G. Ramos

Followers

Following

Co-authors

Public Views

I am passionate about making information and technology accessible, enjoyable, and useful. I work in the intersection of applied HCI research, machine learning, design, information visualization and engineering to advance the state of the art of how we collect, experience and share information over the Internet.

less

Interests

Uploads

Papers by G. Ramos

Cooperative Stitching: Spontaneous Wireless Connections for Small Co-Located Groups (TECHNOTE)

Forming spontaneous connections between wirelessly networked devices is an important problem for ... more Forming spontaneous connections between wirelessly networked devices is an important problem for ubiquitous computing. We explore cooperative stitching, which allows small collocated groups to easily create one-to-one or oneto-many connections between devices by performing simple dragging gestures to or from the top of the screen (to initiate or accept a connection, respectively). A usability study finds that users prefer cooperative stitching to a technique that requires physically reaching to the other devices, or to selecting names of devices from long lists.

Download

Viewing Media in the Context of Street-Level Images

Phosphor

Proceedings of the 19th annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology - UIST '06, 2006

Sometimes users fail to notice a change that just took place on their display. For example, the u... more Sometimes users fail to notice a change that just took place on their display. For example, the user may have accidentally deleted an icon or a remote collaborator may have changed settings in a control panel. Animated transitions can help, but they force users to wait for the animation to complete. This can be cumbersome, especially in situations where users did not need an explanation. We propose a different approach. Phosphor objects show the outcome of their transition instantly; at the same time they explain their change in retrospect. Manipulating a phosphor slider, for example, leaves an afterglow that illustrates how the knob moved. The parallelism of instant outcome and explanation supports both types of users. Users who already understood the transition can continue interacting without delay, while those who are inexperienced or may have been distracted can take time to view the effects at their own pace. We present a framework of transition designs for widgets, icons, and objects in drawing programs. We evaluate phosphor objects in two user studies and report significant performance benefits for phosphor objects.

Download

Pressure widgets

Proceedings of the 2004 conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '04, 2004

Current user interface widgets typically assume that the input device can only provide x-y positi... more Current user interface widgets typically assume that the input device can only provide x-y position and binary button press information. Other inputs such as the continuous pressure data provided by styluses on tablets are rarely used. We explore the design space of using the continuous pressure sensing capabilities of styluses to operate multi-state widgets. We present the results of a controlled experiment that investigates human ability to perform discrete target selection tasks by varying a stylus' pressure, with full or partial visual feedback. The experiment also considers different techniques for confirming selection once the target is acquired. Based on the experimental results, we discuss implications for the design of pressure sensitive widgets. A taxonomy of pressure widgets is presented, along with a set of initial concept sketches of various pressure widget designs.

Download

Air pointing: Design and evaluation of spatial target acquisition with and without visual feedback

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2011

Sensing technologies such as inertia tracking and computer vision enable spatial interactions whe... more Sensing technologies such as inertia tracking and computer vision enable spatial interactions where users make selections by 'air pointing': moving a limb, finger, or device to a specific spatial region. In addition of expanding the vocabulary of possible interactions available, air pointing brings the potential benefit of enabling 'eyes-free' interactions, where users rely on proprioception and kinaesthesia rather than vision. This paper explores the design space for air pointing interactions, and presents tangible results in the form of a framework that helps designers understand input dimensions and resulting interaction qualities. The framework provides a set of fundamental concepts that aid in thinking about the air pointing domain, in characterizing and comparing existing solutions, and in evaluating novel techniques. We carry out an initial investigation to demonstrate the concepts of the framework by designing and comparing three air pointing techniques: one based on small angular 'raycasting' movements, one on large movements across a 2D plane, and one on movements in a 3D volume. Results show that large movements on the 2D plane are both rapid (selection times under 1 s) and accurate, even without visual feedback. Raycasting is rapid but inaccurate, and the 3D volume is expressive but slow, inaccurate, and effortful. Many other findings emerge, such as selection point 'drift' in the absence of feedback. These results and the organising framework provide a foundation for innovation and understanding of air pointing interaction.

