Dissertation Concept Idea

The aim of the dissertation

The motivation behind the dissertation “Communicating Through Touch” is to create a way of representing digital information through a physical form. The user should be able to receive the digital information (output) through a physical form using the sense of touch and be able to alter the digital information through the same physical form (input). The aim is to create a Tangible User Interface (TUI) with the research area studying the blind and the visually impaired.

The Concept – what is it?

The main conceptual idea for creating a TUI is to use a system that uses pins in an array to move up and down on a tablet to represent textual information or possibly images that would be on the computer screen. The user should be able to receive the information through touch and communicate back to the computer through touch using the tablet. The concept of this is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Dissertation Concept

Some other ideas for the display are to create an application to teach Braille using the display. The display could also have a keyboard or widgets for users. These would be ideas to consider if the dissertation was developed at a later stage.

Why is this important?

The ever increasing amount of information that we receive on a daily basis is mainly communicated digitally through audio and visual media. Digital media for the blind and visually impaired is mainly dominated by auditory communication. This can lead to a large amount of people not reading but being feed information through audio. With large support from audio screen readers it can be seen that there is a higher potential of illiteracy. The dissertation would aim to increase accessibility for the blind and visually impaired to digital information. According to the Braille institute in America only 12 percent of 55,000 legally blind children in the United States can read Braille. (Braille Institute of America 2009) Increasing accessibility to digital information through a TUI would encourage and support the learning of Braille. Another aspect is users would have more options to suit specific preferences. When Roberts was comparing text to speech systems to refreshable Braille her found that “many users prefer the precision and the reading experience of touch-based Braille systems.” (2000, p.1) Not only is the dissertation important to explore from the point of view of the blind and visually impaired, it is important to develop TUIs for all. Pasquero claims there is a ‘growing demand for tools that allow communication through touch’ in such areas as the entertainment industry, the medical world, surgery training, the research world and many more. (2006 p.2) An advantage of full sized (of a computer screen) tactile interfaces over screen readers is to give the user an overall orientation of the spatial reasoning in relation to the layout of text and features on a user interface. Once a user has a spatial understanding of the layout of a display it is easier to navigate from one place to another, rather than searching using a mouse, with little knowledge of the layout.

Who is going to use it?

The system “Communicating through touch” is aimed at the blind and visually impaired but the final design may be suitable for all to use as the nature of research and development could lead to unknown outcomes.

Where will it be used?

The system would be used in many different environments. Mainly aimed to be used for general purposes of a computer, in the home, at work, in schools and ideally everywhere a computer would currently be used. It might be impractical and unnecessary to think this could be everywhere computers are at the moment so through examining users needs and requirements we would gain a better understanding of where it would be used.

When would it be used?

Similar to where the system would be used, the system would be needed when people need to use their computer. Screen readers communicate information at an acceptable level for people to want to use them so it isn’t necessary for the system to be needed all the time. The system wouldn’t be aimed at replacing screen reader but giving users another option of how to interact with digital media, creating more accessibility for a greater number of people depending of their preferences.

How does it work?

The system would access the HTML code for a website and process this to include features such as link, main content, headings and so on. This would then be converted to a language to communicate to the display what to do. The pins would then need to move mechanically to represent the digital information physically. The user feels the display to receive the information and can press on the display to select something such as a link. The display may have audio or a tactile indication that they have selected something. The display recognizes the input, converts the input to a suitable language and then communicates the selection to the website. The website changes and the process would start again. Figure 2 shows a diagram of this cycle.

Figure 2
Cycle of using the system

Blind Painter

Concept Dissertation Presenation 1st April 2009

For my dissertation I would like to create a tangible user interface with the research area in relation to the blind and visually impaired.
















Where I am coming from?
I wanted to create something in relaiton to education or communication by helping people using interactive media. To communicate information using interactive media that people encounter on a daily basis. So i decided to focus my research area a little more in the direction of interactive media for the visually impaired and blind.

Two area's that really interested me are:
Augmented reality including the areas of augmented clothing or objects.
Tangible User Interface – I like the idea of people being able to physically feel digital information. A TUI would allow me to create something that would represent digital information in a physical form and allow users to communicate back to the media using the physical form.
















