ABSTRACT: “The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of information that exist. If a blind person has proper training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a physical nuisance.”- National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Multi-touch screen is a relatively new and revolutionary technology in mobile phone industry. Being mostly software driven makes these phones highly customizable for all sorts of users including blind and visually impaired people. In this research, we present new interface layouts for multi-touch screen mobile phones that enable visionless people to enter text in the form of Braille cells. Braille is the only way for these people to directly read and write without getting help from any extra assistive instruments. It will be more convenient and interesting for them to be provided with facilities to interact with new technologies using their language, Braille. We started with a literature review on existing eyes-free text entry methods and also text input devices, to find out their strengths and weaknesses. At this stage we were aiming at identifying the difficulties that unsighted people faced when working with current text entry methods. Then we conducted questionnaire surveys as the quantitative method and interviews as the qualitative method of our user study to get familiar with users’ needs and expectations. At the same time we studied the Braille language in detail and examined currently available multi-touch mobile phone feedbacks. At the designing stage, we first investigated different possible ways of entering a Braille “cell” on a multi-touch screen, regarding available input techniques and also considering the Braille structure. Then, we developed six different alternatives of entering the Braille cells on the device; we laid out a mockup for each and documented them using Gestural Modules Document and Swim Lanes techniques. Next, we prototyped our designs and evaluated them utilizing Pluralistic Walkthrough method and real users. Next step, we refined our models and selected the two bests, as main results of this project based on good gestural interface principles and users’ feedbacks. Finally, we discussed the usability of our elected methods in comparison with the current method visually impaired use to enter texts on the most popular multi-touch screen mobile phone, iPhone. Our selected designs reveal possibilities to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the existing text entry methods in multi-touch screen mobile phones for Braille literate people. They also can be used as guidelines for creating other multi-touch input devices for entering Braille in an apparatus like computer.

<p>Klassisk mus-interaktion har begränsningen att bara en punkt kan aktiveras på skärmen i taget. Interaktionen med de flesta applikationer blir, på grund av detta, sekventiell vilket kan vara en begränsning eftersom människan är van att utforska problem simultant med båda händerna. Flerpunktspekskärmar är en relativt ny teknik som möjliggör nya interaktionsmöjligheter där flera pekpunkter kan vara aktiva simultant. Det här examensarbetet fokuserar på problemen kring att skapa en applikation med användargränssnitt för flerpunktspekskärmar. Applikationen som utvecklats har en grundstruktur vilken är möjlig att vidareutveckla och på så sätt anpassas för att passa nya behov, till skillnad från de implementationer som granskats vid förstudien vilka fokuserar på att lösa specifika problem. Under examensarbetet har också en flerpunktspekskärm byggts av komponenter som kunnat köpas i detaljhandeln.</p> / <p>Classical mouse interaction is limited in that only a single screen point at a time can be activated. Most application interaction is, due to this, performed in a sequential manner. This may be a limiting factor as humans by nature explore problems with both hands simultaneously. Multi-touch screens are a relatively new type of technology that enables new ways of interaction where multiple touch points can exist simultaneously. This thesis focuses on the problem with developing an application with a user interface designed for multi-touch screens. The application that has been developed defines a base structure from which future applications can be developed, unlike implementations examined in the feasibility study which mainly focus on solving specific problems. A multi-touch screen is also built using standard off the shelf components.</p>

Klassisk mus-interaktion har begränsningen att bara en punkt kan aktiveras på skärmen i taget. Interaktionen med de flesta applikationer blir, på grund av detta, sekventiell vilket kan vara en begränsning eftersom människan är van att utforska problem simultant med båda händerna. Flerpunktspekskärmar är en relativt ny teknik som möjliggör nya interaktionsmöjligheter där flera pekpunkter kan vara aktiva simultant. Det här examensarbetet fokuserar på problemen kring att skapa en applikation med användargränssnitt för flerpunktspekskärmar. Applikationen som utvecklats har en grundstruktur vilken är möjlig att vidareutveckla och på så sätt anpassas för att passa nya behov, till skillnad från de implementationer som granskats vid förstudien vilka fokuserar på att lösa specifika problem. Under examensarbetet har också en flerpunktspekskärm byggts av komponenter som kunnat köpas i detaljhandeln. / Classical mouse interaction is limited in that only a single screen point at a time can be activated. Most application interaction is, due to this, performed in a sequential manner. This may be a limiting factor as humans by nature explore problems with both hands simultaneously. Multi-touch screens are a relatively new type of technology that enables new ways of interaction where multiple touch points can exist simultaneously. This thesis focuses on the problem with developing an application with a user interface designed for multi-touch screens. The application that has been developed defines a base structure from which future applications can be developed, unlike implementations examined in the feasibility study which mainly focus on solving specific problems. A multi-touch screen is also built using standard off the shelf components.

