Mobile Geographical Information Systems are becoming a more and more important tool for presenting geographical data. They are used to support decision making processes, present an overview of distributed information or are in a form of location based services. The problem lies in the fact that mobile devices have limited resources and should still be able to present massive amounts of content. Ideally, the user and the conditions in which the program runs are well defined, but this is usually not the case. This thesis provides a sample prototype implementation of a mobile GIS developed as an alternative to an existing web-based user interface (UI). It focuses on specific conditions present on mobile devices, ways of presenting the data and possibilities of reusing existing elements from the web UI that could be suitable for the mobile environment.

Animations in interfaces, when designed correctly, are shown to be beneficial for usability and user experience (UX). However, most designers create their animations from personal preference without knowledge of how their animated transitions affect the user experience, which increases the risk of them becoming distracting and ruining the experience. Current studies on the topic focus mostly on the usability aspects of animations while the research regarding the emotional impact and aesthetics remain sparse. By understanding how the properties of transitions impact the whole user experience of a user interface, well thought out design choices can be made for improving the experience. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how three transforms and five easing types in animated transitions affect user emotions and perceived user experience. These properties were examined and compared using the mixed method approach of semi-structured interviews, Think-Aloud and the shortened version of AttrakDiff. The results of this thesis indicate that both easings and transforms can affect the perceptions of speed, and that faster perceived transitions are generally more preferred. Also, that the transforms can be more or less suitable for communicating certain changes, and that easings can convey certain impressions suiting different contexts in mobile UIs. The insights of this study can be used for guidance in designing or choosing transitions for specific affective purposes for an improved user experience. / Animationer i gränssnitt sägs gynna användbarhet och användarupplevelse när de är utformade korrekt. De flesta designers skapar dock sina animationer utifrån personliga preferenser utan kunskap om hur deras animerade övergångar påverkar användarupplevelsen, vilket ökar risken för att distraherande animationer som kan förstöra upplevelsen istället. I dagsläget fokuserar studier inom detta område främst på användbarhet av animationer medan forskningen kring emotionell påverkan och estetik är begränsad. Genom att förstå hur egenskaperna för animerade övergångar påverkar hela användarupplevelsen för ett användargränssnitt kan mer genomtänkta designval göras för att förbättra upplevelsen. Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka hur tre transformationer och fem olika accelerationer i animerade övergångar påverkar användarnas känslor och användarupplevelse när de används i ett mobilt gränssnitt. Dessa egenskaper undersöktes och jämfördes med genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer, Think-Aloud metoden och den förkortade versionen av AttrakDiff. Resultaten tyder på att både accelerationer och transformationer kan påverka uppfattningen av animationens hastighet, och att snabbare upplevda övergångar i allmänhet är mer föredragna. Dessutom kan transformationerna kan vara mer eller mindre lämpliga för att kommunicera vissa förändringar i gränssnittet, och olika accelerationer kan förmedla vissa intryck som passar i olika sammanhang i mobila användargränssnitt. Resultaten av denna studie kan användas som vägledning vid utformning av övergångar för specifika affektiva ändamål och för en förbättrad användarupplevelse.

In this thesis I address the topic of a non-visual approach for interaction on mobile,as an alternative to their existing visual displays in situations where hands free usageof the device is preferred. The current technology will be examined through existingwork with special attention to its limitations, which user groups are currently using anysort of speech recognition or voice command functions and look at in which scenariosare these the most used and most desired. Then I will examine through interviews whypeople trust or distrust voice interactions and how they feel about the possibilities andlimitations of the technology at hand, how individual users use this currently and wheredo they see the technology in the future. After this I will develop an alternative voiceinteraction concept, and validate it through a set of workshops.

[pt] Nos últimos anos, os avanços mais recentes em robótica e suas aplicações têm sido usados para reduzir a carga de trabalho e os requisitos de mão-de-obra, melhorando o ambiente, a saúde e a segurança, particularmente nos sistemas de produção agrícola. Robôs autônomos fazem parte de tal inovação tecnológica e os robôs móveis com esteiras, em particular, têm sido amplamente utilizados em campos agrícolas em todo o mundo, já que suas esteiras proporcionam uma grande área de contato em solos úmidos e terrenos irregulares, evitando que o robô fique preso e melhorando a sua mobilidade. Neste trabalho, aborda-se a modelagem e o controle de robôs móveis com esteiras (Tracked Mobiler Robots, TMRs) para executar tarefas de vigilância em campos agrícolas. A metodologia proposta considera que o modelo cinemático do TMR são incertos devido ao escorregamento inerente entre as esteiras e o terreno. Para lidar com as incertezas de modelagem e perturbações externas, utiliza-se uma estratégia de controle robusto baseada na abordagem de modos deslizantes. Uma interface de usuário móvel (Mobile User Interface, MUI) baseada no sistema operacional Android é desenvolvida para controlar o robô movél com esteiras de forma manual ou autônoma. A partir da MUI, o operador humano pode visualizar as informações capturadas de sensores externos e internos. Simulações numéricas em MATLAB são realizadas para verificar o desempenho do controladores, bem como validar o modelo cinemático do robô, em diferentes configurações iniciais. / [en] In recent years, the latest advances in robotics and its applications have been used to reduce the workload and manpower requirements, improving the environment, health and safety (EHS) conditions, particularly in agricultural production and farming systems. Autonomous robots are part of such technological innovation and Tracked Mobile Robots (TMRs), in particular, have being widely used on agricultural fields around the world, since their tracks provide a large contact area on the wet soils and irregular terrains avoiding the robot to get stuck. In this work, we address the modeling and control design of tracked mobile robots (TMRs) able to perform surveillance tasks in agricultural fields. The proposed methodology considers that the kinematic models of the TMRs are both uncertain due to the inherent slippage between the tracks and the terrain. To deal with the modeling uncertainties and external disturbances, we use the sliding mode control (SMC) approach. A Mobile User Interface (MUI) based on Android operating system. is developed to control the TMR manually or autonomously. By using the MUI the human operator can visualize the information captured from external and internal sensors. Numerical simulations in MATLAB are carried out to verify the performance of the controller as well as validate the robot kinematic model under different configurations.