Refereed Conferences – VEMI Lab

Does it press? Investigating the efficacy of an ultrasonic haptic button interface for non-visual driving applications

eblackwood — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 18:13:33 +0000

Ultrasonic haptic (UH) feedback employs mid-air ultrasound waves detectable by the palm of the hand. This interface demonstrates a novel opportunity to utilize non-visual input and output (I/O) functionalities in interactive applications, such as vehicle controls that allow the user to keep their eyes on the road. However, more work is needed to evaluate the useability of such an interface. In this study, 16 blindfolded participants completed tasks involving finding and counting UH buttons, associating buttons with audio cues, learning spatial arrangements, and determining button states. Results showed that users were generally successful with 2–4 arranged buttons and could associate them with audio cues with an average accuracy of 77.1%. Participants were also able to comprehend button spatial arrangements with 77.8% accuracy and engage in reconstruction tasks, suggesting development of reasonably accurate spatial representations. These results signify the capability of UH feedback to have real-world I/O functionality and serve to guide future exploration in this area.

Keywords: Ultrasonic haptic feedback, Mid-air haptics, Ultrasonic buttons, Non-visual interface

Citation: Alsamsam, M., Fink, P.D.S., Brown, J.R., Dimitrov, V., & Giudice, N.A.�� (2023). Does it press? Investigating the efficacy of an ultrasonic haptic button interface for non-visual driving applications. In: G. Praetorius, C. Sellberg, & R. Patriarca (eds) Human Factors in Transportation. Proceedings of the International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE’23). vol 95, 343-353. AHFE International, USA. DOI:��http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003819

Embedding Expert Knowledge: A Case Study on Developing an Accessible Diagrammatic Interface

eblackwood — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 14:23:40 +0000

When students with blindness and visual impairment (BVI) are confronted with inaccessible visual graphics in the geometry classroom, additional instructional supports are often provided through verbal descriptions of images, tactile and haptic representations, and/or kinetic movement. This preliminary study examined the language used by instructional experts to describe geometry images to students with and without access to a visual instructional image. Specifically, we investigated expert descriptions of geometry diagrams for 1) spatial information, 2) instructional concept information, and 3) overall description structure (e.g., length, vocabulary, image part/whole order/relationships). We found that experts used nearly twice as many words to describe diagrams in the no visual access condition. We consider the double-edged nature of this result for supporting BVI learners in classrooms and chart possibilities for future research.

Keywords: Students with Disabilities, Geometry & Spatial Reasoning, Mathematical
Representations

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Natural-Language Scene Descriptions for Accessible Non-Visual Museum Exhibit Exploration and Engagement

eblackwood — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 14:15:47 +0000

Indoor navigation and exploration of museum environments present unique challenges for visitors who are blind or have significant vision impairments (BVI). Like other indoor spaces, museums represent dynamic indoor environments that requires the need for both guided and self-tour experiences to allow for BVI visitor independence. In order to fully engage with a museum and its exhibits, BVI visitors need assistive technologies that support natural-language (NL) spatial descriptions that provide flexibility in the way system users receive descriptive information about gallery scenes and exhibit objects. In addition, the user interface must be connected to a robust database of spatial information to interact with mobile device tracking data and user queries. This paper describes the results of an early-stage demonstration project that utilizes an existing graph database model to support a NL information access and art gallery exploration system. Specifically, we investigated using a commercially available voice assistant interface to support NL descriptions of a gallery space and the art objects within it. Future work involves refining the language structures for scene and object descriptions, the integration of the voice assistant interface with tracking and navigation technologies, and additional user testing with sighted and BVI museum visitors.

Citation: Doore, S.A., Sarrazin, A.C., and Giudice, N.A. (2019). Natural-Language Scene Descriptions for Accessible Non-Visual Museum Exhibit Exploration and Engagement. Stock, K., , Jones, C., & Tenbrink, T. (Eds.) In��the Proceedings of Workshops and Posters at the 14th International Conference on Spatial��Information Theory (COSIT 2019). Regensburg, Germany, Springer International Publishing, (Pp. 91-100).

