This research addresses a problem that centers on the persistent disparities in computer use and access among racial minorities, particularly African-Americans and Latinos, and persons of low socio-economic status (SES) here in the USA. "Access" to computer technology maintains a dual meaning. Access may refer to having a computer and software available for use or it may refer to having a computer interface that effectively facilitates user learning. This study conceptualizes "access" as the latter — having an interface that facilitates user learning. One intervention for this problem of access, from a Human Factors perspective, is in recognizing and accounting for culture's influence on one's cognition. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were integrated to effectively determine a process for engaging typically marginalized groups, interface metaphor preferences of African-Americans, and user performance with varying types of interface metaphors. The qualitative aspects of this study provided a basis for understanding how entry was obtained into the participants' community and for obtaining richer descriptions of user successes and challenges with the various interface designs. The researcher developed a culturally valid interface design methodology, i.e., Acculturalization Interface Design (A.I.D.) methodology, which was used to identify meaningful computer interface metaphors for low SES African-Americans. Through the A.I.D. methodology and an associated field study, a group of African-American novice computer users determined that the home, the bedroom and comfort were meaningful computer interface metaphors to integrate into a letter writing task. A separate group of African-Americans performed benchmark tasks on an interface design that utilized the home, bedroom and comfort metaphors or Microsoft Word 2003. The African-American group performed significantly better on the novel interface than on Microsoft Word 2003 for several benchmark tasks. Qualitative analyses showed that low acculturation African-Americans were particularly challenged with those same tasks. Regression analyses used to determine the relationship between psychosocial characteristics and user performance were inconclusive. Subject matter experts (SME), representing low SES Latinos, discussed potential learnability issues for both interface designs. Furthermore, results from the African-American group and the SMEs highlight the critical importance of using terminology (i.e., verbal metaphors) and pictorial metaphors that are culturally and socially valid. / Ph. D.

The Semantic Web and Linked Data movements with the aim of creating, publishing and interconnecting machine readable information have gained traction in the last years. However, the majority of information still is contained in and exchanged using unstructured documents, such as Web pages, text documents, images and videos. This can also not be expected to change, since text, images and videos are the natural way in which humans interact with information. Semantic structuring of content on the other hand provides a wide range of advantages compared to unstructured information. Semantically-enriched documents facilitate information search and retrieval, presentation, integration, reusability, interoperability and personalization. Looking at the life-cycle of semantic content on the Web of Data, we see quite some progress on the backend side in storing structured content or for linking data and schemata. Nevertheless, the currently least developed aspect of the semantic content life-cycle is from our point of view the user-friendly manual and semi-automatic creation of rich semantic content. In this thesis, we propose a semantics-based user interface model, which aims to reduce the complexity of underlying technologies for semantic enrichment of content by Web users. By surveying existing tools and approaches for semantic content authoring, we extracted a set of guidelines for designing efficient and effective semantic authoring user interfaces. We applied these guidelines to devise a semantics-based user interface model called WYSIWYM (What You See Is What You Mean) which enables integrated authoring, visualization and exploration of unstructured and (semi-)structured content. To assess the applicability of our proposed WYSIWYM model, we incorporated the model into four real-world use cases comprising two general and two domain-specific applications. These use cases address four aspects of the WYSIWYM implementation: 1) Its integration into existing user interfaces, 2) Utilizing it for lightweight text analytics to incentivize users, 3) Dealing with crowdsourcing of semi-structured e-learning content, 4) Incorporating it for authoring of semantic medical prescriptions.

