Design for Intuitive Use

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DESIGN FOR INTUITIVE USE

MMM 130

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ADAMAMARSH

0404304

April 2008


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The author would like to thank Dr. R M Setchifor her continued support, discussion andideas throughout the duration of this projectand Dr. C Charron for his assistance in the

Blue Room.


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I hereby declare:

That except where reference has clearly been made to work by others,

all the work presented in this report is my own work;

That it has not previously been submitted for assessment; and

That I have not knowingly allowed any of it to be copied by another

student.

I understand that deceiving or attempting to deceive examiners by passing off

the work of another as my own in plagiarism. I also understand that

plagiarising the work of another or knowingly allowing another student to

plagiarise from my work is against the University regulations and that doing so

will result in loss of marks and possible disciplinary proceedings against me.

Signed

Date


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ABSTRACT

This project explores the field of intuitive design. Existing ideas are researched

and built upon to discover if mobile phones are currently viewed as intuitive to

use and if there is a trend between this factor and the success of a product,

comparing Nokia and Sony Ericsson. An experiment was carried out to

determine which areas of a mobile phone facia are commonly viewed to be

used for specific tasks and to investigate what image schema are used to carry

out generic interaction tasks with a hand held device.

It was found that the Nokia interface scheme is currently viewed as being very

intuitive to use, being given a score of 4.7/5 and that their system of interface

design has shaped the consumers expectations of interaction with a mobile

phone. It is shown that the nearer the top of the keypad a key is positioned,

the more important, or regularly used it should be. The most common image

schemas indicated by participants for interaction were vertical and depth

schemas.

It has been decided the following statement should be the definition for

intuitive design:

Intuitive design is the seamless alignment of cognitive expectation with

interface actuality.

New technologies are changing the function of the mobile phone, but this studysuggests that these extra functions appear to be confusing to use on such a

small device. New techniques may need to be investigated to keep the mobile

phone a light, portable product that remains intuitive to use.


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CONTENTS

List of figures 3

1. Introduction 4

1.1 Motivation 4

1.2 Perspectives 5

1.3 Aims and Objectives 7

1.4 Outline 7

2. Existing Approaches 8

2.1 Defining Intuitive Interaction 8

2.2 Understanding Intuitive Interaction 10

2.3 Principles of Intuitive Interaction 11

2.4 Tools for Design 13

3. Cognitive ergonomics 15

3.1 Image Schema 15

3.2 Gestalt Laws 18

4. Market Trends in the Mobile Phone Industry 19

5. Questionnaire 21

6. Experimental Procedure and Hypothesis 24

6.1 Visual Test 24

6.2 Image Schema Test 27


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7. Results 30

7.1 Questionnaire 30

7.2 Visual Test 31

7.3 Image Schema Test 31

8. Discussion 32

8.1 Questionnaire 32

8.2 Experiment 35

8.2.1 Visual Test 35

8.2.2 Image Schema Test 44

9. Conclusions 48

9.1 Experimental Conclusions 48

9.2 Intuitive Designs in the Future 50

References and Bibliography 53

Appendix A Questionnaire i

Appendix B Results iii

Appendix C - Ethical Approval Form xv

Appendix D - Immersion CyberGlove xviii

Appendix E - Setup of the CyberGlove into Alias MoCap6 xix

Appendix F - Importing Data into Microsoft Excel xxi

Appendix G - The Analysis Code, Matlab xxiv

Appendix H Record of Project Meetings xxix


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1.INTRODUCTION

1.1 Motivation

The term intuitive is referred to regularly in design, technical fields and by users

of products that require cognitive interaction. It has become what many call a

buzz word, clouding its meaning to all. Little work has been carried out to

determine what makes a design intuitive to use. The Oxford English Dictionary

(1983) has the following definition:

Intuition n. the power of knowing or understanding something immediatelywithout reasoning or being taught.

Therefore, a product can be intuitive if its function is clear and the methods

needed to implement its functions take little or no cognitive thought power. It is

apparent then, that to have an intuitively designed product would be a very

powerful competitor in a market. A mobile phone, for example, that responded

to the owners actions in the desired manner every time would not need an

instruction manual, would be quick to use and would allow the customer to use

the phone as the powerful tool they are increasingly developing to be.

