Dynamic interactive maps with transparent but power-ful human interface capabilities are beginning to emerge for a variety of geographical information systems, in-cluding ones situated on portables for travelers, stu-dents, business and service people, and others working in field settings. In the present research, interfaces sup-porting spoken, pen-based, and multimodal input were analyze for their potential effectiveness in interacting with this new generation of map systems. Input modal-ity (speech, writing, multimodal) and map display for-mat (highly versus minimally structured) were varied in a within-subject factorial design as people completed re-alistic tasks with a simulated map system. The results identified a constellation of performance difficulties asso-ciated with speech-only map interactions, including ele-vated performance errors, spontaneous disfluencies, and lengthier task completion time-- problems that declined substantially when people could interact multimodally with the map. These performance advantages also mir-rored a strong user preference to interact multimodally. The error-proneness and unacceptability of speech-only input to maps was attributed in large part to people's difficulty generating spoken descriptions of spatial loca-tion. Analyses also indicated that map display format can be used to minimize performance errors and dis-fluencies, and map interfaces that guide users ' speech toward brevity can nearly eliminate disfiuencies. Impli-cations of this research are discussed for the design of high-performance multimodal interfaces for future map systems.

We present a new technique called Semantic Depth of Field (SDOF) as an alternative approach to focus-andcontext displays of information. We utilize a well-known method from photography and cinematography (depth-offield effect) for information visualization, which is to blur different parts of the depicted scene in dependence of their relevance. Independent of their spatial locations, objects of interest are depicted sharply in SDOF, whereas the context of the visualization is blurred. In this paper, we present a flexible model of SDOF which can be easily adopted to various types of applications. We discuss pros and cons of the new technique, give examples of application, and describe a fast prototype implementation of SDOF.

This article presents two studies concerning the role of individual differences in searching through a spatialsemantic virtual environment. In the first study, 10 subjects searched for two topics through a spatial user interface of a semantic space. A strong positive correlation was found between associative memory (MA-1) and search performance (r # 0.855, p # 0.003), but no significant correlation was found between visual memory (MV-1) and search performance. In the second study, 12 subjects participated in a within-subject experimental design. The same spatial user interface and a simple textual user interface were used. The effects of spatial ability (VZ-2), associative memory (MA-1), and on-line experience were tested on a set of interrelated search performance scores. A statistically significant main effect of on-line experience was found, F(6, 4) # 6.213, p # 0.049, two-tailed. In particular, on-line experience has a significant effect on the recall scores with the textual interface. Individuals experienced in on-line search are more likely to have a higher recall score with the textual interface than less experienced individuals. No significant main effects were found for spatial ability and associative memory. Subjects' comments suggest a potentially complex interplay between individuals' mental models and the high-dimensional semantic model. Qualitative and process-oriented studies are, therefore, called for to reveal the complex interaction between individuals' cognitive abilities, domain knowledge, and direct manipulation skills. A recommendation is made that spatial-semantic models should be adaptable to suit individuals and tasks at various levels

Geospatial information is critical to effective, collaborative decision -making during emergency management situations; however conventional GIS are not suited for multi-user access and highlevel abstract queries. Currently, decision makers do not always have the real time information they need; GIS analysts produce maps at the request of individual decision makers, often leading to overlapping requests with slow delivery times. In order to overcome these limitations, a paradigm shift in interface design for GIS is needed. The research reported upon here attempts to overcome analyst-driven, menu-controlled, keyboard and mouse operated GIS by designing a multimodal, multi-user GIS interface that puts geospatial data directly in the hands of decision makers. A large screen display is used for data visualization, and collaborative, multi-user interactions in emergency management are supported through voice and gesture recognition. Speech and gesture recognition is coupled with a knowledge-based dialogue management system for storing and retrieving geospatial data. This paper describes the first prototype and the insights gained for human-centered multimodal GIS interface design.

In this paper we present a comprehensive approach to automatic organization and hybrid navigation of text databases. An organizing stage first builds a particular lattice representation of the data, through text indexing followed by lattice clustering of the indexed texts. The lattice representation, then, supports the navigation stage of the system, a visual retrieval interface that combines three main retrieval strategies: browsing, querying, and bounding. Browsing and querying are used to search the retrieval space, bounding is used to restrict it based on the information that users have, or get during their interaction with the system. We show that such a hybrid paradigm permits high flexibility in trading off information exploration and retrieval and, in addition, has good retrieval performance. We compared information retrieval using lattice-based hybrid navigation with conventional Boolean querying. The results of an experiment conducted on two medium-sized bibliographic databases showed that the performance of lattice retrieval was comparable to or better than Boolean retrieval

Emergency response requires strategic assessment of risks, decisions, and communications that are timecritical while requiring teams of individuals to have fast access to large volumes of complex information and technologies that enables tightly coordinated work. The access to this information by crisis management (CM) teams in emergency operations centers can be facilitated through various humancomputer interfaces. Unfortunately these interfaces are hard to use, require extensive training, and often impede rather than support teamwork. Dialogue-enabled devices, based on natural, multimodal interfaces have the potential of making a variety of information technology tools accessible during crisis management. This paper establishes the importance of multimodal interfaces in various aspects of crisis management and explores many issues in realizing successful speech-gesture driven, dialog-enabled interfaces for CM. The paper

In this paper we discuss the design and use of fisheye view techniques to explore semantic relationships in information. Traditional fisheye and focus contexttechniques dynamically modify the visual rendering of data in response to the changing interest of the user. Interestinginformation is shown in more detail or visually emphasized, while less relevant information is shown in less detail, de-emphasized, or filtered. These techniques are effective for navigating through large sets of information in a constrained display, and for discovering hidden relationships in a particular representation. An open area of research with these techniques, however, is how to redefine interest as a users tasks and information needs change.

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Pointing out relevant information to a user is one application of focus+context techniques in information visualization. We present a method for doing this which uses selective blur to direct the user's attention. This method is based on the depth of field (DOF) effect used in photography and cinematography, and is therefore both familiar to users and perceptually effective. Because this method blurs objects based on their relevance rather than their distance, we call it Semantic Depth of Field (SDOF).

Current human-computer interface design is dominated by the graphical user interface approach, where users interact with graphical abstractions of virtual interface devices through a few general-purpose input "peripherals." The thesis develops models and mechanisms for "tangible user interfaces" -- user interfaces which use physical objects, instruments, surfaces, and spaces as physical interfaces to digital information. Prototype applications on three platforms -- the metaDESK, transBOARD, and ambientROOM -- are introduced as examples of this approach. These instances are used to generalize the "GUI widgetry," "optical," and "containers and conduits" interface metaphors. The thesis also develops engineering mechanisms called proxy-distributed or "proxdist" computation, which provide a layered approach for integrating physical objects with diverse sensing, display, communication, and computation capabilities into coherent interface implementations. The combined research provides a vehi...