A geração automatizada de Interfaces de Usuário (IU) é objeto de estudo há muitos anos. Desde a década de 80, dezenas de projetos foram desenvolvidos e várias soluções apresentadas ao mercado. Entretanto, mesmo com os avanços obtidos neste cenário, inúmeras dificuldades ainda continuam presentes no dia-a-dia dos desenvolvedores de sistemas. A necessidade de processos, sintaxes e linguagens proprietárias associado ao elevado esforço de configuração e à baixa reutilização de tecnologias são os principais problemas nessa área. Objetivando sanar essas dificuldades, este trabalho propõe uma solução diferenciada para o problema, a qual reutiliza e integra-se à maioria das tecnologias comumente presentes nos ambientes de desenvolvimento e que conta com um exclusivo sistema de configuração, capaz de minimizar o trabalho de geração das IU. Sendo um típico gerador baseado em modelos, o software proposto é chamado MERLIN, e objetiva automatizar completamente a geracão de interfaces CRUD, as quais estão presentes em até 30% dos sistemas que operam sobre banco de dados. Para alcançar este objetivo, o software aposta no uso intensivo de heurísticas e na formação de uma estrutura auto-contida e realimentada de configurações, a qual reside unicamente nas classes compiladas da aplicação. Completando a sua arquitetura, um processo de geração em tempo de execução inibe a produção de qualquer linha de código-fonte, o que evita a necessidade de refatoração ao longo da evolução dos sistemas. Com esses elementos em evidência e focando inicialmente a plataforma Java, sinaliza-se uma solução diferenciada, apta para ser utilizada em ambientes profissionais de desenvolvimento. / The automated generation of User Interfaces (UI) has been the object of study for many years. Since the 1980s, dozens of projects have been developed and various solutions presented to the market. However, even with the advances obtained under this scenario, innumerable difficulties still continue to present themselves in the daily routine of system developers. The demands of proprietary methodologies, syntaxes and languages, the high level of effort needed for configuration and low reuse of technologies are the main problems in the area. With the object of rectifying these difficulties, this work proposes a solution specific to the problem, which reuses and combines the majority of the technologies already existing in development environments and relies on an exclusive configuration system, capable to minimize the work of generating the UI. Being a typical model based generator, the software under consideration is called MERLIN, and has as its objective to completely automate the generation of CRUD interfaces, which are present in up to 30% of the systems that interact with data bases. To achieve this objective, the software relies on the intensive use of heuristics and the creation of a self contained configuration feedback structure, which exists solely in the compiled classes of the application. Completing this architecture, a process of execution time generation eliminates the need for any source code, which significantly reduces the costs of refactoring the code throughout the evolution of the systems. With these elements in evidence and focusing initially on the Java platform, indicates that this distinguished solution is ready for use in professional development environments.

Interfaces, joints and connections between different elements or sections cause more problems than most of the rest of the building. There are challenges during design, manufacture and construction as well as implications throughout the life of the building. These challenges are particularly relevant for the building envelope. Here the joints must perform at the same level as the main areas of wall or roof, but the pressures on them are invariably much greater. They must keep out the weather but, at the same time, accommodate tolerances. and inaccuracies and cater for movements both during construction and for as long as the building lasts. Managing construction interfaces is an important part of delivering a construction project without time delays or cost additions. However the lack of written publications on how to manage interfaces within construction is a problem discovered by the author very early in the research. Therefore the main aim of the research was; to improve the management of interfaces within the construction industry, with particular reference to interfaces within the building facade. The research was based on an EPSRC funded project entitled CladdISS "A standardised strategy for window and cladding interfaces". The methodology included industrial workshops, interviews, regular steering group meetings and a questionnaire. The strategy proposed to increase productivity, quality, reduce waste and reduce costs in design, manufacture, installation, and the building life cycle. The research highlighted a wide range of interrelated problems. However, the two main issues were: Poor communication between the design team and specialist contractors and poor interface detailing. The following situations typically exist: The interface responsibility is assigned too late if at all; the term 'by others' often leads to the interfaces being poorly managed; the design team does not have a good enough understanding of the construction and manufacturing tolerances of materials at the interfaces; often the design team does not have appropriate understanding of the cladding system they are designing; the specialist cladding contractors do not have enough input to the design of the cladding and interfaces early enough. Using the CladdISS strategy will enable the supply chain to be organised and provide a template for effective interface management.

