HCI EXAM REVS Flashcards
• mechanism for receiving light and transforming it into electrical energy
The Eye
visual angle indicates how much of view object occupies (relates to size and distance from eye)
Size and Depth
subjective reaction to levels of light
Brightness
o made up of hue, intensity, saturation
Colour
• Several stages:
– visual pattern perceived
– decoded using internal representation of language
– interpreted using knowledge of syntax, semantics, pragmatics
• Perception occurs during fixations
• Word shape is important to recognition
• Negative contrast improves reading from computer screen
Reading
– Pitch – sound frequency
– loudness – amplitude
– timbre – type or quality
• Sound
• Provides important feedback about environment.
• May be key sense for someone who is visually impaired.
TOUCH
awareness of body position
– affects comfort and performance.
• Kinesthesis
• Time taken to respond to stimulus
MOVEMENT
o Buffers for stimuli received through senses
iconic memory: visual stimuli
echoic memory: aural stimuli
haptic memory: tactile stimuli
• Sensory Memory
o Scratch-pad for temporary recall
rapid access ~ 70ms
rapid decay ~ 200ms
limited capacity - 7± 2 chunks
• Short Term Memory (STM)
o Repository for all our knowledge
slow access ~ 1/10 second
slow decay, if any
huge or unlimited capacity
• Long Term Memory (LTM)
serial memory of events
episodic
structured memory of facts, concepts, skills
semantic
information is lost gradually but very slowly
decay
new information replaces old: retroactive interference
old may interfere with new: proactive inhibition
interference
information reproduced from memory can be assisted by cues, e.g. categories, imagery
recall
information gives knowledge that it has been seen before
less complex than recall - information is cue
recognition
derive logically necessary conclusion from given premises.
Logical conclusion not necessarily true
When truth and logical validity clash
People bring world knowledge to bear
o Deduction
generalize from cases seen to cases unseen
Induction
can only prove false not true
Unreliable
o Process of finding solution to unfamiliar task using knowledge.
• Problem Solving
right intention, but failed to do it right
causes: poor physical skill, inattention etc.
change to aspect of skilled behaviour can cause slip
Slips
wrong intention
cause: incorrect understanding
Mistakes
• a computer system is made up of various elements
THE COMPUTER
text entry and pointing
o input devices
screen (small&large), digital paper
o output devices
special interaction and display devices
o virtual reality
e.g. sound, haptic, bio-sensing
o physical interaction
as output (print) and input (scan)
o paper
RAM & permanent media, capacity & access
o memory
speed of processing, networks
o processing
• Most common text input device
Keyboard
Standardised layout
but …
non-alphanumeric keys are placed differently
accented symbols needed for different scripts
minor differences between UK and USA keyboards
o Layout – QWERTY
keys arranged in alphabetic order
not faster for trained typists
o Alphabetic
common letters under dominant fingers
biased towards right hand
common combinations of letters alternate between hands
o Dvorak
designs to reduce fatigue for RSI
for one handed use
the Maltron left-handed keyboard
o Special Keyboards
only a few keys - four or 5
letters typed as combination of keypresses
compact size
– ideal for portable applications
short learning time
– keypresses reflect letter shape
fast
– once you have trained
o Chord Keyboards
use numeric keys with multiple presses
o Phone Pad and T9 entry
Text can be input into the computer, using a pen and a digesting tablet
o Handwriting Recognition
Improving rapidly
Most successful when:
single user – initial training and learns peculiarities
limited vocabulary systems
Problems with
external noise interfering
imprecision of pronunciation
large vocabularies
different speakers
o Speech Recognition
for entering numbers quickly:
calculator, PC keyboard
for telephones
o Numeric keypads
• Handheld pointing device
• very common, easy to use
Mouse
Ball on underside of mouse turns as mouse is moved
Rotates orthogonal potentiometers
Can be used on almost any flat surface
o Mechanical
light emitting diode on underside of mouse
may use special grid-like pad or just on desk
less susceptible to dust and dirt
detects fluctuating alterations in reflected light intensity to calculate relative motion in (x, z) plane
o Optical
• small touch sensitive tablets
• ‘stroke’ to move mouse pointer
• used mainly in laptop computers
Touchpad
ball is rotated inside static housing
like an upsdie down mouse!
Trackball
for accurate CAD – two dials for X-Y cursor position
for fast scrolling – single dial on mouse
• Thumbwheels
– indirect pressure of stick = velocity of movement
– buttons for selection on top or on front like a trigger
– often used for computer games aircraft controls and 3D navigation
Joystick
– for laptop computers
– miniature joystick in the middle of the keyboard
Keyboard Nipple
– Detect the presence of finger or stylus on the screen.
Touch-Sensitive Screen
– small pen-like pointer to draw directly on screen
– may use touch sensitive surface or magnetic detection
– used in PDA, tablets PCs and drawing tables
Stylus
– now rarely used
– uses light from screen to detect location
Light Pen
– Mouse like-device with cross hairs
– used on special surface
- rather like stylus
– very accurate
- used for digitizing maps
Digitizing Tablet
– control interface by eye gaze direction
– uses laser beam reflected off retina
… a very low power laser!
– mainly used for evaluation (ch x)
– potential for hands-free control
– high accuracy requires headset
– cheaper and lower accuracy devices available
sit under the screen like a small webcam
Eye gaze
– Four keys (up, down, left, right) on keyboard.
– Very, very cheap, but slow.
– Useful for not much more than basic motion for text-editing tasks.
– No standardised layout, but inverted “T”, most common
Cursor keys
– in phones, TV controls etc.
cursor pads or mini-joysticks
discrete left-right, up-down
mainly for menu selection
Discrete Positioning Controls
– screen is vast number of coloured dots
Bitmap Displays
number of pixels on screen (width x height)
e.g. SVGA 1024 x 768, PDA perhaps 240x400
– density of pixels (in pixels or dots per inch - dpi)
typically between 72 and 96 dpi
Resolution
– ration between width and height
– 4:3 for most screens, 16:9 for wide-screen TV
Aspect Ratio
– how many different colours for each pixel?
– black/white or greys only
– 256 from a pallete
– 8 bits each for red/green/blue = millions of colours
Colour Depth
– diagonal lines that have discontinuities in due to horizontal raster scan process.
Jaggies
– Stream of electrons emitted from electron gun, focused and directed by magnetic fields, hit phosphor-coated screen which glows
– used in TVs and computer monitors
Cathode Ray Tube