When it comes to simulator training, there are two main target groups, the student and the teacher/instructor. This thesis will cover usability aspects for both of these groups when it comes to tasks related to simulator training. For the student it will mainly be about how they can interact with the interface from the simulator and how results and feedback from exercises are presented to them. For the teacher/instructor on the other hand, usability aspects for managing the students and the exercises will be addressed, along with how results and progress shall be presented in a way that is easy to grasp and understand. A redesign of the current system used to manage these issues will be preformed. Some of the aspects that the redesign will cover are usability aspects, graphical design and workflow. One of the main outcomes from this thesis is a system that supports many different levels of engagement from the user, allowing users with different background and interest to interact with the system as effortless as possible/wanted.

No description available.

Digital musical instruments pose a number of unique challenges for designers and performers. These issues stem primarily from the lack of innate physical connection between the performance interface and means of sound generation, for the latter is usually dematerialised. Thus, this relationship must instead be explicitly determined by the designer, and can be essentially any desired. However, many design issues and constraints remain poorly understood, from the nature of control to the provision of performer-instrument feedback. This practice-based research contends that while the digital and acoustic domains are so different as to be fundamentally incompatible, useful antecedents for digital musical instruments can be found in the histories of electronic music. Specifically, it argues that the live electronics of David Tudor are of particular prescience. His home-made circuits offer an electronic music paradigm quite antithetical to both the familiar keyboard interface and the electronic music studios that grew up in the years after World War II, and are seen to embody a number of aspirational qualities. These include performer-instrument interaction more akin to steering rather than fine control, the potential for musical outcomes that are unknown and unknowable in advance, and distinct instrumental character. This leads to the central contribution of this research; the development of a Tudor-inspired conceptual framework that can inform how digital musical instruments are designed, played, and evaluated. To enable more detailed and nuanced discussion, the framework is broken down into a series of sub-themes. These include both design issues such as nuance, plasticity and emergence, and human issues such as experience, expressiveness, skill, learning, and mastery. The notion of sketching in hardware and software is also developed in relation to the rapid iteration of multiple designs. Informed by this framework, seven new digital musical instruments are presented. These instruments are tested from two different perspectives, with the personal experiences of the author supplemented with data from a series of smallscale user studies. Particular emphasis is placed on how the instruments are played, the music they can produce, and their capacity to convey the musical intentions of the performer (i.e. their expressiveness). After the evaluation of the instruments, the Tudorian framework is revisited to form the basis of the conclusions. A number of modifications to the original framework are proposed, from the addition of a dialogical model of performerinstrument interaction, to the situation of digital musical instruments within a wider musical ecology. The thesis then closes with a suggestion of possibilities for future research.

