Tampere Unit for
Computer-Human Interaction
Alternative Access: Feelings & Games / AAFG /
Spring 2005: Seminars and guidance for
student work (3 cu)
Schedule
Student’s projects
Additional
materials
Contact
information
Dept. of
Computer Sciences
Kanslerinrinne 1 (Pinni B, room 4043)
FIN-33014
University of Tampere
Finland
Voice +358 3 215 8549
Fax +358 3 215 6070
Final Report (~9Mb Lectures + students’ projects)
the International Game Developers
Association (IGDA) have published the
official white
paper on Game
Accessibility* (June 29, 2004, 310 kb - pdf)
“there are a number of assistive technology solutions
available today being used for general computer access that could also being
used with games
some are designed for disabilities
but not for games while others are designed for games but not disabilities”
http://www.igda.org/accessibility/
Game is a natural environment to study and improve interface design and interaction techniques, to test usability and accessibility. Nevertheless, primarily games are intended for people without sensory problems. There are many blind and visually impaired people; there are people with limited dexterity or a cognitive deficit; there are deaf or dumb people. There is a small group of the deaf-blind users who also need special educational and training tools. Perceptual testing & training are exceptionally important for All.
The seminars consist of Introduction (lectures, 6 hrs),
student work (5-8 weeks, ~100 hrs) which includes development (literature
review and the report, software evaluation) and presentation of the topic at
the Student Conference (20 minutes + 15 minutes for Q&A) per person, guidance for individual student work. Permanent
supervising will be provided through individual consultations once per week and
on-line by email.
The working language of the course is English.
All the papers will be published in the Series B - student projects in courses and
seminars, etc. (see for example, (Report B-2003-5), Department of Computer and
Information Sciences, University of Tampere pp. XX-XX, http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/bsarja/B-2003-5.pdf
)
Therefore, the publication format for students’ reports (ACM) is (that is strongly Required) http://www.acm.org/sigs/pubs/proceed/template.html
See also General Graphical Errors and comments for data imaging and presentation in the paper:
Schedule
09.2003, room: B3110, 12.00-14.00 & 30.09.2003, room: B3110, 12.00-14.00
Feelings_&_Games.ppt (~13Mb, ~65 slides), references.zip (~120Mb, 81 ref.), demo (~30)
the single-track
lectures (10.01, 17.01, 24.01) included the next topics:
Some common errors in physiology of analyzers and
psychophysics of perception. Wishes & challenges.
Artifacts, intentional motions, behavioral strategy and interaction style
Parameters, signals & patterns, mapping, modality
Game. Games & assistive technology.
Games with sounds and the sounds for special games.
Logic games with sounds and touch (puzzles).
Games based on tactile signs & navigation (grids).
Interaction with graphs. Vibrations. Motions & tracking.
topics of student projects which were done: (Abstracts)
Leena
Vesterinen Sonification and Basic Behavioral Patterns in
Blind Inspection of Hidden Graphs
Antti
Nyman Games with Sounds: the Blind Navigation and
Target Acquisition
Jalo
Kääminen Exploring Micro-Movements for Diagnostics of
Neurological Problems
Ruijie
Ban eSmileys: Imaging Emotions through
Electro-Tactile Patterns
Jarno
Jokinen Math-Puzzle: Equation Tutor for Sighted and
Visually Impaired Children
Deepa
Mathew vSmileys: Imaging
Emotions through Vibration Patterns
Oleg
Špakov
EyeChess: the tutoring game with visual attentive interface
Reference to students’ papers (sample):
Vesterinen, L. Sonification and Basic Behavioral Patterns in Blind Inspection of Hidden Graphs, in G. Evreinov (ed.), Alternative Access: Feelings & Games 2005 (Report B-2005-2), Department of Computer Sciences, University of Tampere (2005) 45-50. http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/bsarja/B-2005-2.pdf
Sonification
and Basic Behavioral Patterns in Blind Inspection of Hidden Graphs
Leena
Vesterinen
Sonification has become important in encoding
information for the blind and visually impaired users. The goal of the Hidden
Graphs game project was to optimize the “sonification dialogue” with a player
through basic behavioral patterns (BBP) coordinated to capture radius and
directional-predictive sound signals (DPS) to facilitate shaping the personal
behavioral strategy in discovering the features of the hidden graphs. BBP were
applied to build up three different behavioral strategies for the game playing.
Concepts of capture radius [Walker and Lindsay, 2004] and DPS were used for
guiding the player to attain the goal in the game. Four subjects who started as
novices and have become experienced players in blind inspection took part in
testing the game. The statistical data analysis showed a significant difference
in the performance when three behavioral strategies with different capture
radius and directional-predictive sound signals were employed. The performance
of the subjects was evaluated in terms of the stylus deviation, the relative
frequency of the DPS-sounds used and the task completion time concerning the hidden
graphs. The results of the of proposed sonification technique based on
directional-predictive sounds paradigm and BBPs are discussed.
Games
with Sounds: the Blind Navigation and Target Acquisition
Antti
Nyman
Lack of feedback makes mouse use difficult for blind
persons. Additional sound feedback can be used to facilitate spatial navigation
in a screen space. The game-like navigation task was based on capturing 25
circular targets (spots) with a radius of 65 pxls arranged in a square grid (5
rows by 5 columns). Two different sound mappings were tested and evaluated
under blind conditions; one grid was augmented with 6 different sounds and
other one with 3 different sounds. It was revealed that the mapping of 6 sounds
provided more effective non-visual interaction and made the target acquisition
time shorter by about 1.39 times and the number of errors smaller by about 32%.
