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NeuroGaze is a novel Virtual Reality (VR) interface that integrates electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking technologies to enhance user interaction within virtual environments (VEs). Diverging from traditional VR input devices, NeuroGaze allows users to select objects in a VE through gaze direction and cognitive intent captured via EEG signals. The research assesses the performance of the NeuroGaze system against conventional input devices such as VR controllers and eye gaze combined with hand gestures. The experiment, conducted with 20 participants, evaluates task completion time, accuracy, cognitive load through the NASA-TLX surveys, and user preference through a post-evaluation survey. Results indicate that while NeuroGaze presents a learning curve, evidenced by longer average task durations, it potentially offers a more accurate selection method with lower cognitive load, as suggested by its lower error rate and significant differences in the physical demand and temporal NASA-TLX subscale scores. This study highlights the viability of incorporating biometric inputs for more accessible and less demanding VR interactions. Future work aims to explore a multimodal EEG-Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) input device, further develop machine learning models for EEG signal classification, and extend system capabilities to dynamic object selection, highlighting the progressive direction for the use of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) in virtual environments.

The objective of this study is to test whether human intentions to sustain or cease movements in right and left hands can be decoded reliably from spatially filtered single trial magneto-encephalographic (MEG) signals. This study was performed using motor execution and motor imagery movements to achieve a potential high performance Brain-Computer interface (BCI). Seven healthy volunteers, naïve to BCI technology, participated in this study. Signals were recorded from 275-channel MEG and synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) was employed as the spatial filter. The four-class classification for natural movement intentions was performed offline; Genetic Algorithm based Mahalanobis Linear Distance (GA-MLD) and direct-decision tree classifier (DTC) techniques were adopted for the classification through 10-fold cross-validation. Through SAM imaging, strong and distinct event related desynchronisation (ERD) associated with sustaining, and event related synchronisation (ERS) patterns associated with ceasing of hand movements were observed in the beta band (15 - 30 Hz). The right and left hand ERD/ERS patterns were observed on the contralateral hemispheres for motor execution and motor imagery sessions. Virtual channels were selected from these cortical areas of high activity to correspond with the motor tasks as per the paradigm of the study. Through a statistical comparison between SAM-filtered virtual channels from single trial MEG signals and basic MEG sensors, it was found that SAM-filtered virtual channels significantly increased the classification accuracy for motor execution (GA-MLD: 96.51 ± 2.43 %) as well as motor imagery sessions (GA-MLD: 89.69 ± 3.34%). Thus, multiple movement intentions can be reliably detected from SAM-based spatially-filtered single trial MEG signals. MEG signals associated with natural motor behavior may be utilized for a reliable high-performance brain-computer interface (BCI) and may reduce long-term training compared with conventional BCI methods using rhythm control. This may prove tremendously helpful for patients suffering from various movement disorders to improve their quality of life.

This study investigates the effect of testing mode on lower-level Saudi Arabian test-takers’ performance and cognitive processes when taking an L2 reading test on computer compared to its paper-based counterpart from an interface design perspective. An interface was developed and implemented into the computer-based version of the L2 reading test in this study, which was administered to 102 Saudi Arabian University students for quantitative analyses and to an additional eighteen for qualitative analyses. All participants were assessed on the same L2 reading test in two modes on two separate occasions in a within-subject design. Statistical tests such as correlations, group comparisons, and item analyses were employed to investigate test-mode effect on test-takers’ performance whereas test-takers’ concurrent verbalizations were recorded when taking the reading test to investigate their cognitive processes. Strategies found in both modes were compared through their frequency of occurrence. In addition, a qualitative illustration of test-takers cognitive behavior was given to describe the processes when taking a lower-level L2 reading test. A mixed-method approach was adhered to when collecting data consisting of questionnaires think-aloud protocols, and post-experimental interviews as main data collection instruments. Results on test-takers’ performance showed that there was no significant difference between the two modes of testing on overall reading performance, however, item level analyses discovered significant differences on two of the test’s items. Further qualitative investigation into possible interface design related causes for these differences showed no identifiable relationship between test-takers’ performance and the computer-based testing mode. Results of the cognitive processes analyses showed significant differences in three out of the total number of cognitive processes employed by test-takers indicating that test-takers had more difficulties in processing text in the paper-based test than in the computer-based test. Both product and process analyses carried out further provided convincing supporting evidence for the cognitive validity, content validity, and context validity contributing to the construct validity of the computer-based test used in this study.