A geração automatizada de Interfaces de Usuário (IU) é objeto de estudo há muitos anos. Desde a década de 80, dezenas de projetos foram desenvolvidos e várias soluções apresentadas ao mercado. Entretanto, mesmo com os avanços obtidos neste cenário, inúmeras dificuldades ainda continuam presentes no dia-a-dia dos desenvolvedores de sistemas. A necessidade de processos, sintaxes e linguagens proprietárias associado ao elevado esforço de configuração e à baixa reutilização de tecnologias são os principais problemas nessa área. Objetivando sanar essas dificuldades, este trabalho propõe uma solução diferenciada para o problema, a qual reutiliza e integra-se à maioria das tecnologias comumente presentes nos ambientes de desenvolvimento e que conta com um exclusivo sistema de configuração, capaz de minimizar o trabalho de geração das IU. Sendo um típico gerador baseado em modelos, o software proposto é chamado MERLIN, e objetiva automatizar completamente a geracão de interfaces CRUD, as quais estão presentes em até 30% dos sistemas que operam sobre banco de dados. Para alcançar este objetivo, o software aposta no uso intensivo de heurísticas e na formação de uma estrutura auto-contida e realimentada de configurações, a qual reside unicamente nas classes compiladas da aplicação. Completando a sua arquitetura, um processo de geração em tempo de execução inibe a produção de qualquer linha de código-fonte, o que evita a necessidade de refatoração ao longo da evolução dos sistemas. Com esses elementos em evidência e focando inicialmente a plataforma Java, sinaliza-se uma solução diferenciada, apta para ser utilizada em ambientes profissionais de desenvolvimento. / The automated generation of User Interfaces (UI) has been the object of study for many years. Since the 1980s, dozens of projects have been developed and various solutions presented to the market. However, even with the advances obtained under this scenario, innumerable difficulties still continue to present themselves in the daily routine of system developers. The demands of proprietary methodologies, syntaxes and languages, the high level of effort needed for configuration and low reuse of technologies are the main problems in the area. With the object of rectifying these difficulties, this work proposes a solution specific to the problem, which reuses and combines the majority of the technologies already existing in development environments and relies on an exclusive configuration system, capable to minimize the work of generating the UI. Being a typical model based generator, the software under consideration is called MERLIN, and has as its objective to completely automate the generation of CRUD interfaces, which are present in up to 30% of the systems that interact with data bases. To achieve this objective, the software relies on the intensive use of heuristics and the creation of a self contained configuration feedback structure, which exists solely in the compiled classes of the application. Completing this architecture, a process of execution time generation eliminates the need for any source code, which significantly reduces the costs of refactoring the code throughout the evolution of the systems. With these elements in evidence and focusing initially on the Java platform, indicates that this distinguished solution is ready for use in professional development environments.

Esta dissertação teve por objetivo verificar se existe um diferencial estético nas representações visuais nas interfaces gráficas dos dispositivos móveis da Apple e, se existir, se esse diferencial efetivamente influencia o vínculo do usuário com a marca e se o usuário tem consciência dele. Para tanto é apresentada uma breve análise diacrônica sobre as interfaces computacionais, bem como uma descrição de momentos chave na história da referida empresa. A partir disto, são abordadas questões que abrangem o posicionamento da marca Apple, pois desde a popularização das interfaces gráficas (GUI) a mesma tem sido associada tanto ao conceito de boas interfaces, quanto tem esta relação contestada. Existem ainda autores que consideram que o sucesso da marca Apple deve-se menos à qualidade de seus produtos (hardware e interfaces gráficas) que à força das ações de marketing da empresa. Para compreender de forma mais pontual as interfaces que eram objeto de estudo e as diretrizes que envolvem a construção de seu desenho, foram analisados os guias de desenvolvimento de interfaces da Apple para o iOS (iOS Human Interface Guidelines) e do Android (Android Developers), atualmente seu principal concorrente. A fim de tentar analisar a percepção que usuários têm das especificidades e dos diferenciais estéticos entre as referidas interfaces, foram construídas duas simulações, cada qual com características de um dos sistemas. Sessões experimentais com usuários, seguidas de entrevista, compuseram a fase empírica, de cunho qualitativo, em que se procurou verificar qual conjunto de ícones os participantes preferiam e por que. Os resultados encontrados apontam que questões estéticas são importantes na percepção que as