Contact Centres (CCs) are at the forefront of interaction between an organisation and its customers. Currently, 17 percent of all inbound calls are not resolved on the first call by the first agent attending to that call. This is due to the inability of the contact centre agents (CCAs) to diagnose customer queries and find adequate solutions in an effective and efficient manner. The aim of this research is to develop an intelligent user interface (IUI) model to support and improve CC operations. A literature review of existing IUI architectures, modelbased design and existing CC software together with a field study of CCs has resulted in the design of an IUI model for CCs. The proposed IUI model is described in terms of its architecture, component-level design and interface design. An IUI prototype has been developed as a proof of concept of the proposed IUI model. The IUI prototype was evaluated in order to determine to what extent it supports problem identification and query resolution. User testing, incorporating the use of eye tracking and a post-test questionnaire, was used in order to determine the usability and usefulness of the prototype. The results of this evaluation show that the users were highly satisfied with the task support and query resolution assistance provided by the IUI prototype. This research resulted in the design of an IUI model for the domain of CCs. This model can be used to assist the development of CC applications incorporating IUIs. Use of the proposed IUI model is expected to support and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of CC operations. Further research is needed to conduct a longitudinal study to determine the impact of IUIs in the CC domain.

In the recent past, wireless sensor technology has undergone advancements in its autonomous data collecting aspects, and has become an area worth investigating in relation to structural monitoring applications. The system described in this thesis aims at acquiring, storing and displaying overhead transmission line related data collected from a wireless sensor network. Open source tools were used in its development and implementation. The inherent linearly aligned topology of transmission line monitoring devices is not without shortcomings; hence analysis of linear node placement, hardware and software components was carried out to determine the feasibility of the system. Their limited data processing capabilities has motivated the development of a post processing wireless sensor application in order to present any collected structural data in an understandable format.

This thesis presents a framework for inter-agent communication, represented and partially implemented with default reasoning. I focus on the limited goal of determining the meaning for a Hearer-agent of an utterance ω by a Speaker-agent, in terms of the beliefs of the interlocutors. This meaning is generally more than just the explicit propositional contents of ω, and more than just the Speaker's goal to convey her belief that ω. One way of determining this meaning is to let the Hearer take stock of the implicit components of the Speaker's utterances. Among the implicit components of the meaning of ω, I show in particular how to derive certain of its presuppositions with a set of default schemata using a framework for default reasoning. More information can be extracted from the communications channel between interlocutors by adopting a normative model of inter-agent communication, and using this model to explain or 'make sense' of the Speaker's utterances. I construct such a model expressed in terms of a set of default principles of communication using the same framework for default reasoning. The task of deriving the meaning of an utterance is similar to the job required of a user-interface, where the user is the Speaker-agent, and the interface itself is the Hearer-agent. The goal of a user-interface as Hearer is to make maximal use of the data moving along the communications channel between user and application. The result is an integrated theory of normative, inter-agent communications expressed within an ontologically and logically minimal framework. This work demonstrates the development and application of a methodology for the use of default reasoning. The implementation of the theory is also presented, along with a discussion of its applicability to practical user-interfacing. A view emerges of user-modelling as a component of a user-interface. / Science, Faculty of / Computer Science, Department of / Graduate

Orientador: Hermes Renato Hildebrand / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T17:23:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Candello_HeloisaCarolinedeSouzaPereira_M.pdf: 5347024 bytes, checksum: c1e4d8e43a62af8171fbd801e47bc149 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: As novas tecnologias da informação criaram novos espaços de representação e elaboração de conhecimento, refletindo significativamente na difusão, organização e valorização da informação. Em função disso, as reflexões sobre como estruturar, disseminar e apresentar as informações, tornaram-se essenciais para as diversas áreas do conhecimento humano. Entre essas novas tecnologias estão as revistas digitais on-line, que devem privilegiar a organização e apresentação das informações em suas interfaces para que o usuário possa chegar ao objetivo almejado. Desta forma, este trabalho busca identificar a multiplicidade de abordagens e as sutis diferenças que permitam ser extraídas dos signos revistas digitais on-line. Para fundamentar o presente estudo, em primeiro lugar são abordados conceitos provenientes da metodologia semiótica proposta por Charles Sanders Peirce, bem como da área do design e ergonomia de interfaces digitais. Posteriormente, analisa-se, sob a ótica da semiótica peirciana, três revistas digitais: Revista Artéria 8, Revista Studium 15 e Revista Infodesign. No decorrer dessas análises, verificam-se os significados que os elementos de cada revista proporcionam e quais deles podem facilitar ou atrapalhar a comunicação e a interação entre os usuários e as interfaces estudadas. Como resultado, constatou-se que nas revistas analisadas há uma carência da utilização dos recursos do ambiente hipermediático / Abstract: The new information technologies created new representation and knowledge elaboration fields, reflecting significantly in the diffusion, organization and valuation of information. Consequently, the analysis about how to structure, to spread and present such information, has become essential for the several areas of human knowledge. Among such new technologies there are the on-line digital magazines that must prioritize how to organize and present information in its interfaces so that the user can achieve his /her goals. Thus, this work intends to identify the multiplicity of approaches and slight differences that might be extracted from on-line digital magazines signs. The present study to consolidate, we mention conceptions firstly proceeding from the semiotics methodology suggested by Charles Sanders Peirce, as well as from design and ergonomics digital interfaces. Later, it is analyzed, under Peirce's semiotics conception, three digital magazines: Revista Arteria 8, Revista, Studium 15 and Revista Infodesign. Throughout this analysis, what each magazine sign provides and if they can facilitate or confuse the interaction between users and the studied interfaces can be verified. We come to conclusion that the analyzed magazines aren't explored thoroughly and when it comes to their potential as whole / Mestrado / Mestre em Multimeios