The size of a mobile device is primarily determined by the size of the touchscreen. As such, researchers have found that the way to achieve ultimate mobility is to abandon the screen altogether. These wearable devices are operated using hand gestures, voice commands or a small number of physical buttons. By abandoning the screen these devices also abandon the currently dominant spatial interaction style (such as tapping on buttons), because, seemingly, there is nothing to tap on. Unfortunately this design prevents users from transferring their learned interaction knowledge gained from traditional touchscreen-based devices. In this dissertation, I present Imaginary Interfaces, which return spatial interaction to screenless mobile devices. With these interfaces, users point and draw in the empty space in front of them or on the palm of their hands. While they cannot see the results of their interaction, they obtain some visual and tactile feedback by watching and feeling their hands interact. After introducing the concept of Imaginary Interfaces, I present two hardware prototypes that showcase two different forms of interaction with an imaginary interface, each with its own advantages: mid-air imaginary interfaces can be large and expressive, while palm-based imaginary interfaces offer an abundance of tactile features that encourage learning. Given that imaginary interfaces offer no visual output, one of the key challenges is to enable users to discover the interface's layout. This dissertation offers three main solutions: offline learning with coordinates, browsing with audio feedback and learning by transfer. The latter I demonstrate with the Imaginary Phone, a palm-based imaginary interface that mimics the layout of a physical mobile phone that users are already familiar with. Although these designs enable interaction with Imaginary Interfaces, they tell us little about why this interaction is possible. In the final part of this dissertation, I present an exploration into which human perceptual abilities are used when interacting with a palm-based imaginary interface and how much each accounts for performance with the interface. These findings deepen our understanding of Imaginary Interfaces and suggest that palm-based Imaginary Interfaces can enable stand-alone eyes-free use for many applications, including interfaces for visually impaired users. / Die Größe mobiler Geräte ist vornehmlich bestimmt durch die Größe des Berührungsbildschirms. Forscher haben daher erkannt, dass der Weg zur äußersten Mobilität in der kompletten Aufgabe des Bildschirms liegt. Solche tragbaren Geräte werden durch Handgesten, Sprachbefehle oder eine kleine Anzahl physikalischer Tasten gesteuert. Mit der Aufgabe des Bildschirms geben diese Geräte allerdings auch den momentan weitverbreiteten Stil räumlicher Interaktion auf (zum Beispiel das Betätigen von Tasten), da scheinbar nichts existiert, das man betätigen kann. Leider verhindert diese Entwicklung, dass Benutzer Interaktionswissen, welches sie sich auf herkömmlichen berührungsempflindlichen Geräten angeeignet haben, anwenden können. In dieser Doktorarbeit stelle ich Imaginary Interfaces vor, imaginäre Benutzerschnittstellen, die räumliche Interaktionen auf bildschirmlosen mobilen Geräten ermöglichen. Diese Schnittstellen erlauben Benutzern, im leeren Raum vor ihnen oder auf ihren Handfläche zu zeigen und zu zeichnen. Zwar können Benutzer die Ergebnisse ihrer Interaktion nicht sehen, sie erhalten jedoch visuelle und taktile Rückmeldung dadurch, dass sie ihre Hände während der Interaktion beobachten und fühlen. Nach der Einführung des Imaginary Interfaces Konzepts stelle ich zwei Hardware-Prototypen vor, die zwei verschiedene Arten von Interaktionen mit Imaginary Interfaces demonstrieren, jeweils mit ihren eigenen Vorteilen: Imaginary Interfaces in der Luft können groß und ausdrucksstark sein, während Imaginary Interfaces basierend auf Handflächen eine Fülle von taktilen Merkmalen aufweisen, die das Erlernen unterstützen. Die fehlende visuelle Ausgabe führt zu einer der Hauptherausforderungen von Imaginary Interfaces, nämlich Benutzern zu ermöglichen, die Anordnung der Benutzerschnittstellen herauszufinden. Diese Doktorarbeit stellt drei Lösungen vor: vorheriges Lernen mit Koordinaten, Durchsuchen mit Tonrückmeldung und Lernen durch Transfer. Letztere demonstriere ich mit Imaginary Phone, einem Imaginary Interface basierend auf Handflächen, das die den Benutzern schon vertraute Anordnung eines physikalischen Mobiltelefons imitiert. Obwohl diese Lösungen die Interaktion mit Imaginary Interfaces ermöglichen, können sie keine Aussage darüber treffen, warum eine solche Interaktion möglich ist. Im letzten Teil dieser Doktorarbeit untersuche ich, welche menschlichen Wahrnehmungsfähigkeiten während der Interaktion mit Imaginary Interface basierend auf Handflächen genutzt werden und zu welchem Ausmaß jede dieser Wahrnehmungsfähigkeiten zur Effizienz bei der Benutzung beiträgt. Diese Ergebnisse vertiefen unser Verständnis von Imaginary Interfaces und legen nahe, dass Imaginary Interfaces basierend auf Handflächen die eigenständige und blickfreie Benutzung von vielen Anwendungen ermöglichen können, eingeschlossen Benutzerschnittstellen für sehbehinderte Benutzer.

yes / Interface definition is an essential and integral part of systems engineering. In current practice, interface requirements or control documents are generally used to define systems or subsystems interfaces. One of the challenges with the use of such documents in product development process is the diversity in their types, methodology, contents coverage, and structure across various design levels and across multidisciplinary teams, which often impedes the design process. It is important that interface information is described with appropriate detail and minimal or no ambiguity at each design level. The purpose of this paper is to present an interface analysis template (IAT) as a structured tool and coherent methodology, built upon a critical review of existing literature concepts, with the aim of using and implementing the same template for capturing interface requirements at various levels of design starting from stakeholders' level down to component level analysis. The proposed IAT is illustrated through a desktop case study of an electric pencil sharpener, and two examples of application to automotive systems.

