The thesis examines user interfaces in terms of the of the flow of evidence. The interface is considered as a tool with which users -- in an ongoing, negotiated interaction -- manipulate the beliefs of systems about their intentions. They do this by providing relevant evidence, while the system informs the user as to the effect of evidence upon its beliefs.
The construction of the systems which mediate this flow is considered. Predictive displays with appropriate representation of uncertainty are discussed, especially the sonification of changing beliefs. Techniques for bringing long-term inference into tight control loops (and a resulting text entry system) are given, and a new model for continuous, probabilistic selection interfaces is outlined. Full Abstract
The bibtex file which holds every reference used in the thesis is available here . The references are in the format AbcDefGhiXX, using the first three letters of (up to) the first three author surnames and then the two-digit year. For example, Sheridan and Ferrell 1974 becomes SheFer74.
Granular Synthesis and Predictive Displays (Ch. III and IV)
Video of the mixtures of Gaussians demo. Each labeled target has
an associated waveform, and a Gaussian density around its center. As the cursor
moves, the timbre smoothly changes. NB: There are some audio glitches due to
the screen capturer losing sync. WMV
Video of the trajectory following demo. The user creates a path, then
follows it. Staying on the path, music is timestretched so that the phase
is proportional to the arc-length. Leaving the path, background audio is heard. WMV
Ball-bearing and GPS navigation video, using Monte Carlo sampling to
predict possible future actions. (visualisation only). WMV
The sound generated by the GSLib example code (in Appendix A), showing
slowly changing timbre and pitch distributions. WAV
Hex (Ch. V)
A video of Hex running on a desktop machine with Monte Carlo prediction enabled. WMV
Hex running on a PocketPC with accelerometer input. AVI
Active selection video for Brownian motion targets. Each individual target moves
on a smooth, independent course. The user's mouse actions are applied equally to the trailing
targets. Correlating motion results in selection. WMV
Active selection with the `eggheads' metaphor. A number of `heads' experience orientation disturbances. Input motion is applied to all heads equally. By cancelling the disturbance, selection is achieved. WMV
Continuous field selection. Selection is performed by holding the desired area of the red curve close to the blue "zero" line. The row of dots at the top give the log probability for that area -- lower indicates higher probability. WMV
Some selected demos are available for download. These demos
should not require significant setting up, and should run on most Windows machines. Their
purpose and effects are described in more detail in the relevant chapters of the thesis.
Granular synthesis mixture of Gaussians demo. (Ch. III) Instructions: Run granular.exe, with audio enabled. Move the mouse
around to hear the changing textures. ZIP
Granular synthesis trajectory demo. (Ch. III) Instructions: Run tracepath_thesis.exe. Define a path by left-clicking
a number of vertices. Press SPACE when done. Move the mouse along the
trajectory, and the music should follow. If you move off, you will have to restart
from the beginning of the trajectory. ZIP
Monte Carlo ball bearing demo. (warning, may be unstable on some machines). (Ch. IV) Instructions: Start the demo with demo.bat. Use the mouse to change the tilt
angle of the surface. ZIP
Campus exploration demo, with Monte Carlo prediction. (Ch. IV) Instructions: Run demo.bat. Use mouse to change heading and prediction horizon. Cursor up and
down move forward and backwards. Press 's' to toggle the shadow map. Press 'b' to toggle bike mode.
ZIP
Hex (mouse only version). (Ch. V) Instructions: Run hex.exe. Use the mouse to control cursor velocity. Left mouse button
autocompletes. ZIP
Active selection (Brownian motion). (Ch. VI) Instructions: Run pctmodel.exe. Use the mouse to move the white targets. All targets will move simultaneously. To select an object, hold the white targetting circle over the the associated yellow target. The object will highlight and eventually will be selected.
ZIP
Active selection with orientation disturbances (Eggheads). (Ch. VI) Instructions: Run pctorient.exe. Select an agent
by counteracting its natural motion; try and make the head face "forward". The head will
light up blue when selection is achieved. ZIP