pessoas têm das interfaces. Essa atenção às configurações estéticas parece contribuir para a percepção geral que se tem dos produtos onde os ícones se apresentam. A partir desses resultados é possível afirmar que a estética faz parte do conjunto de fatores, que constroem a percepção final – positiva ou negativa, de uma interface e, com ela, dos produtos de uma determinada marca. Por outro lado, embora o conjunto de ícones construído de acordo com os parâmetros do Guia de Desenvolvimento de Interfaces da Apple tenha sido preferido por dois terços dos participantes, não houve identificação daquele grupo de ícones com as interfaces da marca Apple. Isso sugere que a construção da marca é alicerçada na qualidade estética de suas interfaces, mas indica também a importância das ações de marketing na atribuição de maior qualidade estética às interfaces da Apple. / This work aimed to verify whether there is a differential in aesthetic visual representations in the graphical interfaces of Apple’s mobile devices. If a difference was found, a second objective was to verify whether this differential effectively influences the bond between user and brand and if the user is aware of it. To this end, it starts with a brief diachronic analysis of computer interfaces, as well as a description of key moments in Apple's history of. Discussed issues include brand positioning, as, since the popularization of graphical user interfaces (GUI), Apple has been associated to the concept of good interfaces. However, at the same time, this relationship has also been challenged, as there are authors who believe that the success of the brand Apple is not due to the quality of its products (hardware and graphical interfaces) but to the strength of the marketing activities of the company. To understand the specific interfaces that were the object of this study and to know the guidelines that drive their design, we analyzed Apple iOS Human Interface Guidelines and its Android equivalent - Android Developers - (as Android is currently Apple's main competitor in the mobile market). In order to analyze users' perception of specific features and aesthetic differences between Apple and Android interfaces, two simulations were built, each with characteristics of either system. Experimental sessions with users were followed by interviews, comprising the empirical, qualitative study. These experiments aimed to verify which set of icons participants preferred and why. The results show that aesthetic considerations are important in the perception of interfaces. This attention to aesthetic settings seems to contribute to the general perception that people have of the digital products themselves. From these results we can say that aesthetics is part of the set of factors that build the final perception - positive or negative - of an interface, and with it, the products of a particular brand. However, although the icon set constructed in accordance with the parameters of iOS Human Interface Guidelines Apple has been preferred by two-thirds of the participants, the identification of that group of icons with Apple interfaces did not happen. This suggests that Apple's brand building can be founded on the aesthetic quality of its interfaces, but also indicates the importance of marketing actions in assigning greater aesthetic quality to Apple interfaces.

Esta dissertação teve por objetivo verificar se existe um diferencial estético nas representações visuais nas interfaces gráficas dos dispositivos móveis da Apple e, se existir, se esse diferencial efetivamente influencia o vínculo do usuário com a marca e se o usuário tem consciência dele. Para tanto é apresentada uma breve análise diacrônica sobre as interfaces computacionais, bem como uma descrição de momentos chave na história da referida empresa. A partir disto, são abordadas questões que abrangem o posicionamento da marca Apple, pois desde a popularização das interfaces gráficas (GUI) a mesma tem sido associada tanto ao conceito de boas interfaces, quanto tem esta relação contestada. Existem ainda autores que consideram que o sucesso da marca Apple deve-se menos à qualidade de seus produtos (hardware e interfaces gráficas) que à força das ações de marketing da empresa. Para compreender de forma mais pontual as interfaces que eram objeto de estudo e as diretrizes que envolvem a construção de seu desenho, foram analisados os guias de desenvolvimento de interfaces da Apple para o iOS (iOS Human Interface Guidelines) e do Android (Android Developers), atualmente seu principal concorrente. A fim de tentar analisar a percepção que usuários têm das especificidades e dos diferenciais estéticos entre as referidas interfaces, foram construídas duas simulações, cada qual com características de um dos sistemas. Sessões experimentais com usuários, seguidas de entrevista, compuseram a fase empírica, de cunho qualitativo, em que se procurou verificar qual conjunto de ícones os participantes preferiam e por que. Os resultados encontrados apontam que questões estéticas são importantes na percepção que as pessoas têm das interfaces. Essa