This research began by addressing the question: can effective interface design guidelines be produced for use in the design of future consumer product technologies (CPT)? A literature review explored published studies evaluating existing Human- Computer Interaction guidelines to establish their effectiveness in relation to CPT. Through this review, effectiveness was found to be limited but potentially could be improved using user-centred design methods. In response, six short studies were undertaken to produce user-centred CPT guidelines and to evaluate them using two sets of effectiveness criteria: specificity and applicability. These studies supported findings from the HCI literature. Despite improving the specificity and applicability of the CPT guidelines, passive, non-bespoke design guidelines have still been shown to have little impact on interaction design activity. Other links between research and practice needed to be identified. Two further field investigations indicated that, whilst the use of ergonomics methods was limited in commercial design consultancies, certain types of participative methods considering 'situated design in context' might be helpful. A second literature review was conducted to explore the importance of context-based design activity. As an outcome, design tools were proposed using participative design techniques involving games and role playing. Through a second series of five laboratory and field studies, the proposed design tools were developed and iteratively evaluated. It was demonstrated that the design tools could affect interaction design activity, but further work is still required on improving one of the applicability criteria - 'organisational survival'. These findings demonstrated that interaction designers can effectively produce their own design data using the design tools provided that this design activity is situated within the context of an interaction design problem. It has also been shown that if interaction design tools are to be effective they should satisfy all specificity and applicability criteria established in this inquiry.

Submitted by Miriam Lucas (miriam.lucas@unioeste.br) on 2017-11-08T17:58:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Eduardo_Alberto_Felippsen_2017.pdf: 2829878 bytes, checksum: 34245de5c475cba9de58a5835f5abfd4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-08T17:58:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Eduardo_Alberto_Felippsen_2017.pdf: 2829878 bytes, checksum: 34245de5c475cba9de58a5835f5abfd4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-03 / The technologies are in broad development and increasingly present in the students' daily life, a reality that can be appropriated by the school for the creation of new teaching strategies. In the case of teaching deaf children, the use of technologies may be even more effective, since the visual aspect should be privileged. In this context, this dissertation presents, by means of a qualitative research with action-research methodology, the application of the Leap Motion Gesture Interaction Interface in classes for deaf children. The planning and selection of the softwares took place together, involving the researcher and the teachers of the Training Center of the Professionals of the Education and Assistance to Persons with Deafness (in Portuguese, Centro de Capacitação dos Profissionais da Educação e Atendimento às Pessoas com Surdez) in the city of Cascavel / PR, this, in the generation of lesson plans. It was identified that the communication and mediation of the teacher are key-factors for the student to interpret and understand the interaction environment, as well as the task that is expected to be realized. This, because the student is in training in the Brazilian Sign Language (in Portuguese, Língua Brasileira de Sinais - Libras) and hasn’t knowledge of the written Portuguese language. In other words, there is a strong dependence of the teacher to that him/her interprets the interface of the software and translates it to Libras, inserting in this translation elements that result in the understanding by the child. As results, it was verified that, in well-planned use scenarios, there was the contribution of the use of the Leap Motion sensor in the learning, and that there was a significant contribution in the social interaction and the collaboration between the students in the accomplishment of the tasks. These aspects of interaction among students can be also considered in the elaboration of new teaching strategies supported by gestural interfaces. / As tecnologias estão em franco desenvolvimento, e cada vez mais presentes no cotidiano dos estudantes, uma realidade que pode ser apropriada pela escola para a criação de novas estratégias de ensino. No caso do ensino de crianças surdas, o uso de tecnologias pode ser ainda mais efetivo, uma vez o aspecto visual deve ser privilegiado. Neste contexto, esta dissertação apresenta, por meio de uma pesquisa qualitativa com metodologia de pesquisa-ação, a aplicação da Interface de Interação Gestual Leap Motion em aulas para crianças surdas. O planejamento e escolha dos softwares foi conjunto, envolvendo o pesquisador e os professores do Centro de Capacitação dos Profissionais da Educação e Atendimento às Pessoas com Surdez na cidade de Cascavel/PR, isto, na geração de planos de aula. Identificou-se que a comunicação e a mediação do professor são fatores-chave para que o aluno possa interpretar e compreender o ambiente de interação, bem como a tarefa que se espera seja realizada. Isto, pois o aluno encontra-se em formação na Língua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras) e não possui conhecimento da Língua Portuguesa escrita. Em outras palavras, há uma forte dependência do professor para que este interprete a interface do software e a traduza para Libras, inserindo nesta tradução elementos que resultem na compreensão por parte da criança. Como resultados, verificou-se que, em cenários de uso bem planejados, houve a contribuição do uso do sensor Leap Motion no aprendizado, e que houve contribuição significativa na interação social e na colaboração entre os alunos na realização das tarefas. Esses aspectos de interação entre os estudantes podem ser também considerados na elaboração de novas estratégias de ensino suportadas por interfaces gestuais.

