Lecture 12: Tangible User Interfaces & Interface Surfaces Flashcards
What is physical computing?
Physical computing [is] a way of teaching interaction design that foregrounds physical action and how to sense it.
Fill out the gaps of the folowing picture:
What is Reality-Based Interaction (RBI)?
Please go further into the WIMP paradigm.
= Framework for “post-WIMP interaction“
(WIMP = “Window, Icon, Menu, Pointing Device“)
Post-WIMP interaction styles draw strength by building on users pre-existing knowledge of the everyday, non-digital world to a much greater extend.
They employ themes of reality (e.g., in order to reduce the “Gulf of execution“, Donald Norman)
What are the four RBI Themes?
Naïve Physics (NP)
People have common sense knowledge about the physical world.
Body Awareness & Skills (BAS)
People have an awareness of their own physical bodies and possess skills for
controlling and coordinating their bodies.
Environment Awareness & Skills (EAS)
People have a sense of their surroundings and possess skills for negotiating,
manipulating, and navigating within their environment.
Social Awareness & Skills (SAS)
People are generally aware of others in their environment and have skills for
interacting with them
Name challanges of RBI and an example.
But tradeoffs between reality and „computational power“ are necessary.
Example: mode of locomotion in VR setting: Walking in place / real walking vs. push-button (environmental skills vs. efficiency)
Describe the RBI-Themes with concrete examples
Describe what are tangible user interfaces (TUI) and how they work
Giving physical form to digital information > connecting BITS with ATOMS
Tangible objects are linked to digital data (digital objects, properties, or functions).
The manipulation of the real objects causes the manipulation of associated digital data.
What are Tangible Bits and how will TUIs augment the real physical world?
„Tangible Bits“ - Making digital information tangible
Key concepts of how TUIs augment the real world:
1. Interactive Surfaces: Transformation of Surfaces into active interfaces
- Seamless coupling of everyday graspable objects with the digital information that pertains to them
- Ambient Media: Use of sound, light, airflow, water movement etc. for background interfaces
Briefly describe the concept of Affordance
Handlungsaufforderungen / Gebrauchseigenschaften
A quality of an object, or an environment, that allows people to know how to use it, e.g., a cup handle affords grasping, a door handle affords pulling
Intuitive perceivable relation between the properties of objects and possible interactions or actions
Briefly describe the concept of Mapping
Perceivable mapping between interface elements and their effects
E.g. turn steering wheel to the left > car turns left
Natural mapping uses spatial analogies and cultural standards
Briefly describe the concept of Constraints
Einschränkungen, Randbedingungen
Constraints are especially important for designing physical interaction.
Rule of thumb: sign/instructions pasted on something (“push here“) = bad design
Good Design Solution: Lego - you can only combine suitable bricks
List and explain four types of contraints.
Physical Constraints
- properties of the physical world (e.g., form, size); make some actions impossible and encourage others
- should be easy to see and interpret
Semantic Constraints
- limitations based on the meaning of the situation
Logical Constraints
- Use reasoning to determine the alternatives (what are the possible options?)
- Natural mappings work by providing logical constraints (e.g., spatial layout)
Cultural Constraints
- Conventions shared by a cultural group;
prohibit some activities and encourage others
- Cultural conventions evolve over time
Explain how Tangible User Interfaces can be structured.
Interactive Surfaces
Use of horizontal, vertical, or other surfaces as interactive workspace for the manipulation of physcial tokens.
Tokens and Constraints
Main Topics:
Audio Manipulation, Image and Video Manipulation, System Control
Constructive Assemblies
Main topics: spatial arrangement, 3d modelling, programming for kids, storytelling
Explain Tokens and Constraints
Tokens are discrete physical objects which represent digital information.
Constraints are confining regions that are mapped to digital operations.
These are frequently embodied as structures that mechanically channel how tokens can be manipulated, often limiting their movement to a single degree of freedom. Placing and manipulating tokens within systems of constraints can be used to invoke and control a variety of computational interpretations.
Explain the GUI Interaction Model: MVC
Explain the TUI Interaction Model: MVC-pd
Fill in the following CSCW Matrix (Computer Supported Cooperative Work)
What is Hyperdragging?
A direct manipulation technique for moving information across the boundary of computers and surfaces.
