Smart home technology is receiving significant attention. This is largely in response to an incre... more Smart home technology is receiving significant attention. This is largely in response to an increase in the size of demographic those who require assistance due to reduced mobility, in particular, older adults. Smart home technology enables the assistance individuals with limited mobility need for their daily routines: these limitations can be addressed using modern ambient assisted living technologies. In particular we discuss the benefits of using electromyography (EMG) sensors to capture gestural input that would normally be difficult to sense in the absence of such sensors. With EMG, we can provide user control of a smart environment through the use of gestures based on muscle activity of the hands. This paper will focus on presenting the benefits of EMG technologies that can potentially assist individuals with hand mobility issues. We will describe the current state of EMG sensory technologies and their role in shaping gesture-based interaction techniques. We present our approach using such EMG signals and demonstrate their value in a smart home scenario. Finally we introduce the concept of subtle EMG gestures and build a better understanding of how we might improve accessibility for those with limited upper limb motion.
Using smartwatches for self-tracking purposes has become increasingly common. This tracking is po... more Using smartwatches for self-tracking purposes has become increasingly common. This tracking is possible as a result of the many sensors embedded in modern smartwatches including GPS, heart rate monitor, accelerometer, and gyroscope. The ability to obtain personal health-related data is one of the most compelling reason to purchase such devices. However, form factor limitations create numerous challenges for users hoping to access and interpret the data available. Typically, users rely on a secondary device, such as a smartphone to view health data. The aim of our research is to identify methods to improve user consumption of health-related data directly on a smartwatch. To study and apply novel visualization approaches, several key challenges need to be addressed. We present these here along with their corollary methods of circumvention.
Recent computer vision advances can enable television control using midair barehand input, for wh... more Recent computer vision advances can enable television control using midair barehand input, for which selecting targets using hand positions is a primary task. Yet, the size and position of a preferred 2D interaction region has not been specifically investigated for this setting. We report on a field study with people in front of their own television in their own home. Controlled variations of target position stimuli were presented while a camera records the natural hand position used by the participant in response. Based on hand and face landmarks, density plots define a preferred input region location and size using a human-scaled unit of face-widths. Distribution of hand positions relative to target stimuli reveals consistency and precision, suggesting an ability for users to map their input space to display space. We elicit an ideal input region from participants and provide a range of dimensions for designers implementing barehand input techniques.
The use of crowdsourcing platforms for data collection in HCI research is attractive in their abi... more The use of crowdsourcing platforms for data collection in HCI research is attractive in their ability to provide rapid access to large and diverse participant samples. As a result, several researchers have conducted studies investigating the similarities and differences between data collected through crowdsourcing and more traditional, laboratory-style data collection. We add to this body of research by examining the feasibility of conducting social acceptability studies via crowdsourcing. Social acceptability can be a key determinant for the early adoption of emerging technologies, and as such, we focus our investigation on social acceptability for Head-Worn Display (HWD) input modalities. Our results indicate that data collected via a crowdsourced experiment and a laboratory-style setting did not differ at a statistically significant level. These results provide initial support for crowdsourcing platforms as viable options for conducting social acceptability research.
Figure 1: (a): A line graph representing heart rate over six minutes and including 300 data point... more Figure 1: (a): A line graph representing heart rate over six minutes and including 300 data points; (b): we simplify the line graph in (a) using the Space-Filling Line Graph (SF-LG) technique; (c) & (d): the available space created around the line graph can be used to fill auxiliary, interlinked information. In our approach, we can provide the algorithm a priority to position the information. The labels "1", "2", "3" represent the priority assigned to those components which are given the maximal space; (e) & (f): embedding auxiliary and interrelated graphs that augment the primary line graph becomes possible based on the reorganization of the available space
We present BezelGlide, a novel suite of bezel interaction techniques, designed to minimize screen... more We present BezelGlide, a novel suite of bezel interaction techniques, designed to minimize screen occlusion and 'fat fnger' efects, when interacting with common graphs on smartwatches. To explore the design of BezelGlide, we conducted two user studies. First, we quantifed the amount of screen occlusion experienced when interacting with the smartwatch bezel. Next, we designed two techniques that involve gliding the fnger along the smartwatch bezel for graph interaction. Full BezelGlide (FBG) and Partial BezelGlide (PBG), use the full or a portion of the bezel, respectively, to reduce screen occlusion while scanning a line chart for data. In the common value detection task, we fnd that PBG outperforms FBG and Shift, a touchscreen occlusion-free technique, both quantitatively and subjectively, also while mobile. We fnally illustrate the generzability potential of PBG to interact with common graph types making it a valuable interaction technique for smartwatch users. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in interaction design.
Figure 1: Head-Worn Display (HWD) Inputs that we examined in our studies. We evaluated the social... more Figure 1: Head-Worn Display (HWD) Inputs that we examined in our studies. We evaluated the social acceptability of these interaction modalities from the perspective of observers as well as performers.