atenção às configurações estéticas parece contribuir para a percepção geral que se tem dos produtos onde os ícones se apresentam. A partir desses resultados é possível afirmar que a estética faz parte do conjunto de fatores, que constroem a percepção final – positiva ou negativa, de uma interface e, com ela, dos produtos de uma determinada marca. Por outro lado, embora o conjunto de ícones construído de acordo com os parâmetros do Guia de Desenvolvimento de Interfaces da Apple tenha sido preferido por dois terços dos participantes, não houve identificação daquele grupo de ícones com as interfaces da marca Apple. Isso sugere que a construção da marca é alicerçada na qualidade estética de suas interfaces, mas indica também a importância das ações de marketing na atribuição de maior qualidade estética às interfaces da Apple. / This work aimed to verify whether there is a differential in aesthetic visual representations in the graphical interfaces of Apple’s mobile devices. If a difference was found, a second objective was to verify whether this differential effectively influences the bond between user and brand and if the user is aware of it. To this end, it starts with a brief diachronic analysis of computer interfaces, as well as a description of key moments in Apple's history of. Discussed issues include brand positioning, as, since the popularization of graphical user interfaces (GUI), Apple has been associated to the concept of good interfaces. However, at the same time, this relationship has also been challenged, as there are authors who believe that the success of the brand Apple is not due to the quality of its products (hardware and graphical interfaces) but to the strength of the marketing activities of the company. To understand the specific interfaces that were the object of this study and to know the guidelines that drive their design, we analyzed Apple iOS Human Interface Guidelines and its Android equivalent - Android Developers - (as Android is currently Apple's main competitor in the mobile market). In order to analyze users' perception of specific features and aesthetic differences between Apple and Android interfaces, two simulations were built, each with characteristics of either system. Experimental sessions with users were followed by interviews, comprising the empirical, qualitative study. These experiments aimed to verify which set of icons participants preferred and why. The results show that aesthetic considerations are important in the perception of interfaces. This attention to aesthetic settings seems to contribute to the general perception that people have of the digital products themselves. From these results we can say that aesthetics is part of the set of factors that build the final perception - positive or negative - of an interface, and with it, the products of a particular brand. However, although the icon set constructed in accordance with the parameters of iOS Human Interface Guidelines Apple has been preferred by two-thirds of the participants, the identification of that group of icons with Apple interfaces did not happen. This suggests that Apple's brand building can be founded on the aesthetic quality of its interfaces, but also indicates the importance of marketing actions in assigning greater aesthetic quality to Apple interfaces.

A geração automatizada de Interfaces de Usuário (IU) é objeto de estudo há muitos anos. Desde a década de 80, dezenas de projetos foram desenvolvidos e várias soluções apresentadas ao mercado. Entretanto, mesmo com os avanços obtidos neste cenário, inúmeras dificuldades ainda continuam presentes no dia-a-dia dos desenvolvedores de sistemas. A necessidade de processos, sintaxes e linguagens proprietárias associado ao elevado esforço de configuração e à baixa reutilização de tecnologias são os principais problemas nessa área. Objetivando sanar essas dificuldades, este trabalho propõe uma solução diferenciada para o problema, a qual reutiliza e integra-se à maioria das tecnologias comumente presentes nos ambientes de desenvolvimento e que conta com um exclusivo sistema de configuração, capaz de minimizar o trabalho de geração das IU. Sendo um típico gerador baseado em modelos, o software proposto é chamado MERLIN, e objetiva automatizar completamente a geracão de interfaces CRUD, as quais estão presentes em até 30% dos sistemas que operam sobre banco de dados. Para alcançar este objetivo, o software aposta no uso intensivo de heurísticas e na formação de uma estrutura auto-contida e realimentada de configurações, a qual reside unicamente nas classes compiladas da aplicação. Completando a sua arquitetura, um processo de geração em tempo de execução inibe a produção de qualquer linha de código-fonte, o que evita a necessidade de refatoração ao longo da evolução dos sistemas. Com esses elementos em evidência e focando inicialmente a plataforma Java, sinaliza-se uma solução diferenciada, apta para ser utilizada em ambientes profissionais de desenvolvimento. / The automated generation of User Interfaces (UI) has been the object of study for many years. Since