L'haptique joue un rôle majeur dans l'interaction avec des environnements virtuels, avec de nombreuses applications en entraînement virtuel, en prototypage et en assistance de téléopérations. En particulier, les objets déformables représentent un défi pour la simulation à cause de leur comportement intrinsèquement complexe. À cause des besoins particuliers en terme de puissance liés à l'interaction haptique, il est en général nécessaire de faire un compromis entre efficacité et précision, et tirer le meilleur parti de ce compromis reste un défi majeur. Les objectifs de ce doctorat sont premièrement d'améliorer l'interaction haptique avec des objets virtuels déformables au comportement complexe, et enfin d'étudier en quoi la perception peut nous aider dans cette tâche.Dans cette thèse, nous proposons dans un premier temps un modèle pour la simulation physique d'objets hétérogènes déformables. Plus précisément, nous nous intéressons au problème de la multirésolution géométrique pour les objets hétérogènes, en nous concentrant sur la représentation de l'hétérogénéité à basse résolution des objets simulés. La contribution consiste en une méthode d'attribution de l'élasticité pour la basse résolution de l'objet, et une évaluation de ce changement de géométrie sur la perception haptique.Nous nous intéressons ensuite à une autre classe de comportements complexes, les changements topologiques, en proposant un pipeline de simulation pour la déchirure haptique bimanuelle d'objets déformables fins. Cette contribution se concentre sur deux aspects essentiels à la simulation efficace de déchirure, à savoir la détection de collision pour les objets surfaciques, et la simulation physique efficace de déchirure. La simulation est particulièrement optimisée pour la propagation de déchirure.Le dernier aspect couvert dans cette thèse est l'influence de l'environnement sur la perception haptique de raideur, et plus particulièrement les environnements de Réalité Augmentée (RA). Comment perçoit-on les objets en RA par rapport à la Réalité Virtuelle (RV)? Est-ce que nous interagissons de la même manière dans ces deux environnements? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons mené une expérience pour comparer la perception haptique de raideur d'un piston virtuel entouré dans un premier cas d'objets de la vie quotidienne en RA, et du même piston entouré par une reproduction virtuelle de cet environnement réel en RV.Ces contributions ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives pour l'interaction haptique avec des environnements virtuels, depuis la simulation efficace et fidèle d'objets déformables au comportement complexe à une meilleure compréhension de la perception haptique et des stratégies d'interaction. / Haptics is a key part for the interaction with physically-based environments, with many applications in virtual training, prototyping and teleoperations assistance. In particular, deformable objects are challenging, due to the complexity oftheir behavior. Due to the specific need in performance associated to haptic interaction, a trade-off is usually necessarybetween accuracy and efficiency, and taking the best of this trade-off is a major challenge. The objectives of this PhD are to improve haptic rendering with physically-based deformable objects that exhibit complex behavior, and study how perception can be used to achieve this goal.In this PhD, we first propose a model for the physically-based simulation of complex heterogeneous deformable objects. More specifically, we address the issue of geometric multiresolution for deformable heterogeneous objects, with a major focus on the heterogeneity representation at the coarse resolution of the simulated objects. The contribution consists in a method for elasticity attribution at coarser resolution of the object, and an evaluation of the geometric coarsening on the haptic perception.We then focus on another class of complex objects behavior, topology changes, by proposing a simulation pipeline forbimanual haptic tearing of thin deformable surfaces. This contribution mainly focuses on two main aspects for an efficientsimulation of tearing, namely collision detection for thin objects and efficient physically-based simulation of tearing phenomena. The simulation is especially optimized for tear propagation.The last aspect that is covered by this PhD is the influence of the environment over haptic perception of stiffness, and more specifically of Augmented Reality (AR) environments. How are objects perceived in AR compared to Virtual Reality (VR)? Do we interact the same way on these two environments? In order to assess these questions, we conducted an experiment aiming at comparing the haptic stiffness perception of a piston surrounded by everyday life objects in AR and of the same piston surrounded by a virtual replica of the real environment in VR.These contributions open new perspectives for haptic interaction with virtual environments, from the efficient yet faithful simulation of complex deformable objects behavior to a better understanding of haptic perception and interaction strategies.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier l’utilisation d’Interfaces Cerveau-Ordinateur (ICOs) au sein de la Réalité Virtuelle (RV) et de la Réalité Augmentée (RA). Notre but est d’évaluer la compatibilité entre les systèmes basés sur une ICO et la RV/RA, de concevoir de nouveaux outils pour la visualisation de l’activité cérébrale basée sur la RV/RA, et finalement de proposer de nouveaux usages pour les ICOs, plus particulièrement en combinaison avec des vêtements intelligents. Afin de réaliser ces objectifs, nous avons tout d’abord réalisé une étude de faisabilité concernant l’association entre une ICO et la RV. Notre objectif était d’étudier l’influence de l’activité motrice sur une ICO. Nous avons conçu un système similaire à un jeu vidéo, servant comme support à une étude utilisateur montrant que l’ICO peut être utilisée avec succès, même lorsque les participants exécutent une activité musculaire exigeante. Dans un second temps, nous avons également proposé des outils de visualisation de l’activité cérébrale basés sur la RV/RA. Notre premier système nommé «Mind-Mirror» superpose un cerveau virtuel représentant l’activité cérébrale d’un utilisateur à l’image de celui-ci dans un miroir. Une étude utilisateur a montré qu’aucune perte significative de performance de l’ICO n’a été constatée, même avec une complexité additionnelle due à l’affichage basé sur la RA. Notre seconde contribution se nomme «Mind-Window» et étend les possibilités du Mind-Mirror en permettant plusieurs points de vue sur un même enregistrement d’activité cérébrale en utilisant des tablettes. Notre dernière contribution se nomme «Mind-Inside» et permet aux utilisateurs de visualiser en RV leur activité cérébrale en temps réel tout en étant immergés dans un cerveau virtuel. Enfin, nous avons étudié comment les ICOs et la RV/RA peuvent être appliquées au domaine des vêtements intelligents. Nous avons mis en place une plateforme d’expérimentation consistant en une cabine d’essayage virtuelle intégrant une ICO et permettant aux utilisateurs de porter des vêtements intelligents virtuels en RA. Poursuivant ces travaux, nous avons également conçu une «cape d’invisibilité» inspirée par l’univers de Harry Potter. Cette cape virtuelle permet aux utilisateurs de se camoufler en RA en utilisant leur état mental. Une étude utilisateur sur le contrôle de l’effet a mis en avant l’amélioration de l’expérience utilisateur et «l’impression d’avoir un superpouvoir». / The objective of this PhD thesis is to study the use of Brain- Computer Interfaces (BCIs) within Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Our goal is to evaluate the compatibility between systems based on a BCI and VR/AR, to design new tools for the visualization of the brain activity based on VR/AR, and finally to propose new uses for the BCIs, and especially in combination with smart clothes. In order to fulfil these objectives, we have first designed and performed a feasibility study concerning the combination of a BCI and VR. Our objective was to study the influence of motor activity on a BCI. We have designed a system similar to a video game, serving as a base for a user study showing that this BCI can be successfully used, even when participants are performing a demanding muscular activity. We have also proposed three visualization tools for the brain activity based on VR/AR. Our first system called the «Mind- Mirror» which enables the visualization of our own brain activity «inside our own head» by superimposition. A user study has shown that no significant drop in BCI performance occurred, even with the additional complexity due to our AR-based display. Our second contribution is called «Mind- Window» and extends the Mind-Mirror’s possibilities by enabling one or multiple users to visualize the brain activity of another person as if her skull was transparent. Our last contribution is called «Mind-Inside» and allows users to visualize their brain activity in real-time while being immersed in a virtual brain. Finally, we have studied how BCIs and the VR/AR can be applied to smart clothes. We have designed an experimental platform comprising a dressing room integrating a BCI. Following this work, we proposed an «invisibility cloak» inspired by the Harry Potter universe. This virtual cloak allows users to camouflage themselves in AR using their mental state. Results from a preliminary study based on a simple videogame inspired by the Harry Potter universe could notably show that, compared to a standard control made with a keyboard, controlling the optical camouflage directly with the BCI could enhance the user experience and the feeling of «having a super-power».