L'attention visuospatiale est un mécanisme de sélection et de traitement d'information qui se manifeste explicitement par l'orientation de la tête ou du regard. En anticipation d'une nouvelle information, le foyer de l'attention s'oriente implicitement en vision périphérique pour dissocier l'orientation du regard et du foyer implicite vers deux emplacements distincts. Dans cette situation, la réaction à une cible qui apparaît à l'emplacement du foyer implicite s'améliore par rapport aux autres cibles qui pourraient s'afficher dans un emplacement non-attendu. La problématique de la thèse est d'étudier comment détecter l'emplacement du foyer de l'attention implicite par décodage de l'activité cérébrale mesurée en électro-encéphalographie (EEG) avant l'affichage d'une cible visuelle dans 3 expériences réalisées chez des sujets sains. La première expérience aborde la problématique dans une condition où l'indication sur l'emplacement de la cible est globalement non-informative pour les sujets. Cependant, leur activité cérébrale suggère que ce type d'indication a tendance à induire un état d'alerte, de préparation ou d'orientation de l'attention dans le temps plutôt que dans l'espace. En lien avec ce résultat, la deuxième expérience aborde la problématique dans une condition ambiguë où l'attention du sujet s'oriente vers un emplacement sans lien systématique avec le contenu des indications. / Visuospatial attention is an information selection and processing mechanism whose overt manifestations consist of head or gaze shifts. In anticipation to new information, the focus of attention can also covertly shift to peripheral vision to share attention between two distinct locations: the overt one (center of gaze) and the covert one in periphery. In such a situation, the reaction to a target appearing at the focus of attention is enhanced with respect to targets appearing at unattended locations. This thesis addresses the problem of detecting the location of covert attention by decoding neural activity measured by electroencephalography (EEG) before target onset in 3 experiments on healthy subjects. The first experiment uses visuospatial cues that are non-informative about the target location. However, the neural activity reflects that non-informative cues tend to bring the subjects into a state related to alertness, motor preparation or temporal expectation rather than a spatial shift of attention. According to this result, the second experiment uses an ambiguous precueing condition in which the sujet's attention is shifted to spatial locations which bear a non-systematic relation to the information contained in the cues. With these ambiguous cues, we find that the proportion of targets displayed at unattended locations is equivalent to a non-informative condition, and that reaction speed and accuracy are dramatically impacted.