The reasons for navigational problems were also analyzed. It was noticed that
the number of spots passed during the target acquisition was smallest when the
target was located along the edges of the grid. While the sounds associated
with the corners of the grid were more distinctive than other sounds, the eight
spots surrounding the central position of the grid were generally the hardest
group to detect and capture. The features of sound mappings and behavior of the
subjects are discussed in detail.
Exploring
Micro-Movements for Diagnostics of Neurological Problems
Jalo
Kääminen
Tremor can be as a symptom of such neurological
diseases as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and damage to the
cerebellum. A successful screening method could open the way for earlier
treatment that may delay the progression of presently incurable diseases. The
goal of this project was an exploration of the pen-based technique for early
diagnostics of the deterioration level in a person’s ability to control
micro-movements. Eight subjects of different age groups took part in the pilot
test. The method was based on a comparison of the personal immediate
handwriting performance in copying the graphical patterns. The performance of
the subjects in game-like testing was evaluated in terms of the stylus
deviation and correlation of the scan path to the graph on X-axis and Y-axis
separately and the task completion time when output-to-input ratio was non-less
than 4. The results of a pilot testing are analyzed. They reveal that coordination
problems can be registered even when the problems have not previously been
detected by the person himself. We guess that further exploration of the
pen-based technique for screening hand-eye coordination problems can increase
selective sensitivity of the method regarding verified symptoms of neurological
problems.
eSmileys:
Imaging Emotions through Electro-Tactile Patterns
Ruijie
Ban
Graphical input and visualization has irrefutable
benefits as an intermediate between an analog perception of the human being and
a computer that operates on and produces discrete data. However, graphical
images pose greater problems for blind and visually impaired
users. The
converting of visual images into another sense
(modality) could open new ways in visualization technique and promote
alternative communication and user interface technology for all. Tongue is one
of the most sensitive parts of human body. There have been several attempts to
apply the tongue in human-computer interaction both to control and display
information. The current study is based on electro-tactile stimulation of the
tongue to transform short conditional messages, presented by symbols or
graphics, into electro-tactile patterns. The goal is to estimate the efficiency
of sensory substitution of the conditional semantic information regarding
emotions with the use of Composite Electro-Tactile Patterns (CETP). The
rectangular pulses of stabilized current of 0.3 mA with alternative polarity
have been used to shape the CETPs. Three volunteers took part in the pilot
testing of the technique. The performance of the subjects was evaluated through
match game in the terms of the number of repetitions to memorize each of 9
CETPs, test-time completion and the error rate at recognition of the
test patterns. The benefits and lacks of the eSmileys technique are discussed
in detail.
Math-Puzzle:
Equation Tutor for Sighted and Visually Impaired Children
Jarno
Jokinen
Teaching mathematics for blind people is a
challenging task, since most of the mathematical methods require logical skills
and manipulating by abstract notions that are always easy to understand
visually. Math puzzle has been designed for supporting the learning of
mathematical operators and equations. The simple graphical interface was
augmented with short speech cues and earcons, so it can be played in a blind
mode. The game allows to develop spatial imagination, memory and logics in
blind or visually impaired children.
vSmileys:
Imaging Emotions through Vibration Patterns
Deepa
Mathew
The haptic computer
interface is taking a giant leap into the future for millions of people,
especially people with sensorial deficiency. A lot of research have been done
worldwide on how to create or improve haptic interfaces and are seeking for the
challenges and possibilities that the haptic technology can offer. When
computer interface is augmented with haptic (or tactile) signals people with
sensorial deficiency can play various computer games, learn mathematics by
tracing touchable curves, and gain better access to graphical user interfaces
[Wall, 2005]. Vibro-tactile patterns can play a vital role for both blind and
deaf users by substituting Bliss symbols and earcons. This paper describes the
designing and evaluating vibro-tactile patterns (tactons) for the match game
“vSmiley” using the tactons for imaging of emotions. Based on the results of
the pilot testing of the game it is clear that a carefully encoded tactons are
easy to identify and distinguish. This game is also intended for deaf or/and
visually impaired children who employ sense of touch as a way for
communication.
EyeChess:
the tutoring game with visual attentive interface
Oleg Špakov
Advances in eye tracking
have enabled the physically challenged people to type, draw, and control the
environment with their eyes. However, entertainment applications for this user
group are still few. The EyeChess project described in this paper is a PC-based
tutorial to assist novices in playing chess endgames. The player always starts
first and has to checkmate the Black King in three moves. First, to make a move
the player selects a piece and then its destination square. To indicate that
some squares could be activated, while other ones were forbidden for selection,
color highlighting was applied. A square
with a green highlight indicated a valid action, and the red color denoted
invalid action. There were three options to make a selection: blinking, eye
gesture (i.e., gazing at off-screen targets), and dwell time. If the player
does not know how to solve the task, or s/he plays by making mistakes, the
tutorial provides a hint. This shows up a blinking green highlight when the
gaze points at the right square. Preliminary evaluation of the system revealed
that dwell time was the preferred selection technique. The participants
reported that the game was fun and easy to play using this method. Meanwhile,
both the blinking and eye gesture methods were characterized as quite
fatiguing. The tutorial was rated helpful in guiding the decision-making
process and training the novice users in gaze interaction.
links
Department of Computer Sciences' Home Page
This page maintained by Grigori Evreinov (grse@cs.uta.fi)
10 May
2005