Human Computer Interface The Computer

The Computer : Overview

This section considers the computer system, which is made up of various elements. Each of these elements affects the interaction in different ways Input devices - text entry and pointing Output devices - screen, audio Paper input and output Memory - RAM, permanent storage media Processing - speed of processing, networks

Introduction
The computer is the participant in the interaction that runs the program General phrase, encompassing many interactive devices - light switches, cars, etc We shall consider mainly the electronic computer There are two fundamentally different forms of interaction Batch - usually when large quantities of data have to be read into the machine; Requires little user intervention Interactive - when the user controls things all the time Concentrate on interactive use

A Typical Computer System

Screen, or monitor, on which there are Windows - separate areas that behave independently Keyboard Mouse These devices dictate the styles of interaction that the system supports If we use different devices, then the interface will support a different style of interaction

Text Entry Devices: Keyboards

Keypress closes connection, causing a character code to be sent Usually connected by an umbilical cord Allows rapid entry of text by experienced users QWERTY arrangement not optimal for typing layout Due to typewriters Other keyboard designs allow faster typing but large social base of QWERTY typists produces reluctance to change Differences between US and UK layouts

Other Keyboards
Dvorak Common letters under dominant fingers Biased towards right hand Common combinations of letters alternate between hands 10-15% improvement in speed and reduction in fatigue But - large social base of QWERTY typists produce market pressures not to change

Other Keyboards

DVORAK is better than QWERTY

In typical English, 70% of letters occur in the home row in Dvorak, compared to 31% in QWERTY. Finger travel distance is one eighth (1/8) to one twentieth (1/20) for Dvorak than for QWERTY. Reaches across rows occur one fifth of the time on Dvorak than on QWERTY. The error rate for Dvorak is half that for Dvorak Cost recovery of retraining As little as ten days due to increased productivity Time to achieve 40 words per minute typing speed: 18 for Dvorak, 56 for QWERTY

Other Keyboards
Chord keyboards
Only a few keys - four or 5 Letters typed as combination of keypresses Compact size - ideal for portable applications Short learning time - keypresses reflect shape of desired letter Fast But Social resistance,plus fatigue after extended use

Other Keyboards
Maltron (www.maltron.com) Ergonomic

Mouth

Hot new interface tech

Lightkey virtual keyboard

by iBIZ Technology corp.

Concept originally invented for the Israeli Airforce for use in jet fighter cockpits, didnt prove useful.

Pre-orders ~$99USD .. available in September 04 Size of a (chunky) cigarette lighter Bluetooth or cable connect to PDA etc. Cell phone version at end of 2004 No HAPTIC feedback Poor performance in direct sunlight Does NOT support touch typing Audio feedback with each key press

Other Text Entry Devices

Handwriting recognition
Handwritten text can be input into the computer, using a pen and a digitising tablet
Common form of interaction

Problems in
Capturing all useful information - stroke path, pressure, etc. In a natural manner Segmenting joined up writing into individual letters Interpreting individual letters Coping with different styles of handwriting

Handheld organisers being released now that incorporate handwriting recognition technology and do away with a bulky keyboard

Other Text Entry Devices

Handwriting recognition
Handwritten text can be input into the computer, using a pen and a digitising tablet
Common form of interaction

Problems in
Capturing all useful information - stroke path, pressure, etc. In a natural manner Segmenting joined up writing into individual letters Interpreting individual letters Coping with different styles of handwriting

Handheld organisers and tablet-PCs incorporate handwriting recognition technology (eg: graffiti) and do away with keyboard

Other Text Entry Devices

Speech recognition Promising, but only successful in limited situations -single user, limited vocabulary systems Problems with
External noise interfering Imprecision of pronunciation Accents etc

Positioning and Pointing Devices

Mouse Handheld pointing device
very common easy to use

Two characteristics
planar movement buttons (usually from 1 to 3 buttons on top, used for making a selection, indicating an option, or to initiate drawing etc.)

Mouse
Movement of mouse, moves screen cursor Located on desktop Requires physical space Relative movement only is detectable Screen cursor oriented in (x, y) plane; mouse movement in (x, z) plane. So it is an indirect manipulation device Can lead to hand-eye coordination problems due to indirectness of manipulation Device itself doesnt obscure screen, is accurate and fast Some users find it very difficult e.g. arthritis sufferers

How Does It Work?