As pessoas com deficiência compreendem uma parcela da população as quais as formas de planejamento dos espaços urbanos causam impacto direto em sua qualidade de vida, sendo a incapacidade visual a mais abrangente entre as deficiências, acometendo mais de 35 milhões de pessoas no Brasil. Nas últimas décadas, as normas e leis brasileiras de promoção da acessibilidade buscam criar condições para que as pessoas com deficiências possam ter uma vida social e econômica mais ativa, por meio do uso dos preceitos do design universal nos projetos de acessibilidade para espaços públicos e meios de transporte. No entanto, definir regulamentos e normas tem se mostrado insuficiente, pois a simples padronização de recursos físicos, como pisos táteis, não garantem a autonomia para o deslocamento das pessoas com deficiência visual. Paralelo às adequações dos espaços públicos para a acessibilidade, algumas tecnologias eletrônicas têm sido desenvolvidas de forma efetiva para o design universal, dentre elas as atuais formas de audiodescrição de programas de TV, cinemas e teatros, assim como o desenvolvimento de tecnologias de voz sintetizada para quepessoas com deficiência visual possam fazer uso dos portáteis smartphones. Neste estudo, foram realizadas pesquisas bibliográficas e experimentos em ambientes controlados e ambientes públicos, utilizando-se de técnicas de pesquisa qualitativa para o levantamento, registro e análise de informações, por meio da observação de voluntários com deficiência visual, enquanto utilizavam um modelo primordial de equipamento com voz digital para orientá-los em três ambientes públicos na cidade de São Paulo, compreendendo uma movimentada estação de metrô, uma calçada a céu aberto e uma instituição pública de cultura. Os experimentos demonstraram que os voluntários com deficiência visual podem utilizar um formato adequado de audiodescrição para a orientação e mobilidade, contanto que sejam consideradas peculiaridades que relacionem a velocidade de marcha de pessoas com deficiência visual com os processos cognitivos pertinentes à audição e à percepção ambiental. Por consequência, esta pesquisa oferece princípios para o design de audionavegação, por meio de readequações na audiodescrição para abranger os conceitos de orientação e mobilidade, de modo a possibilitar sua aplicação em projetos de interfaces eletrônicas portáteis com voz sintetizada para orientar pessoas com deficiência visual, buscando assim um incrementando na autonomia dessas pessoas para seu wayfinding em ambientes públicos e transportes de massa. / The people with disabilities comprise a portion of the population whose forms of planning in urban spaces have a direct impact on their quality of life, with visual impairment being the most comprehensive among disabilities, affecting more than35 million individuals in Brazil. In the last decades, the Brazilian norms and laws to promote accessibility seek to create conditions for people with disabilities to have a more active social and economic life, through the use of universal design precepts in the projects of accessibility for public spaces and mass transports. However, setting regulations and norms has proved insufficient, since the simple standardization of physical resources, such as tactile floors, do not guarantee autonomy for the displacement of visually impaired people. Parallel to the adaptations of public spaces for accessibility, some electronic technologies have been effectively developed for the universal design, amongst them the present forms of audiodescription of TV programs, cinemas and theaters, as well as the development of synthesized voice technologies so that people with visual disabilities can make use of portable smartphones. In this study, in addition to relevant bibliographical research, practical experiments were carried out in controlled and public environments, applying qualitative research techniques for the collection, recording and analysis of information through the observation of volunteers with visual impairment, using a primordial model of equipment with digital voice technology to guide them in three public spaces in the city of São Paulo, comprising a busy subway station, a sidewalk and a public cultural institution. The experiments have shown that visually impaired volunteers can use an appropriate format of audiodescription for orientation and mobility, as long as they are considered peculiarities that relate the visually impaired people walking speed to cognitive processes relevant to hearing and for environmental perception. As a result, this research offers principles for the audionavigation design, through adjustments in audiodescription to include the orientation and mobility concepts, enabling its application in projects of portable electronic interfaces with synthesized voice to guide visually impaired people, seeking an increase in wayfinding autonomy for these people when in public environments and mass transports.

A pesquisa explora a intersecção entre o design de informação e os estudos acerca do fenômeno urbano, considerando o avanço recente das tecnologias voltadas à representação e as possibilidades que trazem à comunicação visual. É proposta uma introdução ao tema da cidade, abordada tanto de uma perspectiva macro, que busca embasamento nas ciências, quanto do ponto de vista da experiência urbana de seus usuários. Em seguida, são investigadas as possibilidades do design de informação nesse contexto, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica da teoria relacionada ao tema e da análise de projetos e iniciativas que buscam aproximar, por meio do design e do uso de ambientes virtuais, conjuntos de dados e informações da cognição humana. Com relação às tecnologias, são investigadas ferramentas de representação da informação urbana, envolvendo visualização de dados, interação humano-computador e navegação por ambientes tridimensionais. Em um paralelo com a arquitetura, são observadas formas como a informação tem sido espacializada em ambientes físicos e virtuais. Por fim, o trabalho propõe investigações práticas, de modo a explorar particularidades de algumas das ferramentas disponíveis, e pondera sobre a atuação do designer na representação da informação urbana à luz das questões estudadas. / This research explores the intersection between information design and studies on urban phenomena, considering the recent developments in technologies of representation and possibilities that they bring to visual comunication. An introduction to the theme of the city is proposed, viewed both from a macro perspective, that seeks grounding in science, and from the perspective of the user experience. Then, are investigated the possibilities of information design in this context, trough a literature review of the theme and analysis of information design projects that seek to approach urban issues and human cognition. With regard to digital technologies, the representation of urban information evolving automatized data visualization, human-computer interaction and navigation in 3D environments are investigated. In a parallel with architecture, ways in which information has been spatialized in physical and virtual environments are observed. Lastly, the research proposes a practical investigation, to explore particularities of some available tools and to consider the role of designers on representation of urban information, taking into account the studied issues.