the 1980s, dozens of projects have been developed and various solutions presented to the market. However, even with the advances obtained under this scenario, innumerable difficulties still continue to present themselves in the daily routine of system developers. The demands of proprietary methodologies, syntaxes and languages, the high level of effort needed for configuration and low reuse of technologies are the main problems in the area. With the object of rectifying these difficulties, this work proposes a solution specific to the problem, which reuses and combines the majority of the technologies already existing in development environments and relies on an exclusive configuration system, capable to minimize the work of generating the UI. Being a typical model based generator, the software under consideration is called MERLIN, and has as its objective to completely automate the generation of CRUD interfaces, which are present in up to 30% of the systems that interact with data bases. To achieve this objective, the software relies on the intensive use of heuristics and the creation of a self contained configuration feedback structure, which exists solely in the compiled classes of the application. Completing this architecture, a process of execution time generation eliminates the need for any source code, which significantly reduces the costs of refactoring the code throughout the evolution of the systems. With these elements in evidence and focusing initially on the Java platform, indicates that this distinguished solution is ready for use in professional development environments.

Esta dissertação teve por objetivo verificar se existe um diferencial estético nas representações visuais nas interfaces gráficas dos dispositivos móveis da Apple e, se existir, se esse diferencial efetivamente influencia o vínculo do usuário com a marca e se o usuário tem consciência dele. Para tanto é apresentada uma breve análise diacrônica sobre as interfaces computacionais, bem como uma descrição de momentos chave na história da referida empresa. A partir disto, são abordadas questões que abrangem o posicionamento da marca Apple, pois desde a popularização das interfaces gráficas (GUI) a mesma tem sido associada tanto ao conceito de boas interfaces, quanto tem esta relação contestada. Existem ainda autores que consideram que o sucesso da marca Apple deve-se menos à qualidade de seus produtos (hardware e interfaces gráficas) que à força das ações de marketing da empresa. Para compreender de forma mais pontual as interfaces que eram objeto de estudo e as diretrizes que envolvem a construção de seu desenho, foram analisados os guias de desenvolvimento de interfaces da Apple para o iOS (iOS Human Interface Guidelines) e do Android (Android Developers), atualmente seu principal concorrente. A fim de tentar analisar a percepção que usuários têm das especificidades e dos diferenciais estéticos entre as referidas interfaces, foram construídas duas simulações, cada qual com características de um dos sistemas. Sessões experimentais com usuários, seguidas de entrevista, compuseram a fase empírica, de cunho qualitativo, em que se procurou verificar qual conjunto de ícones os participantes preferiam e por que. Os resultados encontrados apontam que questões estéticas são importantes na percepção que as pessoas têm das interfaces. Essa atenção às configurações estéticas parece contribuir para a percepção geral que se tem dos produtos onde os ícones se apresentam. A partir desses resultados é possível afirmar que a estética faz parte do conjunto de fatores, que constroem a percepção final – positiva ou negativa, de uma interface e, com ela, dos produtos de uma determinada marca. Por outro lado, embora o conjunto de ícones construído de acordo com os parâmetros do Guia de Desenvolvimento de Interfaces da Apple tenha sido preferido por dois terços dos participantes, não houve identificação daquele grupo de ícones com as interfaces da marca Apple. Isso sugere que a construção da marca é alicerçada na qualidade estética de suas interfaces, mas indica também a importância das ações de marketing na atribuição de maior qualidade estética às interfaces da Apple. / This work aimed to verify whether there is a differential in aesthetic visual representations in the graphical interfaces of Apple’s mobile devices. If a difference was found, a second objective was to verify whether this differential effectively influences the bond between user and brand and if the user is aware of it. To this end, it starts with a brief diachronic analysis of computer interfaces, as well as a description of key moments in Apple's history of. Discussed issues include brand positioning, as, since the popularization of graphical user interfaces (GUI), Apple has been associated to the concept of good interfaces. However, at the same time, this relationship has also been challenged, as there are authors who believe that the success of the brand Apple is not due to the quality of its products (hardware and graphical interfaces) but to the strength of the marketing activities of the