Two methods for detecting motion Mechanical Optical Wireless mouse involves a lot less strain on the user

Other Positioning Devices

Joystick Indirect device Takes up very little space Controlled by either
movement (absolute joystick) - position of joystick corresponds to position of cursor pressure (isometric or velocity-controlled joystick) -pressure on stick corresponds to velocity of cursor Usually provided with buttons (either on top or on front like a trigger) for selection

Does not obscure screen Inexpensive (often used for computer games, also because they are more familiar to users)

Other Positioning Devices

Trackball Bit like an upside-down mouse. Ball is rotated inside static housing, relative motion moves cursor Indirect device, fairly accurate. Requires buttons for picking. Size and feel of trackball itself important Requires little space, becoming popular for portable and notebook computers

Other Positioning Devices

Touch-sensitive screen (touch screens) Detect the presence of finger or stylus on the screen Work by interrupting matrix of light beams or by capacitance changes or ultrasonic reflections Direct pointing devices

Other Positioning Devices

Touch-sensitive screen (touch screens)
Advantages:
Fast, and require no specialised pointer Good for menu selection Suitable for use in hostile environment: clean and safe from damage

Disadvantages
Finger can mark screen Imprecise (finger is a fairly blunt instrument!) Difficult to select small regions or perform accurate drawing Lifting arm can be tiring Can make screen too close for easy viewing

Other Positioning Devices

Light pen Digitising Tablet Cursor keys Thumb wheels Keymouse Dataglove Eyegaze

Revolution - the new Nintendo controller

Resembling a television remote, the unorthodox device uses a sensor to track movement: players can wave it around like a sword. Described as a "movement capture device", it can detect up, down, left, right, forward and backward movements. In a promotional video, the wireless controller is used to mimic tennis racquets, musical batons, chopping knives, drumsticks, baseball bats, fishing rods, torches and guns. Sony has already shown there is a big market for alternative control methods with its EyeToy digital camera games that track a player's body movements. More than seven million EyeToy games have sold since 2003. Designer Shigeru Miyamoto says: "Sitting in front of your monitor with a controller, there's nowhere to go from that paradigm - all you can do is make it prettier and faster. We're going to create a lot of interesting new and creative gaming experiences. We're really focused on creating a home console everyone in the family can enjoy."

Output Devices
One predominant - the computer screen CRTs, LCD and plasma technologies in use cheap, fast enough for rapid animation, high colour capability. Increased resolution means higher prices

Concerns with CRTs

Flicker, poor legibility and low contrast can also cause eyestrain and fatigue Emissions of radiation: Hints, advantageous to your health: Do not sit too close to the screen Do not use very small fonts Do not look at the screen for long periods without a break Do not place the screen directly in front of a bright window Work in well-lit surroundings

Liquid Crystal Displays

Smaller, lighter, with no radiation problems Found on Portables Notebooks Starting to appear more and more on desktops LCD requires refreshing at usual rates, but slow response of crystal means flicker not usually noticeable

Alternative Output Devices

Visual Analogue representations: dials, gauges, lights, etc Head-up displays - found in aircraft cockpits and Singapore army weapons systems !!! Printers and plotters Auditory Beeps, bongs, clonks, whistles and whirrs Used for error indications and confirmation of actions e.g. keyclick Speech: not a fully exploited area. Often used by visually impaired

Other input devices

Scanners
Can work in colour: shine light at paper and note intensity of reflection Resolutions from 100-300 dpi, but available up to 1500 dpi Used in Desktop publishing for incorporating photographs and other images Used in document storage and retrieval systems, doing away with paper storage

Other input devices

Optical character recognition (OCR)
converts bitmap back into text Different fonts create problems for simple template matching algorithms More complex systems segment text, decompose it into lines and arcs, and decipher characters that way

Limits on Interactive Performance

Computation bottleneck if processor inadequate for tasks, causing frustration for the user Storage channel bottleneck moving data from disk to memory Graphics bottleneck: updating display requires a lot of processing power Sometimes helped by adding a graphics coprocessor optimised to take on the burden Network capacity Many computers networked - shared resources and files, access to printers etc. - but interactive performance can be reduced by slow network speed