaired users. Results of user experiments showed that the introduced visual and auditory menu design was easy and intuitive to learn without extensive training. Furthermore, a solution for eyes-free access to large menus was proposed, and user experiments indicated that dynamic menu item placement is efficient, accurate, and allowed the use of large menus. This thesis also investigated the use of auditory displays and gesture interfaces in performing arts. The perceived shape and size of a space can be changed by applying different reverberation times in different directions using multiple reverberation systems. Implementing a reverberation system and a test setup for subjective evaluation validated this. The implemented reverberation system has been utilized in live opera performances and to enhance lecture room acoustics. The use of gesture control is explored in an experimental opera production in which the performers controlled an audiovisual virtual stage live. The live interaction was useful when user controlled media was directly mapped onto gestures and when detailed nuances of movement were hard for a technician controlling the media to follow.