Hierarchy structures such as file systems are widespread interfaces for item retrieval and select... more Hierarchy structures such as file systems are widespread interfaces for item retrieval and selection tasks. Some hierarchies can be modified by end-users, such as application launchers on smartphones or pictures in a file folder. These modifiable hierarchies cannot benefit from an optimization made beforehand as their content, unknown during the design process, is constantly evolving. We hence propose an analytic model which designers can integrate in their system to recommend a range of local structure modifications (e.g., creating new folders) to end-users. Proposing a range of modifications gives flexibility to end-users regarding their own meaningful grouping and labeling choices to follow a recommendation. A first experiment confirms that the recommendations built on our model can lead to modified hierarchies resulting in faster theoretical selection times. A second experiment confirms that the theoretical selection times fit empirical selection times in different hierarchy visual layouts: linear, radial, and grid.
Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Recent computer vision advances can enable television control using midair barehand input, for wh... more Recent computer vision advances can enable television control using midair barehand input, for which selecting targets using hand positions is a primary task. Yet, the size and position of a preferred 2D interaction region has not been specifically investigated for this setting. We report on a field study with people in front of their own television in their own home. Controlled variations of target position stimuli were presented while a camera records the natural hand position used by the participant in response. Based on hand and face landmarks, density plots define a preferred input region location and size using a human-scaled unit of face-widths. Distribution of hand positions relative to target stimuli reveals consistency and precision, suggesting an ability for users to map their input space to display space. We elicit an ideal input region from participants and provide a range of dimensions for designers implementing barehand input techniques.
Proceedings of the 11th Augmented Human International Conference
Mid-air gestures have been heavily studied in HCI but with mostly younger adults (YAs). Older adu... more Mid-air gestures have been heavily studied in HCI but with mostly younger adults (YAs). Older adults (OAs) can equally benefit from such a modality, but given their heterogeneous motor abilities, designing suitable gestures is challenging [2]. Our research specifically looks at age-related differences in hand gesture preferences between older and younger adults. This subject is important since it relates to the idea of a proper age-inclusive technological design and the means towards the successful adoption of technologies by all the layers of the population, including older adults [1].
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Supporting eyes-free interaction, mobility and encumbrance, while providing a broad set of comman... more Supporting eyes-free interaction, mobility and encumbrance, while providing a broad set of commands on a smartwatch display is a difficult, yet important, task. Bezel-to-bezel (B2B) gestures are valuable for rapid command invocation during eyes-free operation, however we lack knowledge regarding B2B interactions on circular devices during common usage scenarios. We aim to improve our understanding of the dynamics of B2B interactions in these scenarios by conducting two studies and a third analysis: First, we explore the performance of B2B in a seated position; second, we explore the effect of mobility and encumbrance on the B2B interaction; finally, we improve on the B2B accuracies by calculating features and utilizing machine learning. With the limited interaction capabilities on smartwatches and the importance of the scenario of use, we conclude with applications and design guidelines for improved utilization of B2B that enables effective smartwatch control while in common, mobile...
Proceedings of the 11th Augmented Human International Conference
Recent technological advances have enabled novel tactile displays which have mainly focused on pr... more Recent technological advances have enabled novel tactile displays which have mainly focused on providing shorter sensations for notifications and/or simple messages. These have been primarily been used to enhance the user experience. In contrast, conveying information via data charts, such as a line graph, remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, we developed a tactile display prototype. Our prototype uses skin-dragging, a method to produce longer tactile perceptions from dragging a tip on the skin, as the primary means to convey the data. We postulate that if such an approach is successful, it could convey the data in eyes-free scenarios, an element common for on-the-go computing. In an experiment (n=12), we compare the recognition performance of graphs with two different skin-dragging properties, Full-Drag and Dot. The results show that participants performed both techniques equally well, but our Full-Drag technique was greatly preferred. We conclude with design guidelines for tactile displays that focus on graph representations.
Optimizing the use of a small display while presenting graphic data such as line charts is challe... more Optimizing the use of a small display while presenting graphic data such as line charts is challenging. To tackle this, we propose GSparks, a compact visual representation of glanceable line graphs for smartwatches. Our exploration primarily considered the suitable compression axes for time-series charts. In a first study we examine the optimal line-graph compression approach without compromising perceptual metrics, such as slope or height detections. We evaluated compressions of line segments, the elementary unit of a line graph, along the x-axis, y-axis, and xyaxes. Contrary to intuition, we find that condensing graphs yield more accurate reading of height estimations than non-compressed graphs, but only when these are compressed along the x-axis. Building from this result, we study the effect of an x-axis compression on users' ability to perform "glanceable" analytic tasks with actual data. Glanceable tasks include quick perceptual judgements of graph properties. Us...
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Papers by Ali Neshati