company. To understand the specific interfaces that were the object of this study and to know the guidelines that drive their design, we analyzed Apple iOS Human Interface Guidelines and its Android equivalent - Android Developers - (as Android is currently Apple's main competitor in the mobile market). In order to analyze users' perception of specific features and aesthetic differences between Apple and Android interfaces, two simulations were built, each with characteristics of either system. Experimental sessions with users were followed by interviews, comprising the empirical, qualitative study. These experiments aimed to verify which set of icons participants preferred and why. The results show that aesthetic considerations are important in the perception of interfaces. This attention to aesthetic settings seems to contribute to the general perception that people have of the digital products themselves. From these results we can say that aesthetics is part of the set of factors that build the final perception - positive or negative - of an interface, and with it, the products of a particular brand. However, although the icon set constructed in accordance with the parameters of iOS Human Interface Guidelines Apple has been preferred by two-thirds of the participants, the identification of that group of icons with Apple interfaces did not happen. This suggests that Apple's brand building can be founded on the aesthetic quality of its interfaces, but also indicates the importance of marketing actions in assigning greater aesthetic quality to Apple interfaces.

Les interfaces haptiques permettent à un opérateur d'interagir avec un environnement virtuel ou distant via le sens du toucher.La majorité des interfaces de l'état de l'art restent au contact de l’utilisateur pendant toute la durée de la manipulation. La liaison permanente entre le robot et l’opérateur nuit à la qualité de l’interaction, notamment en réduisant la transparence en espace libre. Ce problème est d’autant plus prégnant dans le cadre des interfaces haptiques dextres.Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier la possibilité d'augmenter la transparence et le réalisme de l'interaction à travers le développement d’interfaces à contacts intermittents. Il s’agit de déconnecter le robot de l'utilisateur lorsqu’aucun contact avec l’environnement n’est nécessaire. Un état de l’art des performances de la manipulation humaine, des interfaces haptiques dextres ainsi que des travaux relatifs au contact intermittent, est d’abord présenté. Un effecteur plan pour le contact intermittent est ensuite conçu. Il est installé à l’extrémité distale d'une interface haptique et plusieurs solutions sont envisagées pour sa loi de commande. Les performances de dix utilisateurs sont comparées dans le cadre d'une tâche de détection de contact en utilisant d'une part l'effecteur adapté au contact intermittent, d'autre part une interface haptique classique. L'élaboration d'une interface permettant une interaction plus naturelle avec l'environnement est ensuite initiée par l'élaboration d'une méthodologie de choix des zones de contact de la main à prendre en compte dans la conception d'une interface haptique. Des perspectives sont finalement données quant à l'extension de ces résultats à une interface haptique dextre à contacts intermittents. / Haptic interfaces allow an operator to interact with a virtual environment through the sense of touch. Nowadays, most existing interfaces are mechanically connected to the user's hand throughout the simulation. Therefore he or she interacts with the virtual environment by means of a handle. Thus the interaction is neither natural nor intuitive, and the permanent connection between the robot and the operator is the source of perturbations which prevent the interaction from being perfectly transparent and realistic. The goal of this study is to increase transparency as much as possible by disconnecting the robot from the user when s/he is not in contact with the virtual environment, through the design of a dexterous haptic interface allowing for a more natural interaction than with a classical interface taking into account only one contact point. A state-of-the-art of dexterous haptic interfaces and another for intermittent contact devices are first gathered, and the human performances that should be taken into account for the design of a dexterous haptic interface are analysed. A bidirectional end-effector for intermittent contact is then devised. It is set up at the tip of a haptic interface and several solutions are tested for its control. The performances of six users are compared on the context of a contact detection task, first using the intermittent contact end-effector, then using a classical haptic device. A methodology for the choice of the hand contact areas that should be taken into account in the design of a dexterous haptic interface to enhance the naturalness of the interaction is proposed. Finally, some perspectives are given as for the extension of this study for the design of a dexterous encounter-type haptic interface.