My first idea was to augment clothing to have sensors that would pick up objects that a person may not know is there and let them know before they bump into it.

I moved away from this idea as there are a few similar ideas out there that people don’t use. I also was considering the fact that people that are visually impaired or blind often have other heightened senses that communicate a substantial amount of information as to what is around them. All of us in our everyday lives have routines and we get used to going to the same places with the same layout so people may be used to knowing where things are in a space.
















For my second idea I started off with the idea of communicating exactly what is in a room when you walk into it, by scanning it and communicating through a tactile interface. In the same way a person with perfect eye sight can see everything. This was a bit adventurous so I explored the idea of communicating somebody's face through a tactile interface.
















I decided to build on my second idea and think more about where a tactile user interface might be better put to use for a visually impaired person. I really like the idea of a pin press and a tangible user interface.

So my concept idea is to create a tangible user interface along the lines of how a pin press works that will communicate the navigation and text elements of a website. The TUI ought to output the information from the website to the Tangible user interface to the user and allow the user to communicate back to the website using the TUI.
















Transforming Objects
The first 3 video clips are a few ideas that have something transforming or coming out of a flat object. The examples transform to resent something else like the way a TUI would.
Kinetic Cube Interface - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFnNKIYljLw
Magnetic Sculpture - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XliOko5xrr0
Amazing Wooden Mirror - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCSbk9JDwPY


Seeing by Touch

These two clips are an insight as to how blind people use touch.
Blind Painter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P84bfFpVWE
Tactile Art - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRX3fQtiLw
It made sense that the lady might not know what a TP was because she would probably have never seen or felt one before.
I thought it was really inspiring to hear her say “nothing is more enriching that when I can access information right under my finger tips.”
















So what does my concept do?
It goes to a website and takes the information from the website. It communicates this information to the tactile user interface. The interface transforms to represent the digital information on the website. The user can absorb this information and select what they would like to do on the website through the interface. The interface then needs to communicate to the website what to do and the process starts again.
















Going through the steps in more detail I’ll explain what would have to be done for each step.

I would need to create a program that will read and convert HTML into the relevant information to output to the TUI. Then the program needs to be able to communicate to the mechanical mechanism what they should do.
















The mechanical mechanisms will need to move to the specified y co-ords to represent the information.

How to achieve this?
There are three main ways that I could achieve this
Idea 1 – solenoids – expensive to make and run
Idea 2 – ball bearings, a gun, and a leather mat to form a vac forming like process to create a braille page.
Idea 3 – Air gun shooting up air under each pin to a specific measurement.
I intend to brainstorm with electronic and mechanical engineers to explore how this could be achieved.

















The user feels the information represented on the TUI and selects what they would like to do for example go in to the contact part of the website. There could be some sort of force feedback reactions, vibrations, click feeling or audio to let them know that they have selected something.
















There needs to be sensors that will pick up the movement of the pins and communicate this back to the program which send the message to the website to change the page.And the cycle begins again.

A way to pick up the information input needs to be explored. A way to convert the input and send it to the website will need to be figured out.
















Here are some examples of other projects I have been looking at.

The VTPlayer has 32 pins in 2 tactile pads. The pins rise and fall as user moves the VTPlayer. User can feel shapes, textures, animations, paths, and objects. USB port.

Optical tracking technology.
The robotic haptic clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B22VLye3loE) at time 01:32 shows the pins moving underneath the finger.
















This project used audio feedback to let user know where they were on a newspaper page.

What I found interesting in this project was the method they used for tracking what a person was doing by tracking a symbol on their hand.
















This interface allows user to explore and analyse landscape design with a real 3D model that they can touch. The model is made from a ductile clay support. The alterations the user make to the model are recorded in real time using a laser scanner. The interface combines the advantages of physical interaction with the dynamic qualities of graphical displays.















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0fktwCPjjc

This is an interface that was designing for blind users to explore windows XP using a pin array. This is what I would like to create for website but also allow users to input their selection using the same interface.
















So some of the challenges I will face.
- The project is a big project for the time we have so I could possibly focus on a small area of the idea or just one specific website.
- Time, money & knowledge are some limitations I am sure will cause problems.
- I will need to approach the ethics committee to speak approval to work with the visually impaired and blind.
- I am going to be learning many new skills in a short time frame.
