Ce travail de thèse a consisté à améliorer certaines propriétés de revêtements fonctionnels à base de polychlorure de vinyle (PVC) plastifié et de polyamide-imide (PAI) par incorporation de nanocharges inorganiques préformées, lamellaires ou divisées. La compatibilisation des nanocharges avec la matrice dans laquelle elles ont été incorporées s'est avérée indispensable pour obtenir des films nanocomposites avec une distribution homogène et un état de dispersion le plus fin possible. Différentes stratégies de compatibilisation ont été étudiées, comme la physisorption, la chimisorption, l'intercalation ou encore la chélation d'agents compatibilisants judicieusement choisis et adaptés à chacun des systèmes. Les nouvelles nanocharges ainsi modifiées ont été caractérisées en vue de leur introduction dans la matrice. Les films nanocomposites " compatibilisés " ont été élaborés en voie solvant et/ou par polymérisation in-situ, suivie d'une gélification physique pour le PVC ou d'une réticulation chimique pour le PAI. La caractérisation morphologique des films, réalisée par DRX et MEB/MET, ainsi que les propriétés thermiques et thermomécaniques des films, évaluées par ATG, DSC et DMA, mettent en évidence l'importance de deux paramètres : la chimie de surface des nanocharges, à l'origine des interactions interfaciales nanocharge/polymère, et le procédé d'élaboration du nanocomposite.

Ce travail de thèse a consisté à améliorer certaines propriétés de revêtements fonctionnels à base de polychlorure de vinyle (PVC) plastifié et de polyamide-imide (PAI) par incorporation de nanocharges inorganiques préformées, lamellaires ou divisées. La compatibilisation des nanocharges avec la matrice dans laquelle elles ont été incorporées s’est avérée indispensable pour obtenir des films nanocomposites avec une distribution homogène et un état de dispersion le plus fin possible. Différentes stratégies de compatibilisation ont été étudiées, comme la physisorption, la chimisorption, l’intercalation ou encore la chélation d’agents compatibilisants judicieusement choisis et adaptés à chacun des systèmes. Les nouvelles nanocharges ainsi modifiées ont été caractérisées en vue de leur introduction dans la matrice. Les films nanocomposites « compatibilisés » ont été élaborés en voie solvant et/ou par polymérisation in-situ, suivie d’une gélification physique pour le PVC ou d’une réticulation chimique pour le PAI. La caractérisation morphologique des films, réalisée par DRX et MEB/MET, ainsi que les propriétés thermiques et thermomécaniques des films, évaluées par ATG, DSC et DMA, mettent en évidence l’importance de deux paramètres : la chimie de surface des nanocharges, à l’origine des interactions interfaciales nanocharge/polymère, et le procédé d’élaboration du nanocomposite. / This study aims at improving some properties of functional PVC- and PAI- based coatings by adding preformed inorganic lamellar or spherical nanofillers. The compatibilization of nanofiller with the polymer matrix in which they are introduced, is required in order to obtain nanocomposite films with an homogeneous distribution and a dispersion state as fine as possible. Different compatibilization strategies, well-suited for each system, have been studied: compatibilizer physisorption, chemisorption, intercalation or chelation. The new modified nanofillers have been characterized before their introduction into the matrix. Various strategies have been considered to obtain the “compatibilized” nanocomposite films such as the solution mixing and/or the in-situ polymerization, followed by a physical gelation or curing step for PVC- or PAI-based nanocomposites, respectively. The morphological characterization of the films, through XRD and SEM/TEM analysis, and the thermal and thermomecanical properties, evaluated by TGA, DSC and DMA, underlined the importance of two parameters: the nanofiller surface chemistry, responsible for the nanofiller/polymer interfacial interactions, and the elaboration process of the nanocomposite.