Download

PivotPaths: Strolling through Faceted Information Spaces

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2012

We present PivotPaths, an interactive visualization for exploring faceted information resources. ... more We present PivotPaths, an interactive visualization for exploring faceted information resources. During both work and leisure, we increasingly interact with information spaces that contain multiple facets and relations, such as authors, keywords, and citations of academic publications, or actors and genres of movies. To navigate these interlinked resources today, one typically selects items from facet lists resulting in abrupt changes from one subset of data to another. While filtering is useful to retrieve results matching specific criteria, it can be difficult to see how facets and items relate and to comprehend the effect of filter operations. In contrast, the PivotPaths interface exposes faceted relations as visual paths in arrangements that invite the viewer to 'take a stroll' through an information space. PivotPaths supports pivot operations as lightweight interaction techniques that trigger gradual transitions between views. We designed the interface to allow for casual traversal of large collections in an aesthetically pleasing manner that encourages exploration and serendipitous discoveries. This paper shares the findings from our iterative design-and-evaluation process that included semi-structured interviews and a two-week deployment of PivotPaths applied to a large database of academic publications.

Download

ImageFlow: Streaming Image Search

Traditional grid and list representations of image search results are the dominant interaction pa... more Traditional grid and list representations of image search results are the dominant interaction paradigms that users face on a daily basis, yet it is unclear that such paradigms are well-suited for experiences where the user"s task is to browse images for leisure, to discover new information or to seek particular images to represent ideas. We introduce ImageFlow, a novel image search user interface that explores a different alternative to the traditional presentation of image search results. ImageFlow presents image results on a canvas where we map semantic features (e.g., relevance, related queries) to the canvas" spatial dimensions (e.g., x, y, z) in a way that allows for several levels of engagementfrom passively viewing a stream of images, to seamlessly navigating through the semantic space and actively collecting images for sharing and reuse. We have implemented our system as a fully functioning prototype, and we report on promising, preliminary usage results.

Download

Map Editing with Little User Input

Hybrid Interface for Interactively Registering Images to Digital Models

Fluid interaction techniques for the control and annotation of digital video

Proceedings of the 16th annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology - UIST '03, 2003

We explore a variety of interaction and visualization techniques for fluid navigation, segmentati... more We explore a variety of interaction and visualization techniques for fluid navigation, segmentation, linking, and annotation of digital videos. These techniques are developed within a concept prototype called LEAN that is designed for use with pressure-sensitive digitizer tablets. These techniques include a transient position+velocity widget that allows users not only to move around a point of interest on a video, but also to rewind or fast forward at a controlled variable speed. We also present a new variation of fish-eye views called twist-lens, and incorporate this into a position control slider designed for the effective navigation and viewing of large sequences of video frames. We also explore a new style of widgets that exploit the use of the pen's pressure-sensing capability, increasing the input vocabulary available to the user. Finally, we elaborate on how annotations referring to objects that are temporal in nature, such as video, may be thought of as links, and fluidly constructed, visualized and navigated.

Download

An exploration of pen rolling for pen-based interaction

Proceedings of the 21st annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology - UIST '08, 2008

Current pen input mainly utilizes the position of the pen tip, and occasionally, a button press. ... more Current pen input mainly utilizes the position of the pen tip, and occasionally, a button press. Other possible device parameters, such as rolling the pen around its longitudinal axis, are rarely used. We explore pen rolling as a supporting input modality for pen-based interaction. Through two studies, we are able to determine 1) the parameters that separate intentional pen rolling for the purpose of interaction from incidental pen rolling caused by regular writing and drawing, and 2) the parameter range within which accurate and timely intentional pen rolling interactions can occur. Building on our experimental results, we present an exploration of the design space of rolling-based interaction techniques, which showcase three scenarios where pen rolling interactions can be useful: enhanced stimulus-response compatibility in rotation tasks [7], multi-parameter input, and simplified mode selection.