I hope to meet with the NCBI (National council for the blind Ireland) in April to make some contacts.

I will be using the Internet, typically the message boards, websites and you tube movies.

I hope to get in contact with the teachers at the blind school in Limerick.

I want to update my blog to get hits from people in relation to blind and visually impaired people.

Interviews – huge factor in determining the needs of users and setting some requirements of the design.

User Testing – major factor in bringing to light all the well executed parts of the design and all of the parts that need more attention, changing or elimination.

Literature – Researching literature to do with previous studies in relation to the visually impaired and blind, previous designs and technologies.
















I need to carry out my research.

Look at products on the market for the visually impaired and blind including Braille. Examine the best Audio program for blind and visually impaired people on the market

Examine Problems on the internet that visually impaired and blind people have.

Design a prototype for testing – possibly make up a number of braille sheets that would present what the interface would feel like. Could put these sheets in some sort of a box that would present what the tablet would be like.

Form contacts from now and go from there with user testing and interviews.

Brainstorm with visually impaired, blind, mechanical engineers and electronic engineers.

Figure out what Software and Technologies would suit the project and what has been used before.
















Some considerations that I have are:
- What should be represented from the website.
- Possible users – blind, deaf and all.
- Needs of uses – not just from the view point of requirements of a blind person but what do the users want from a TUI.
- Knowledge and skills – it would be beneficial to allow users to transfer the knowledge and skills they have obtained working with currently available tools.
- It would be nice to mimic the layout of the WebPages exactly but it should be remembered to take care when formatting the tangible user interface and not clutter it with information.
















My main aim is to create a tangile user interface. It’s a big project so I may end up coming back a bit and doing a small part of the project or change the concept but still create a TUI. The concept could evolve in a direction I’m not aware of presently. With exploration through research I should be able to clarify the exact design of the TUI and how to achieve this.
















I hope you enjoyed my presentation. I would really appreciate any comments, suggestions or questions you have so please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Technology and Mobility – Mobile Learning 17th February 2009

I have categorised some of the thoughts I had about Mobile Learning into the advantages and disadvantages of technology in relation to learning and mobility.

Advantages of mobile learning/Pro’s:

• Facilitating learning – It’s great to be able to learn anywhere, anytime. You may come across some unexpected free time when a flight got delayed or something like this. You can then use this time to learn with the technology available.

• Often I find myself and other asking random questions like for example what the average size foot is for a woman. We can look it up instantly online or with a phone that has internet, most commonly the iTouch. It helps learning on the spot rather than thinking to oneself, I’ll look that up later and forgetting to do so. I believe that is easier for people to store information when their mind is actively interested in the topic at the time rather that try and re-call the interest at a later time to look it up. The emotional desire to find out the information and the reasoning behind it can often be forgotten by the time you look it up. I think that technology helps us access snippets of information that we question in our daily lives. Giving us the facility to absorb random interesting information at anytime and anyplace.

• You can create your own environment because the mobile technology allows you to locate where you are comfortable learning rather than being in a specific controlled environment. I feel this is more beneficial to creative learning as you are not under pressure to just get the work done so you can leave the controlled environment that has the tools you need but may be uncomfortable. The work may be more efficient in a controlled environment but less creative or have a lack exploration. The Design and Implementation of a Mobile Learning Resource by Sharples, Corlett and Westmancott gives an example of this “Microsoft of school students given laptop computers found that they used computers at home for a wider variety of learning tasks than a comparable control group with desktop machines.”

• We can collaborate with others around the world to educate each other and learn together. With no limit on time or location we are able to achieve this.

• It is very flexible and easy to work nearby people that we may need to have face to face interaction with at the same time as using technical tools if they are mobile.

• With no limit of location or time students are able to ask questions that they may not have thought of in class.

• We could always study in different places. Mobile learning was always there but now we may not have to carry around 300 papers. We can just bring around our laptop or bookmark all our resources online. Technology makes mobile learning more accessible and easier for us.