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is being revolutionized by computational design and artificial intelligence. As the diversity of user interfaces shifts from personal desktops to mobile and wearable devices, yesterday’s tools and interfaces are insufficient to meet the demands of tomorrow’s devices. This dissertation describes my research on leveraging different physical channels (e.g., vibration, light, capacitance) to enable novel interaction opportunities. We first introduce FontCode, an information embedding technique for text documents. Given a text document with specific fonts, our method can embed user-specified information (e.g., URLs, meta data, etc) in the text by perturbing the glyphs of text characters while preserving the text content. The embedded information can later be retrieved using a smartphone in real time. Then, we present Vidgets, a family of mechanical widgets, specifically push buttons and rotary knobs that augment mobile devices with tangible user interfaces. When these widgets are attached to a mobile device and a user interacts with them, the nonlinear mechanical response of the widgets shifts the device slightly and quickly. Subsequently, this subtle motion can be detected by the Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), which is commonly installed on mobile devices. Next, we propose BackTrack, a trackpad placed on the back of a smartphone to track finegrained finger motions. Our system has a small form factor, with all the circuits encapsulated in a thin layer attached to a phone case. It can be used with any off-the-shelf smartphone, requiring no power supply or modification of the operating systems. BackTrack simply extends the finger tracking area of the front screen, without interrupting the use of the front screen. Lastly, we demonstrate MoiréBoard, a new camera tracking method that leverages a seemingly irrelevant visual phenomenon, the moiré effect. Based on a systematic analysis of the moiré effect under camera projection, MoiréBoard requires no power nor camera calibration. It can easily be made at a low cost (e.g., through 3D printing) and ready to use with any stock mobile device with a camera. Its tracking algorithm is computationally efficient and can run at a high frame rate. It is not only simple to implement, but also tracks devices at a high accuracy, comparable to the state-of-the-art commercial VR tracking systems.