The website industry is perhaps the largest investor in research into intuitive

design. A client wants their website to be clear and easy to use for all who arrive

on their homepage, so that the desired information can be found.

Computers are used to control processes in areas that are unsafe for humankind

to enter, for example nuclear power stations. Such sectors can have catastrophic

disasters if the process becomes unstable, Chernobyl, for example (E. Stang,

1996). When an emergency becomes apparent, it is desirable for the control

engineers to use their cognitive power on determining the required actions to


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avoid disaster, rather than on how to implement these decisions by way of the

control panel. In the case of Chernobyl, the control engineers were not aware of

the situation, as the control panel failed to indicate the dangerous conditions

developing in the reactor core.

Cardiff University MEC research teams (www.mec.cf.ac.uk) have recently

developed a Tangible Acoustic Interface for Computer-Human Interaction (TAI-

CHI). This research has made a possibility of creating an interface out of any

surface by measuring the change in acoustics of a body. This opens up a huge

new field for inventiveness in interaction with many devices in the future. Makingthese interfaces intuitive to use should be a key area of development, as the

movements that can be measured are possibly endless in both action and

subtlety.

Intuition, or to be intuitive, is a very difficult concept to define. The idea stands

strong as being something that is subconsciously effortless to use, but achieving

a definition requires a particularity fastidious approach. Unfortunately, in onlyfive months, it would be impossible to investigate and define all the factors that

lead to this ideal. A specific perspective, narrowing this project to explore just a

few factors, has to be taken to ensure that design for intuitive use is explored to

the depth it requires.

1.2 Perspectives

Possible perspectives are of the consumer (what aspects of existing products are

currently intuitive to the consumer), the designer (what current trends exist for

products that are intuitively designed and why), reaction control (how it is

possible to force a desired result by making that specific path the easiest to


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follow) or the product (how successfully do products that are, by current

standards, the most intuitive to use, compete on the market).

As intuition is not a physical or tangible variable, experimental procedures and

technologies from many fields, psychology, science and ergonomics may have to

be combined to implement a suitable study.

In J. Swellers description of the Cognitive Load Theory (1994), he explains that

learning best happens under conditions that are aligned with human cognitive

architecture. It has been argued and backed up by experimentation by many

psychologists that the use of images proves to be a very powerful process of

teaching, and it is safe to say that the majority of interfaces rely heavily on

vision. This seems to suggest that images are aligned with human cognitive

architecture. Therefore, the idea that the subconscious creates images to work

out complex problems, or to describe an idea to another body seems viable.

Working a device is similar and to determine what images are created in the sub

conscious, and from what experiences they are rooted, could result in a very

powerful tool if these images are represented as closely as possible in a

developing interface.

Such a study would be never ending as each individual would have had different

experiences, and hence a different level of intuition. This is not to suggest that it

is impossible to define a set of parameters which would be intuitive to all, but

perhaps that this level of intuition would be too basic to be implemented solely

into an interface without some level of learning required for a completely

effortless interaction. Patterns of intuition may be exposed between generations

and cultures from which the participants came, possibly resulting with a number

of salient directions of intuition. To intuitively design a product for just one of

these sub-cases may prove to be far easier and successful.


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1.3 Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of this project were to;

1.4 Outline

Objective 1 has been carried out in this chapter and future significance is

discussed later in chapter 9. Chapters 2 and 3 investigate current ideas of

intuition and factors leading to intuitive products whilst chapter 4 looks atprevious market trends. A questionnaire, chapter 5, was used to search for a

relationship between intuitive design and success of a product as part of the

experiment which is explained in chapters 6 and 7. The results are analysed in

chapter 8 and discussed in chapter 9 where a definition for intuitive design has

been stated and areas of future research are suggested.


