Lecture notes for ICS 3211 - Interaction Design

1. ICS3211 - Intelligent
Interfaces II
Combining design with technology for effective human-
computer interaction
Week 5 Department of AI,
2020

2. Designing Interactions
Week 5 overview:
• Input Devices - recap;
• Design Guidelines;
• Designing Interfaces;
• Adaptive User Interfaces
• Visualisation & Information processing
• Designing for Interactions - an illustration of case study examples;
• Designing for specific target audiences: children, elderly and physically
impaired groups;

3. Learning Outcomes
At the end of this session you should be able to:
• List the various visual design principles for interfaces;
• Compare and contrast the design of interfaces vs. intelligent
interfaces;
• Describe a number of case studies in the design of intelligent
user interfaces;
• Draw inferences about the design of interfaces that take into
account metaphors, mental models, navigation and interaction;

4. Evaluating Input Devices
• How does the input device perform? (at representative tasks)
• Target Acquisition
• Steering
• Pursuit Tracking
• Freehand drawing
• Drawing lines
• Tracing and digitising
• Rapid or slow motion
• Clicking, double clicking or dragging

5. Ergonomic Issues
• Reduce repetition
• Minimise force required to operate
• Natural and neutral postures
• Cues for use

6. Fitt’s Law
• Applied for the comparison and optimisation of
pointing devices
• Movement time as a logarithmic function of the
amplitude of the movement and the width of the
error tolerance:
MT = a + b log2(A/W + 1)

7. • Fitt’s Index of difficulty describes moves in the task
space using a single abstract metric of difficulty
ID = log2(A/W + 1)
MT = a + b ID
• The Index of Performance (IP), measured in bits/
second, quantifies the bandwidth of a pointing
device.
IP = MT/ID

8. Applications of Fitt’s Law
• Applies to rate-controlled input devices, area cursors or
pointing under a microscope
• Results for:
• Tracking vs. dragging states
• Bandwidth of limb segments
• Effects of Lag
• C:D gain
• Scrolling and multi-scale navigation

9. Mapping Input Signals
• Transfer Functions - mathematical transformation
that scales the data from an input device
• self-centering devices
• motion sensing devices
• Absolute devices

10. Feedback: responding to
input
• Passive
• Visual, auditory & tactile;
• input/output correspondence:
• perceptual structure;
• kinaesthetic correspondence;
• Active Haptic Feedback

11. The Future of Input
• Ubiquitous computing vision;
• Synthesise structure from low level input;
• Smart homes, smart wearables with intelligent use
of sensors;

13. What’s new in IUIs? : trends
& challenges
• Interfaces as important components for interaction
tasks;
• Sensor-based new interaction paradigms;
• Human-Centred data analysis;
• Pervasive affective computing;
• Challenges of IUIs;

14. Recap
• Take the Quiz on MOODLE VLE
• What properties characterise input devices?
• Check out the following two projects:
• https://www.fastcompany.com/3021522/mit-invents-a-
shapeshifting-display-you-can-reach-through-and-touch
• https://digitash.com/uncategorized/interactive-splash-
display-projects-images-into-air/
• How would you choose to evaluate them?

15. Design Guidelines
• Poster Analogy
• Design for the most difficult common denominator;
• Avoid overuse of saturated colours;
• Consider different users’ levels of skill;
• Be aware of the fatigue factor;
• Other differences to consider;
• Use the squint test;

16. Designing Interfaces
• Effective & appropriate
use of the medium;
• Element of time;
• Consistent &
appropriate visual
language;
• Navigation aids;
• Graphics/icons;
• Metaphor;
• Colour;
• Legibility
• Readability

17. Adaptive User Interfaces
• Context awareness;
• Pervasive information visualisation;
• Ontologies in information visualisation;
• Information visualisation services;

19. Designing & Visualising
Information
• Log on to the site: http://
www.informationisbeautiful.net/
• Focus on design of the information visualisation,
and the interactivity provided by the user interface
• Now find: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/
visualizations/the-internet-of-things-a-primer/
• How can intelligence be added to an interface for a
more improved information visualisation?

20. Designing for Human
Information Processing
• Stimulus- Response compatibility: classes;
• S-S
• S-R
• S-C-R
• R-R
• R-E

21. • Compatibilities between alternate displays,
responses and consequences play important role
• Spatial compatibility for any task with spatial
properties
• Performance limitations from incompatibilities
cannot be easily overcome
• Use of Simon-type correspondence effects
• Compatibility issues arise for binary choices as well
as multiple task contexts

22. • More direct input manipulation requires taking into
consideration compatibility effects between
responses
• C:D relations can be optimised by adhering to
population stereotypes
• High compatibility essential for products intended
for use by older adults

23. –Rick Rashid
“These devices will eventually replace paper
print media. We are reaching a point in the
future where any surface can be an interactive
surface.”