In contrast to a traditional setting where users express queries against the database schema, we assert that the semantics of data can often be understood by viewing the data in the context of the user interface (UI) of the software tool used to enter the data. That is, we believe that users will understand the data in a database by seeing the labels, dropdown menus, tool tips, help text, control contents, and juxtaposition or arrangement of controls that are built in to the user interface. Our goal is to allow domain experts with little technical skill to understand and query data. In this dissertation, we present our GUi As View (Guava) framework and describe how we use forms-based UIs to generate a conceptual model that represents the information in the user interface. We then describe how we generate a query interface from the conceptual model. We characterize the resulting query language using a subset of relational algebra. Since most application developers want to craft a physical database to meet desired performance needs independent of the schema used by the user interface, we subsequently present a general-purpose schema mapping tool called a channel that can be configured by instantiating a sequence of discrete transformations. Each transformation is an encapsulation of a physical design decision or business logic process. The channel, once configured, automatically transforms queries from our query interface into queries that address the underlying physical database, similar to a view. The channel also transforms data updates, schema updates, and constraint definitions posed against the channel’s input schema into equivalent forms against the physical schema. We present formal definitions of each transformation and properties that must be true of transformations, and prove that our definitions respect the properties.

This thesis investigates the role of affective design in online help systems. The thesis begins with a discussion of the current research related to online help systems and the rhetorical nature of technical communication. The thesis then provides a heuristic evaluation of two versions of procedural discourse for Microsoft Word 2000. Based on an analysis of the heuristic evaluation, five recommendations are given for improving the affective design of online help systems. The thesis concludes with a proposed usability test and consideration of a related area of study.

Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines are common pieces of equipment in manufacturing plants. In recent years, CNC-user interfaces have been evolving from CNC command languages to menu based and direct manipulation interfaces. However, there have been few efforts to evaluate CNC-user interfaces and to identify those interface features that have major effects on the usability of CNC machines. Thus, an objective assessment of the improvement achieved from different user interface technologies is needed. Two experiments compared the effectiveness of two types of CNC-user interfaces: command-language and direct manipulation interfaces. Two command language interfaces and one object oriented interface were designed and evaluated in terms of human performance and preferences. Experiment 1 compared two command-language interfaces: Layout 1 was a simulation of the original control panel of a CNC-Dyna machine, and Layout 2 was a modified user interface based on the analysis of the Dyna control language. Four factors were manipulated: (1) users’ level of expertise, (2) layouts, (3) tasks, and (4) trials. It was found that both groups of subjects completed the tasks faster using Layout 2 than Layout 1. Modification tasks were performed faster than copy tasks. Subjects’ responses to a questionnaire indicated that Layout 2 was preferred over Layout 1 in several categories. In Experiment 2 subjects used a command-language interface and a direct-manipulation interface. Four factors were manipulated: (1) experimental sessions (two sessions with a one-week interval between them), (2) users’ level of expertise, (3) tasks, and (4) trials. The interval between sessions had a significant effect on task completion time when the command-language interface was used, but there was not a significant effect of this factor when the direct-manipulation interface was used. Subjects’ subjective responses indicated a stable preference for the direct-manipulation interface in several categories of usability. / Ph. D.