Keywords and phrases: indoor environments, scene descriptions, voice assistant interface

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Touchscreen-based Haptic Information Access for assisting Blind and Visually-Impaired Users: Perceptual Parameters and Design Guidelines

eblackwood — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 21:05:58 +0000

Touchscreen-based smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets, offer great promise for providing blind and visually-impaired (BVI) users with a means for accessing graphics non-visually. However, they also offer novel challenges as they were primarily developed for use as a visual interface. This paper studies key usability parameters governing accurate rendering of haptically-perceivable graphical materials. Three psychophysically-motivated usability studies, incorporating 46 BVI participants, were conducted that identified three key parameters for accurate rendering of vibrotactile lines. Results suggested that the best performance and greatest perceptual salience is obtained with vibrotactile feedback based on: (1) a minimum width of 1mm for detecting lines, (2) a minimum gap of 4mm for discriminating lines rendered parallel to each other, and (3) a minimum angular separation (i.e., cord length) of 4mm for discriminating oriented lines. Findings provide foundational guidelines for converting/rendering visual graphical materials on touchscreen-based interfaces for supporting haptic/vibrotactile information access.

Keywords: Assistive Technology, Haptic information access, Haptic interaction, Multimodal interface, Design Guidelines

Citation:

Palani, H.P., Tennison, J.L., Giudice, G.B., & Giudice, N.A. (2018). Touchscreen-based haptic information access for assisting blind and visually-impaired users: Perceptual parameters and design guidelines. In: Ahram T., Falcão C. (eds.) Advances in Usability, User Experience and Assistive Technology, part of ��the International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE’18). Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 798, (Pp. 837-847). Springer, Cham.

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Spatial Prepositions in Natural-Language Descriptions of Indoor Scenes

eblackwood — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 19:32:02 +0000

In order to provide accurate automated scene description and navigation directions for indoor space, human beings need intelligent systems to provide an effective cognitive model. Information provided by the structure and use of spatial prepositions is critical to the development of accurate and effective cognitive models. Unfortunately, the use and choice of spatial prepositions in natural language is extremely varied, presenting difficulties for natural language systems attempting to provide descriptions of indoor scenes and wayfinding directions. The goal of the present study is to better understand how humans use spatial prepositions to communicate spatial relationships within virtual environment (VE) indoor scenes. A series of experiments investigates spatial preposition use and the influence scale, topology, orientation and distance within indoor scene descriptions and preliminary results are reported.

�侱�ٲ��پ��ǲ�:��Doore S, Beard, K., and Giudice, N.A. (2017). Spatial prepositions in natural-language descriptions of indoor scenes. In��P Fogliaroni, A Ballatore and E Clementini (eds.)��Proceedings of the 13^th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT’17). Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography, (pp. 255-260). Springer.

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Haptic Information Access using Touchscreen Devices: Guidelines for Accurate Perception of Angular Magnitude and Line Orientation

eblackwood — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:36:49 +0000

The overarching goal of our research program is to address the longstanding issue of non-visual graphical accessibility for blind and visually impaired (BVI) people through development of a robust, low-cost solution. This paper contributes to our research agenda aimed at studying key usability parameters governing accurate rendering and perception of haptically-accessed graphical materials via commercial touchscreen-based smart devices, such as smart phones and tablets. The current work builds on the findings from our earlier studies by empirically investigating the minimum angular magnitude that must be maintained for accurate detection and angular judgment of oriented vibrotactile lines. To assess the minimum perceivable angular magnitude (i.e., cord length) between oriented lines, a psychophysically-motivated usability experiment was conducted that compared accuracy in oriented line detection across four angles (2°, 5°, 9°, and 22°) and two radiuses (1-inch and 2-inch). Results revealed that a minimum 4mm cord length (which corresponds to 5° at a 1-inch radius and 2° at a 2-inch radius) must be maintained between oriented lines for supporting accurate haptic perception via vibrotactile cuing. Findings provide foundational guidelines for converting/rendering oriented lines on touchscreen devices for supporting haptic information access based on vibrotactile stimuli.

Keywords: Assistive Technology, Haptic information access, Haptic interaction, Multimodal interface, Design Guidelines

Citation:

Palani, H.P., Giudice, G.B., and Giudice, N.A. (2018). Haptic Information Access on Touchscreen devices: Guidelines for accurate perception and judgment of line orientation. Proceedings of the 20^th annual conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI International’18). Las Vegas, NV. July 15-18 (corresponding author).