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2.EXISTINGAPPROACHES

2.1 DEFINING INTUITIVE INTERACTION

Through reviewing literature, Blackler (2002-2007) gave intuitive use the

following definition:

Through literature, interviews and workshops the Intuitive Use of User Interfaces

research group (IUUI, 2005) defined an intuitive interaction with the following

statement;

J. Raskin (1994) believes that all intuition is derived from past experiences and

knowledge.

It is also stated that intuition is learnt over time through use of technologies, so

that intuition as the dictionary defines, cannot exist in a designed interface.

Instead, an interface that can be easily learnt has the appearance of being

intuitive. Therefore, intuition is something acquired by people whilst using

technology, rather than a standard of technology with which interaction is

effortless.


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2.2 UNDERSTANDING INTUITIVE INTERACTION

Hurtienne (2005) describes how prior knowledge, knowledge acquired before

interaction with the new product, will come from a variety of sources. Hurtienne

classifies these sources into innate knowledge, embodied interaction, culture and

expertise. It is explained how specialist knowledge of tools and technologies can

exist over the last three levels (Figure 2.1).

Hurtienne acknowledges that the higher up the continuum, the smaller the

potential number of users possessing this knowledge, but also that the lower

level knowledge is used more frequently. These are the levels that are more


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likely to be applied unconsciously and therefore intuitively. During high mental

workload and stress, a fallback on lower stages of the continuum will occur and

further, that a more intuitive interface, using these stages, will use less cognitive

processing power.

2.3 PRINCIP LES OF INTUITIVE INTERACTION

Blackler (2005) states that there are three principles to work with to create an

intuitive interface;

1. Make functions, locations and appearances familiar for features that arealready known.

2. Make obvious how to use less well-known features by using similar thingsto demonstrate their function, appearance and location.

3. Increase consistency of function, appearance and location within theinterface.

These principles lead to Blacklers Continuum of Intuitive Interaction, shown in

Figure 2.2. Each principle is linked to a set of terms. Principle 1 is compared to

influencing the interface with body reflectors, population stereotypes and

features from existing products in the same domain. Principle 2 relates to familiar

feature from other domains and metaphors, for example Microsoft Windows.

Principle 3 is drawn outside the continuum as the decision to influence the

interface by this principle draws upon the terms used for the previous principles

and is applied to the entire design.


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Similarly to Blackler, Hurtienne devised a number of principles through which to

design an intuitive interface (figure 2.3).

There are strong similarities between Blackler and Hurtienne here. Affordances

and consistency exist in both, with the same definition. Blackler has more

principles related to previous experiences whilst Hurtiennes principles are all

related to the interface.


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2.4 TOOLS FORDESIGN

To aid designers in applying intuitive use to interfaces, Blackler developed a

conceptual tool (Figure 2.4). The designer is required to first investigate who the

target user is and to determine what technologies and interfaces these people

are familiar with. These are then related to the product-to-be and the designer

can pass down the spiral applying each field to the design, gradually making the

final product a more intuitive design. In theory, a design which only requires the

top few levels will be more intuitive to use than one which requires influences

from the lower levels. However, the more recent the technology, the further

down the spiral one would have to go as there are less previous experiences to

work from.


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It is important to note that each level of the tool has three spirals. The spirals

represent function, appearance and location as shown in figure2.5. This order

should be followed as the importance is such that function precedes appearance,

which in turn, precedes location in accordance with previous work (Blackler,

2005)

The IUUI have produced a questionnaire to evaluate intuitive interaction of a

product, measuring four factors; perceived effortlessness, error rate,

achievement of goals and effort of learning. A product with a high perceived

effortlessness and achievement of goals would be classed as more intuitive than

one with a high error rate and effort of learning as the latter factors break the

definitions for intuitive use.


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3.COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS

3.1 IMAGE SCHEMA

Image Schema or Schemata in the plural sense, is a term used by psychologists

to explain the functioning of the brain when receiving information. There are

disputed uses of the term schema, especially among psychologists, resulting in

vague definitions.

This description on image schemata aims to explain how this cognitive function

can be viewed from a non-psychologists perspective and ultimately from an

engineering or design perspective.