Nos últimos anos observa-se um intenso debate acerca da transição da TV analógica para a TV digital, acompanhada pela incorporação de inúmeras inovações, dentre as quais destacamos a interatividade, que abre uma nova modalidade para este meio de comunicação, a TV interativa. Os desafios de pesquisa e desenvolvimento em TV interativa são amplos e ainda não totalmente investigados. Em particular, a questão da consistência de interfaces com usuário se apresenta como um tópico relevante e pouco explorado na literatura. Esta dissertação investiga a questão da consistência da interface com o usuário para a TV interativa, considerando seus aspectos teóricos e de implementação. Para tanto investigamos na literatura de Interfaces Humano-Computador a questão da consistência e suas abordagens. Considerando que a consistência é uma característica relativa a um modelo, buscamos identificar modelos de interfaces de TV interativa que sejam exemplos de boas práticas a serem seguidas. A metodologia proposta e utilizada é composta por cinco etapas, a saber: modelagem do usuário, análise de tarefas, diretrizes gerais de interface, análise comparativa de plataformas e coordenação da interface. As três primeiras etapas geram recomendações enquanto que a etapa de análise comparativa gera referências. Utilizando estes dois subsídios a etapa de coordenação da interface objetiva elencar exemplos de interfaces que possam se tornar modelos, esta etapa também verifica a consistência interna do modelo proposto e elabora alternativas no caso das soluções encontradas não serem satisfatórias. No âmbito desta metodologia realizamos extensas avaliações experimentais, dentre as quais destacamos a proposta de quatro modelos de usuário (Torcedor Antenado, Mãe Ocupada, Meia Idade com Ajuda e Torcedor com Baixa Alfabetização), uma análise contextual de tarefas envolvendo dois dos quatro modelos de usuário propostos, bem como uma extensa análise comparativa entre sete plataformas de TV. Este trabalho resultou numa proposta integrada de interface que abrange três aspectos: um mapa de navegação, um conjunto mínimo de teclas para o controle remoto e um modelo de navegação. O mapa de navegação apresenta a taxonomia do sistema. O conjunto mínimo de teclas compreende os recursos mínimos que devem estar universalmente disponíveis ao usuário. O modelo de navegação apresenta uma forma consistente e extensível de navegação para ser utilizada em aplicativos de TV interativa. / In the past few years there has been an intense debate about the transition from analog to digital Television, with the acquisition of many innovations. Of particular interest to this study is the interactivity, which opens a new modality for this medium, the interactive TV. The challenges posed by research and development in interactive TV are ample and not fully investigated. In particular, the question of user interface consistency presents itself as a relevant topic, which is little explored in the literature. This work investigates the question of user interface consistency for interactive TV, taking into account it\'s theoretical and implementation implications. The question of consistency and its approaches was reviewed in the literature of Human-Computer Interfaces. Considering that consistency is a characteristic relative to a model, we tried to identify models of interactive TV interfaces, which are examples of best practices to be followed. The methodology proposed and utilized has five steps: user modeling, task analysis, interface guidelines, platform comparative analysis and interface coordination. The first three steps generate recommendations while the comparative analysis generates references. Using these two products the interface coordination tries to determine examples of interfaces, which can become models, this step also verifies the internal consistency of the proposed model and elaborates alternatives if the found solutions are not satisfactory. Using this methodology a large experimental evaluation was performed. Of special interest is the proposition of four user models, a contextual task analysis of two of the user models as well as an extensive comparative analysis between seven TV platforms. The result of this work is the proposition of an integrated interface, which focuses on three aspects: the navigation map, the minimum remote and a navigation model. The navigation map is the taxonomy of the system. The minimum remote is a group of keys that should be universally available to the user. The navigation model presents a consistent and extensible mechanism for navigation in interactive TV applications.

No description available.