We describe an inertial gesture recognition framework composed of three parts. The first is a compact, wireless six-axis inertial measurement unit to fully capture three-dimensional motion. The second, a gesture recognition algorithm, analyzes the data and categorizes it on an axis-by-axis basis as simple motions (straight line, twist, etc.) with magnitude and duration. The third allows an application designer to combine recognized gestures both concurrently and consecutively to create specific composite gestures can then be set to trigger output routines.

This paper describes a behavioral experiment in which the piano movers' problem (maneuvering a large object through a restricted space) was used to investigate object manipulation by pairs of participants in a VE. Participants' interactions with the object were integrated together either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The former only allowed the common component of participants' actions to take place, but the latter used the mean. Symmetric action integration was superior for sections of the task when both participants had to perform similar actions, but if participants had to move in different ways (e.g., one maneuvering themselves through a narrow opening while the other traveled down a wide corridor) then asymmetric integration was superior. With both forms of integration, the extent to which participants coordinated their actions was poor and this led to a substantial cooperation overhead (the reduction in performance caused by having to cooperate with another person)

Inertial measurement components, which sense either acceleration or angular rate, are being embedded into common user interface devices more frequently as their cost continues to drop dramatically. These devices hold a number of advantages over other sensing technologies: they measure relevant parameters for human interfaces and can easily be embedded into wireless, mobile platforms. The work in this dissertation demonstrates that inertial measurement can be used to acquire rich data about human gestures, that we can derive efficient algorithms for using this data in gesture recognition, and that the concept of a parameterized atomic gesture recognition has merit. Further we show that a framework combining these three levels of description can be easily used by designers to create robust applications.

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We introduce two new six degree of freedom desktop input devices based on the key concept of combining forceless isotonic rotational input with force-requiring elastic translational input. The GlobeFish consists of a custom three degrees of freedom trackball which is elastically connected to a frame. The trackball is accessible from the top and bottom and can be moved slightly in all spatial directions by using force. The GlobeMouse device works in a similar way. Here the trackball is placed on top of a movable base, which requires to change the grip on the device to switch between rotating the trackball and moving the base. Our devices are manipulated with the fingertips allowing precise interaction with virtual objects. The elastic translation allows uniform input for all three axes and the isotonic trackball provides a natural mapping for rotations. Our user study revealed that the new devices perform significantly better in a docking task in comparison to the SpaceMouse, an integrated six degrees of freedom controller. Subjective data confirmed these results. Author Keywords User interface hardware, input devices, interaction

Multi-touch interfaces allow users to translate, rotate, and scale digital objects in a single interaction. However, this freedom represents a problem when users intend to perform only a subset of manipulations. A user trying to scale an object in a print layout program, for example, might find that the object was also slightly translated and rotated, interfering with what was already carefully laid out earlier. We implemented and tested interaction techniques that allow users to select a subset of manipulations. Magnitude Filtering eliminates transformations (e.g., rotation) that are small in magnitude. Gesture Matching attempts to classify the user’s input into a subset of manipulation gestures. Handles adopts a conventional single-touch handles approach for touch input. Our empirical study showed that these techniques significantly reduce errors in

Human judgment is an integral part of the teleoperation process that is often heavily influenced by a single video feed returned from the remote environment. Poor camera placement, narrow field of view, and other camera properties can significantly impair the operator's perceptual link to the environment, inviting cognitive mistakes and general disorientation. These faults may be enhanced or muted, depending on the camera mountings and control opportunities that are at the disposal of the operator. These issues form the basis for two user studies that assess the effectiveness of existing and potential teleoperation controls. Findings suggest that providing a camera that is controlled independently from the orientation of the vehicle may yield significant benefits. Moreover, there is evidence to support the use of separate cameras for different navigational subtasks. Third, the use of multiple cameras can also be used to provide assistance without encroaching on the operator's desired threshold for control.

INTRODUCTION Maneuvering a remote viewpoint has become a common activity, spanning multiple disciplines including extraplanetary exploration, maintenance of nuclear facilities, military operations or search-and-rescue efforts (Murphy, Casper et al.). In fact it can be argued that the same skill set applies to most teleoperation, scientific visualization and virtual reality interfaces (Milgram and Colquhoun 1999). Human operators are capable adjusting the flow of visual information by simultaneously manipulating multiple viewing parameters. However, success is often dependent on adopting sophisticated strategies such as acquiring survey views, or moving is structured patterns (Bowman 1999). Even with these strategies, there is the chance that the effort applied to manipulating the viewpoint will distract from extracting the desired information. One way to facilitate viewpoint control is to develop and refine methods for mapping control metaphors to operational tasks. Previous work ha

Tabletop computer displays suffer from an orientation problem. Solutions based on competing approaches have been implemented, but there remain unanswered questions about the ideal solution. Within a context of interacting with documents on tabletop displays, requirements for orientation control were found by examining literature on how people use paper documents and what manipulations they perform. It was determined that control must provide quick, either-handed, low-attention manipulation of individual objects on the display. An evaluation of existing interaction techniques for rotation was performed in light of these criteria. The trade-off between two desirable characteristics, integral translation and rotation, and direct input, was examined. An evaluation of mouse-based techniques confirmed that integral input has the potential to be faster than the established sequential-manipulation techniques due to the time saved by overlapping manipulation of different degrees of freedom. For a single task combining translation and rotation the separable technique took twice as long compared to two separate tasks of the same translation or rotation, whereas the integral techniques took less time for the combined action than the two separate actions. However, the integral mouse-based techniques were too slow in their actual manipulation, with the scroll wheel taking four times as long to rotate than the separable technique, and the new drag technique not being used in an integral manner. It was concluded that the current generally available technology such as the mouse and single-point touch-sensitive overlays are inadequate. Acceptable tabletop orientation control will be dependent on the maturation of newer technologies based on tangible interfaces or possibly multi-finger input. Until then, interaction techniques for manipulating documents on tabletop displays should be chosen according to their ability to concurrently control position and orientation, such as three degree-of-freedom input devices on digitizing tablets.

Trajectory information can be analysed in both the time and space dimensions via a new metric called the 7/t-metric. The 7/t-metric is a measurement definition which quantifies the allocation of control across multiple degrees of freedom. Allocation of control is defined as the product of two components, the simultaneity of control and the efficiency of control, corresponding to the time and space dimensions respectively. The existing human factors, biomedical, and motor control literature serves as the foundation for the development of the 7/t- metric. The 7/t-metric has several limitations including dependency upon the chosen coordinate system, assumptions of optimal trajectories, and the lack of frequency domain analysis.