Download

Pointing Lenses: Facilitating Stylus Input Through Visual-and Motor-Space Magnification

Proceedings of the …, 2007

Using a stylus on a tablet computer to acquire small targets can be challenging. In this paper we... more

Download

Synchronous Gestures in Multi-Display Environments

Human-computer Interaction, 2009

Aires where he worked on image compression and wavelets. He later obtained his M.Sc. in Computer ... more Aires where he worked on image compression and wavelets. He later obtained his M.Sc. in Computer Science at the University of Toronto, focusing on numerical analysis and scientific visualization issues. He completed his doctoral studies in Computer Science at the University of Toronto doing research in Human-Computer Interaction. Currently he is a scientist at Microsoft's Live Labs. Kenneth Hinckley is a research scientist at Microsoft Research. Ken's research extends the expressiveness and richness of user interfaces by designing novel input technologies and techniques. He attacks his research from a systems perspective, by designing and prototyping advanced functionality, as well as via user studies of novel human-computer interactions and quantitative analysis of user performance in experimental tasks. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia, where he studied with Randy Pausch. This article is dedicated to Randy's heroic battle against pancreatic cancer.

Download

Mobile taskflow in context: a screenshot study of smartphone usage

The impact of interruptions on workflow and productivity has been extensively studied in the PC d... more The impact of interruptions on workflow and productivity has been extensively studied in the PC domain, but while fragmented user attention is recognized as an inherent aspect of mobile phone usage, little formal evidence exists of its effect on mobile productivity. Using a survey and a screenshot-based diary study we investigated the types of barriers people face when performing tasks on their mobile phones, the ways they follow up with such suspended tasks, and how frustrating the experience of task disruption is for mobile users. From 386 situated samples provided by 12 iPhone and 12 Pocket PC users, we distill a classification of barriers to the completion of mobile tasks. Our data suggest that moving to a PC to complete a phone task is common, yet not inherently problematic, depending on the task. Finally, we relate our findings to prior design guidelines for desktop workflow, and discuss how the guidelines can be extended to mitigate disruptions to mobile taskflow.

Download

Video Browsing by Direct Manipulation

Proceeding of the …, 2008

└╚ @┴·ù*L* ;{ï¢ºΦ*▄\]]>└╬ΓΓΩΘ·*w**wo░2▄\]╘* «x ═*GDO εn-µüÇl.***~ '┼r└ *P$*≡`┐*öAö*4*»└*√... more └╚ @┴·ù*L* ;{ï¢ºΦ*▄\]]>└╬ΓΓΩΘ·*w**wo░2▄\]╘* «x ═*GDO εn-µüÇl.***~ '┼r└ *P$*≡`┐*öAö*4*»└*√?*+V#{ ╞±╓╓(σπσ┴┐ *@?■≤ *½Ç?í*┐â╗≤P03~<εΓ╦σ┼■≥ ¬ⁿ≡*├ö≡*αå▀#\╨h_ó┴Çr**2ªPT*ô┴Åzy⌠* ▄\XÅäó±,**Hî┼?┴Ç**}7'≥o*■■{7**>ù⌡ ...

Download

Visual snippets

by G. Ramos and Steven Drucker

Proceedings of the 27th international conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI 09, 2009

People regularly interact with different representations of Web pages. A person looking for new i... more People regularly interact with different representations of Web pages. A person looking for new information may initially find a Web page represented as a short snippet rendered by a search engine. When he wants to return to the same page the next day, the page may instead be represented by a link in his browser history. Previous research has explored how to best represent Web pages in support of specific task types, but, as we find in this paper, consistency in representation across tasks is also important. We explore how different representations are used in a variety of contexts and present a compact representation that supports both the identification of new, relevant Web pages and the re-finding of previously viewed pages.

Download

GENERATING AND DISPLAYING TOP-DOWN MAPS OF RECONSTRUCTED 3-D SCENES

by G. Ramos and Eyal Ofek

USER INTERFACES FOR INTERACTING WITH TOP-DOWN MAPS OF RECONSTRUCTED 3-D SCENES

by Eyal Ofek and G. Ramos

MAP EDITING WITH LITTLE USER INPUT

by G. Ramos and Eyal Ofek

Viewing Media in the Context of Street-Level Images

by Michael Kroepfl, Eyal Ofek, and G. Ramos

G. Ramos

Uploads

Papers by G. Ramos

Log In