Disadvantages of mobile learning/Con’s:

• Studying in an unfamiliar I find there to be a lot more distractions. I find it harder to concentrate and fully benefit from the study as I would from an environment that I am used to working in. When I’m in a new environment I want to learn about that space so I get very distracting by everything going on in it. When I become accustomed to it then I am able to shut out the distractions and create my own place of work. I used to travel by train for forty minutes to and from college everyday. I found this time great for me to study and brainstorm. The fact that I was unable to do anything else on the journey encouraged me used the time to brainstorm or study. I was also used to using this space as my workplace and found it easier to sit anywhere and work.

• The presence of technology that allows us to work/learn anytime anywhere takes away defining boundaries between the work and recreational parts of our lives. It blurs the lines dividing work and home/recreation in our lives. We take away from our home lives by putting off work/study that we could do in college until we get home. We don’t separate our lives as clearly anymore. Equally as shown in the you tube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o) we don’t give as much attention in class if we are distracted by our social lives on the internet. We allow this to distract us knowing that we’ll catch up later on somewhere else. More than likely at home where we can relax a little more. The outcome is less beneficial classes and lack of focus on our work or recreational lives at a moment.

• We have to plan that all the resources are there for you to complete your work/study where ever you are. This was the same before technology though. You would have had to make sure you had all your learning tools before as well.

Research Aims for Dissertation 12th February 2009

I am currently going through some new ideas that I have for my dissertation. This causes a bit of a problem when trying to pinpoint what I want to get from my research. There are some common things I will want to get from the research so I will describe my overall aims of research.

• To gather knowledge of similar concepts and technologies and use this information to help direct my dissertation.

• Obtaining user feedback at several stages of the dissertation to make sure I am keeping on track.

• Analysing current products or systems designing for the specific market area.

I'm going to post up a few of the other ideas that I have for my dissertation later on.

Life logging – Memory and Forgetting 10th February 2009

Here are a few things that I thought of about on the discussion about Life Logging, memory and forgetting on the 10th of February.

• The internet in some ways reminds me of rubbish dumb. It stores everybody rubbish just like the things that we throw out in our real rubbish. A lot of people are very careful about what they will or won’t throw in the rubbish so shouldn’t we be as careful about what we are putting on the internet. Will anybody really looking through all of this rubbish on the internet. It might be there but does anybody really care. The internet might make our daily rubbish more accessible to the world but is anybody really going to do anything with it
  

• We talked a little bit about how technology is recording our every move like online banking but the banks have always recorded what we do.
  

• A point came up at some stage about the technology having great ability to record thin (factual or numeric) information but lacked the ability to re-call emotional feelings that we had at an instance. To some extent I disagree with this as I think flickr and facebook allow people to look at their friends photos of an event or place where they were, bringing back feelings to the viewer. I don’t think that they would ever be as exact as there were at a moment in time but do think that feelings can be recorded or a person reminded of them using technology.
  

• I think we need to forget what is not important to us any more so we can develop as people and in societies.
  

• It’s easier for us to move forward if we forget the past.
  

• Not forgetting is an education for the future but is a limitation for exploration in the future. It can limit creativity as we may stick to what we know works. It can hinder creativity. If I think about my website. Trying to start a new one it would be very hard to design one differently because it is stuck in my head. Computers record and force the memories further into our heads.
  

• Having the memory of something not perfect in your mind can also create and an interesting attachment to our feelings about that memory. Often if something is replayed to me factually (for example on a video) it can change the feelings I had about what happened at the time in good and bad ways.

One small idea that I thought about how technology could help the memory is; a game that would show people something visual and then test the person’s memory of it. I think there could be more questioning or less guidance by computers to help users try and use their memory.

Could we make a computer to act like us and make mistakes like we do, forget occasionally? We could correct it. It could test our memory. If we haven’t accessed something could the computer forget it. Computers games could do this with levels and then more space to do the level again or re-design it again. Like the game Little Big Planet. http://www.littlebigplanet.com/

I think there is definitely too many of our emails stored. It would be great if you had to choose to save it rather than choosing to delete it. This may also encourage me to reply to an email when I receive it rather than putting it off till later.

Dissertation Proposal Idea 2

The Second Idea:
I am also interested in the idea of a simulation of the room that could be communicated to the user through touch. What I mean by this is, that it could be possible to have a miniature model (possible virtual) that they could feel what was there with their hands.

For example: Possibly having a device that might scan a persons face, generate a 3D model of this and create a haptic model of the persons face so a person could feel the face without touching their face.