We advocate a new approach to meeting video retrieval based on the use of memory cues. First we present a new survey involving 519 people in which we investigate the types of items people use to review meeting contents (e.g., minutes, video, etc.). Then we present a novel memory study involving 15 subjects in which we investigate what people remember about past meetings (e.g., seating position, etc). Based on these studies and related research we propose a novel framework for meeting video retrieval based on memory cues. Our proposed system graphically represents important memory retrieval cues such as room layout, participant’s faces and sitting positions, etc.. Queries are formulated dynamically: as the user graphically manipulates the cues, the query results are shown. Our system (1) helps users easily express the cues they recall about a particular meeting, and (2) helps users remember new cues for meeting video retrieval. Finally, we present our approach to automatic indexing of meeting videos, present experiments, and discuss research issues in automatic indexing for retrieval using memory cues.

We present a novel multi-planar display system based on an uncalibrated projector-camera pair. Our system exploits the juxtaposition of planar surfaces in a room to create adhoc visualization and display capabilities. In an office setting, for example, a desk pushed against a wall provides two perpendicular surfaces that can simultaneously display elevation and plan views of an architectural model. In contrast to previous room-level projector-camera systems, our method is based on a flexible, minimalist calibration procedure which is tailored to the geometry of the multiplanar surface scenario. Our procedure makes it possible to quickly auto-calibrate the display with a minimum of effort on the part of the user. A number of display configurations can be created on any available planar surfaces using a single commodity projector and camera. The key to our calibration approach is an efficient technique for simultaneously localizing multiple planes and a robust planar metric rectification method which can tolerate a restricted camera field-of-view and requires no special calibration objects. We demonstrate the robustness of our calibration method using real and synthetic images and present several applications of our display system.

Although the HCI research community has contributed a number of metaphors, interaction techniques and layout algorithms to improve window management tasks, most of these ended as prototypes and only a few were implemented in real window managers. In this paper, we present Ametista, a mini-toolkit designed to facilitate the exploration of new window management techniques using both low-fidelity prototyping and a high-fidelity approach based on X Window application redirection.

Abstract. Ontologies can represent large, multidimensional spaces: classical

Little is known about the cognitive abilities which influence the comprehension of scientific and information visualizations and what properties of the visualization affect comprehension. Our goal in this paper is to understand what makes visualizations difficult. We address this goal by examining the spatial ability differences in a diverse population selected for spatial ability variance. For example, how is spatial ability related to visualization comprehension? What makes a particular visualization difficult or time intensive for specific groups of subjects? In this paper, we present the results of an experiment designed to answer these questions. Fifty-six subjects were tested on a basic visualization task and given standard paper tests of spatial abilities. An equal number of males and females were recruited in this study in order to increase spatial ability variance. Our results show that high spatial ability is correlated with accuracy on our three-dimensional visualization test, but not with time. High spatial ability subjects also had less difficulty with object complexity and the hidden properties of an object. CR Categories: H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine

Information Visualization (InfoVis) encompasses techniques of visualization that deal primarily with abstract data, that is, data for which the user has no preconceived mental model. This is in contrast to, for example, volume or flow data.

Information Visualization aims to provide compact graphical presentations and user interfaces for interactively manipulating large numbers of items. We present a simple “data by tasks taxonomy ” then discuss the challenges of providing universal usability, with example applications using geo-referenced data. Information Visualization has been shown to be a powerful visual thinking or decision tool but it is becoming important for services to reach and empower every citizen. Technological advances are needed to deal with user diversity (age, language, disabilities, etc.) but also with the variety of technology used (screen size, network speed, etc.) and the gaps in user’s knowledge (general knowledge, knowledge of the application domain, of the interface syntax or semantic). We present examples that illustrate how those challenges can be addressed. Designers are discovering how to use rapid and high-resolution color displays to present and manipulate large amounts of information in compact and user-controlled ways. Information Visualization can be defined as the use of computer-supported interactive visual representation of abstract data to amplify cognition (Card et al., 1999). The abstract characteristic of the data is what distinguishes Information

Motivation: Multidimensional data sets are common in many research areas, including microarray experiment data sets. Genome researchers are using cluster analysis to find meaningful groups in microarray data. However, the high dimensionality of the data sets hinders users from finding interesting patterns, clusters, and outliers. Determining the biological significance of such features remains problematic due to the difficulties of integrating biological knowledge. In addition, it is not efficient to perform a cluster analysis over the whole data set in cases where researchers know the approximate temporal pattern of the gene expression that they are seeking. Results: To address these problems, we add three new features to the Hierarchical Clustering Explorer (HCE): (1) scatterplot ordering methods so that all 2D projections of a high dimensional data set can be ordered according to relevant criteria, (2) a gene ontology browser, coupled with clustering results so that known gene functions within a cluster can be easily studied, (3) a profile search so that genes with a certain temporal pattern can be easily identified. Availability: HCE 2.0 is a PC application written in Microsoft Visual C++. The full application and user's manual of HCE 2.0 with three new features is freely available at

In this article we present a novel approach, the 2-Layer Interface Paradigm (2LIP), for designing simple yet interactive 3D web applications, an attempt to marry advantages of 3D experience with the advantages of the narrative structure of hypertext. The hypertext information, together with graphics, and multimedia, is presented semi-transparently on the foreground layer. It overlays the 3D representation of the information displayed in the background of the interface. Hyperlinks are used for navigation in the 3D scenes (in both layers). We introduce a reference implementation of 2LIP: Copernicus-The Virtual 3D Encyclopedia, which can become a model for building 3D Wikipedia. Based on the evaluation of Copernicus we show that designing web interfaces according to 2LIP provides users with a better experience during browsing the Web, has a positive effect on the visual and associative memory, improves spatial cognition of presented information, and increases overall user’s satisfaction without harming the interaction. which might be hard to understand in the context of the Internet hypertext environment. We strongly believe that user interfaces should be as simple as possible. We have worked out a new way for designing interactive 3D web applications- 2-Layer Interface Paradigm (2LIP) [Jankowski and Kruk 2008]. 2LIP is an attempt to marry advantages of 3D experience with the advantages of the narrative structure of hypertext. It assumes that building graphical user interfaces involves the integration of two layers (see Figure 1): (1) the background layer is a 3D scene; (2) the foreground layer, above the 3D view is the hypertextual content, together with graphics, and multimedia (e.g., videos or other interactive 3D scenes). Hyperlinks are used for navigation in the 3D scenes (in both layers).

We introduce a new visual search interface for search engines. The interface is a user-friendly and informative graphical front-end for organizing and presenting search results in the form of topic groups. Such a semantics-oriented search result presentation is in contrast with conventional search interfaces which present search results according to the physical structures of the information. Given a user query, our interface first retrieves relevant online materials via a thirdparty search engine. And then we analyze the semantics of search results to detect latent topics in the result set. Once the topics are detected, we map the search result pages into topic clusters. According to the topic clustering result, we divide the available screen space for our visual interface into multiple topic displaying regions, one for each topic. For each topic’s displaying region, we summarize the information contained in the search results under the corresponding topic so that only key messages will be displayed. With this new visual search interface, users are conveyed the key information in the search results expediently. With the key information, users can navigate to the final, desired results with less effort and time than conventional searching. Supplementary materials for this paper are available at