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Evaluating Age-Related Cognitive Map Decay using a Novel Time-Delayed Testing Paradigm

eblackwood — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 15:19:22 +0000

A critical component of effective navigation is the ability to form and maintain accurate cognitive maps. Proper cognitive map maintenance can become difficult for older adults as many of the constituent memory structures exhibit degradation with age. The present study employed a novel testing paradigm where younger adult participants (20 to 40 years) and older adult participants (60 to 80 years) learned a virtual environment through free exploration using an immersive driving simulator. After the learning phase, participants immediately sketched a map of the course. As forming an accurate baseline cognitive map was critical to this methodological procedure, they were provided additional learning time if placement of landmarks and roads were not within a given accuracy tolerance. Upon meeting criterion, participants completed egocentric and allocentric pointing tasks. Following this lab-based testing, participants were given 2 packets containing the exact same map sketching and pointing tasks to complete one-day and one-week after the study. Results showed clear age group differences, with older adult map sketching and pointing performance being significantly worse than their younger counterparts. There was also a clear numeric trend showing declines in performance for the older adults at the delayed-testing time intervals as compared to the in-lab testing. These findings suggest that the stored cognitive maps of older adults may exhibit greater decay over time as compared to younger adults. Future studies using this new methodological paradigm will be helpful in further elucidating the processes underlying spatial knowledge decay in older adults.

Keywords:�� Spatial Cognition, Driving, Aging, Virtual Reality, Navigation

Bennett, C.R. and Giudice, N.A. (in press). Evaluating age-related cognitive Map decay using a Novel time-delayed testing paradigm. In the Proceedings of Spatial Cognition X.

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Usability Parameters for Touchscreen-based Haptic Perception

eblackwood — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 18:32:58 +0000

Despite the advancements in touchscreen technologies, there is a surprising dearth of research on touchscreen-based haptic perception and guidance on best practices for haptic interface-design employing these devices. We address these shortcomings by investigating several key usability parameters and spatio-cognitive abilities pertinent to haptic information access via touchscreen devices. Two preliminary psychophysically-inspired usability studies investigated the haptic thresholds for detecting (Exp 1) and tracing (Exp 2) graphical stimuli rendered on a touchscreen interface. We found that a minimum of 1mm width is necessary for detecting lines using haptic feedback (i.e., vibrotactile or electrostatic stimulation) and a width of at least 3mm should be maintained for effective line tracing. Results provide foundational guidelines for designing information content that is optimized for rendering on touchscreen displays. Findings also demonstrate the importance of and need for further investigations into the usability parameters and cognitive abilities required for the design of effective haptic interfaces.

Citation:

Palani, H.P., and Giudice, N.A. (2016). Usability parameters for touchscreen-based haptic perception. Work in progress paper presented at the IEEE Haptics Symposium. April, Philadelphia PA, USA.

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Spatial Preposition Use in Indoor Scene Descriptions

eblackwood — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 18:17:59 +0000

In order to provide accurate automated scene descriptions and navigation directions for indoor space, humans need intelligent systems to support development of effective cognitive models. Information provided by the structure and use of spatial prepositions is critical to this process but also challenging as the use and choice of spatial prepositions in natural language is extremely varied. The goal of the present study is to better understand how English language speakers use spatial prepositions to communicate spatial relationships within virtual environment (VE) indoor scenes. A series of experiments investigates spatial preposition use and the influence of scale, topology, orientation, and distance within indoor scene descriptions and preliminary results are reported.

Citation:

Doore, S.A., Beard, K., and Giudice, N.A. (2016). Spatial preposition use in indoor scene descriptions. Paper presented at the Ninth International Conference on Geographic Information Science (GI Science ’16). Sept. 27-30, Montreal, CA.

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Assessment of Visualization Interfaces for Assisting the Development of Multi-level Cognitive Maps

eblackwood — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 17:38:59 +0000

Abstract:

People often become disoriented and frustrated when navigating complex, multi-level buildings. We argue that the principle reason underlying these challenges is insufficient access to the requisite information needed for developing an accurate mental representation, called a multi-level cognitive map. We postulate that increasing access to global landmarks (i.e., those visible from multiple locations/floors of a building) will aid spatial integration between floors and the development of these representations. This prediction was investigated in three experiments, using either direct perception or Augmented Reality (AR) visualizations. Results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that increasing visual access to a global landmark promoted multi-level cognitive map development, supporting our hypothesis. Experiment 2 revealed no reliable performance benefits of using two minimalist (icon-based and wire-frame) visualization techniques. Experiment 3, using a third X-ray visualization, showed reliably better performance for not only a no-visualization control but also the gold standard of direct window access. These results demonstrate that improving information access through principled visualizations benefit multi-level cognitive map development.

Citation:

Li, H., Corey, R.R., Giudice, U., and Giudice, N.A. (2016). Assessment of visualization interfaces for assisting the development of multi-level cognitive maps. In D.D. Schmorrow & M.C. Fidopiastis (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10^th International Conference of Foundations of Augmented Cognition, Part of HCI International. Toronto, CA. July 17-22 (pp. 308-321). Springer International. (corresponding author).

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