Museen werden häufig von Gruppen wie z.B. Familien besucht, die ein Interesse daran haben, die Inhalte dieser Institutionen gemeinsam zu erkunden. Leider sind jedoch in vielen Museen interaktive oder gar gemeinschaftlich nutzbare Exponate weiterhin eine Seltenheit. Interaktive Tabletops können den Bedürfnissen von Besuchergruppen begegnen und kollaborative Gruppeninteraktionen ermöglichen.  Der Fokus dieser Arbeit liegt darauf, kollaborative Gruppeninteraktion an interaktiven Tischen für verschiedene Ausstellungskontexte einerseits herzustellen und andererseits detailliert zu untersuchen, um besondere Potentiale von interaktiven Tabletops für Gruppenkollaboration im Museum herauszuarbeiten.  Die Dissertation beschreibt dabei die iterative Entwicklung von zwei interaktiven Tabletop-Exponaten in ihrer physischen Gestaltung und ihren Anwendungen, die entwicklungsbegleitend durch drei In-the-wild-Studien unter realweltlichen Bedingungen weiterentwickelt wurden. In einer letzten In-the-wild-Studie wurden Gruppeninteraktionen am Tisch zum Zwecke der Interaktionsanalyse videografisch erfasst. Als Fundament für Entwicklung und Interaktionsanalyse dient eine Auseinandersetzung mit bestehenden Tabletopanwendungen in Museen hinsichtlich ihrer Potentiale für Gruppeninteraktionen. In der Interaktionsanalyse zeigte sich unter anderem, dass die Gestaltung der Anwendung als rundenbasiertes Spiel Einfluss auf die Gruppeninteraktion hat. Insbesondere konnte beobachtet werden, dass  Besucher*innen ihren Aufenthalt am Tabletopexponat sowohl mit ihrer Gruppe als auch mit dem Spielzustand koordinieren. Die Rundenbasiertheit der Anwendung motiviert Spieler*innen, ihre Gruppenmitglieder zu unterstützen und dadurch zudem das Voranschreiten des Spieles zu sichern. Aus den Ergebnissen der Interaktionsanalyse werden abschließend Implikationen für die Gestaltung von interaktiven Exponaten und ihre Anwendung für museale Kontexte abgeleitet.:Danksagung Einleitung Grundlagen Iterative Entwicklung eines Tabletopexponats Methodisches Vorgehen Interaktion am Tisch Gruppen- und Spielverpflichtung Intervention und Unterstützung Fazit Literatur / Museums are often visited by groups of people such as families, who commonly intend to explore and experience the museum space together. Unfortunately, many museums lack interactive exhibits that could facilitate such collaborative experiences. Interactive tabletops can satisfy such desires and enable collaborative group interactions. The focus of this thesis is on the facilitation and the analysis of collaborative group interactions on interactive tabletops in exhibition spaces. It identifies potentials of interactive tabletops for group collaboration in museums. The thesis describes the iterative development of two interactive tabletop exhibits in their physical form and their applications. This development was accompanied by three in-the-wild studies, which drove the evolution of hardware and software. In a final in-the-wild study group interactions on a tabletop exhibit were examined using interaction analysis. The development as well as the following analysis of group interactions on tabletop exhibits was based on the thorough analysis of existing tabletop exhibits and other studies of group interactions in museums. The detailed study of group interactions revealed among other things that the design of the application as a turn-based game had a significant influence on group interactions. Users coordinated their stay at the tabletop with their peers while considering the state of the game. The turn-based manner of the application motivated players to support their peers to advance through the game. The results of the interaction analysis lead to implications for the design of interactive exhibits and their application in museum spaces.:Danksagung Einleitung Grundlagen Iterative Entwicklung eines Tabletopexponats Methodisches Vorgehen Interaktion am Tisch Gruppen- und Spielverpflichtung Intervention und Unterstützung Fazit Literatur

This thesis is an investigation of the complex processes and relationships between the physical human performer and the technologically manufactured cyber-human counterpart. I acted as both researcher and the physical human performer, deeply engaged in the moment-to-moment creation of events unfolding within a shared virtual reality environment. As the primary instigator and activator of the cyber-human partner, I maintained a balance between the live and technological performance elements, prioritizing the production of content and meaning. By way of using practice as research, this thesis argues that in considering interactions between cyber-human and human performers, it is crucial to move beyond discussions of technology when considering interactions between cyber-humans and human performers to an analysis of emotional content, the powers of poetic imagery, the trust that is developed through sensory perception and the evocation of complex relationships. A theoretical model is constructed to describe the relationship between a cyber-human and a human performer in the five works created specifically for this thesis, which is not substantially different from that between human performers. Technological exploration allows for the observation and analysis of various relationships, furthering an expanded understanding of ‘movement as content’ beyond the electronic connection. Each of the works created for this research used new and innovative technologies, including virtual reality, multiple interactive systems, six generations of wearable computers, motion capture technology, high-end digital lighting projectors, various projection screens, smart electronically charged fabrics, multiple sensory sensitive devices and intelligent sensory charged alternative performance spaces. They were most often collaboratively created in order to augment all aspects of the performance and create the sense of community found in digital live dance performances/events. These works are identified as one continuous line of energy and discovery, each representing a slight variation on the premise that a working, caring, visceral and poetic content occurs beyond the technological tools. Consequently, a shift in the physical human’s psyche overwhelms the act of performance. Scholarship and reflection on the works have been integral to my creative process throughout. The goals of this thesis, the works created and the resulting methodologies are to investigate performance to heighten the multiple ways we experience and interact with the world. This maximizes connection and results in a highly interactive, improvisational, dynamic, non-linear, immediate, accessible, agential, reciprocal, emotional, visceral and transformative experience without boundaries between the virtual and physical for physical humans, cyborgs and cyber-humans alike.