Mark Johnson was one of the first to define the idea of image schemata. He

argues that;

Human bodily movement, manipulation of objects and perceptual

interactions involve recurring patterns without which our experience would be

chaotic and incomprehensible.(Mark Johnson, The Body In The Mind, 1987)

He later describes image schema as;

a dynamic pattern which functions somewhat like the abstract structure

of an image and thereby connects up a vast range of different experiences that

manifest this same recurring structure.

An image schema is a mental pattern that recurrently provides a structured

understanding of various experiences. They can be used physically, describing

objects or actions, or metaphorically as a source domain to provide an

understanding of other experiences. For example, a force schema of gravity or

wind would be physically applying the schema whist love or justice would be

applying the schema metaphorically.


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There are many schemata used by the brain in this way. Johnson noted a partial

list of schemata consisting of twenty seven individual schemata, a small number

of which are described in figure 3.1below.

It is important to note that the term image in image schema is not an image

that can be drawn or be shaped in a three dimensional world. An image schema

does not have the rigidity or specific-ness of a picture or structure, but consists

of parts that can be flexed and sculpted into an infinite number of ways,sometimes interacting with other image schema, to align with perceptions,

visions and events.

In conjunction with Blacklers principles of interaction; to make functions,

locations and appearances familiar for features that are already knownAristotle,


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explaining why we need memory, pointed out that Without a presentation,

intellectual activity is impossible. (Arnheim, 1969)

It would appear that to teach a mind how to use something, it is the information

presented to it that will determine its success. Going further, the success of this

information resulting in the correct cognitive response lies in the similarity of the

image schema formed whilst receiving information and the image schema used

to implement interaction. Image schemata are flexible structures for the mental

organisation of experiences and comprehension.


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3.2 GESTALT LAWS

Hurtienne applied the gestalt laws as one of his principles and Johnson argues

that gestalt laws apply to his schema. Gestalt is a German word meaning

configuration or pattern. Its psychology aims to explore the brain processes

involved with the organisation of perception with an approach focusing on the

idea of the mind grouping elements to perceive objects. Generally there are five

laws from which others stem, shown in figure 3.2.

The Gestalt laws can be applied to the design of the device with respect to

cognitive ergonomics. It is assumed that buttons, for example, that are arranged

to cause grouping by a single law, will be perceived having very similar levels of

function, for example the number pads on a phone facia.


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4.MARKET TRENDS IN THE MOBILE PHONE INDUSTRY

The mobile car phone emerged 25 years ago in 1982 and by 1987, the first

handheld mobile phones had emerged with the number of worldwide subscribers

(phones connected to an in-use number) reaching one million. Sales of mobile

phones have experienced an exponential growth up to current date, (figure4.1),

whilst network capabilities and services are constantly innovating and improving.

In 2007, one billion new handsets were sold worldwide (Hazel Gidleyr), bringing

the worldwide subscriptions total to three billion, almost half the worlds

estimated population of a little over six billion (U.S. Census Bureau). Figure 4.2

indicates that the UK, with a current population of 61 million in 2007 has 70

million subscribers!

In the third quarter of 2007, Nokia distributed over two and half times as many

mobile phones worldwide than its closest competitor, Samsung, shown in figure

4.3, and has held the top spot since 1998.


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We are now in the third generation (3G) of network technology. The 1G network

worked with an analogue system, only sending and receiving voice calls. The

1990s spawned the digital 2G with the ability to send text messages and

remains the most used mobile technology by the consumer.

The UK introduced 3G in 2003. 3G systems are designed to process data,

offering high data transmission rates and increased capacity, making them

suitable for high-speed data applications. Voice signals are converted into digital

packets, resulting in speech being dealt with in much the same way as any

other form of data. 20% of UK mobile phone users are using 3G, but worldwide

this figure drops to 6.7%.

Currently, some companies have started development of the 4G communication

system. With a mixture of 3G and wireless technology, a high uplink rate of

200Mbps can be achieved. So much data will be able to be transferred in the

mobile phone that a 4G mobile can have many more functions, such as operating

a television and other home and office electronics.


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5.QUESTIONNAIRE

To gain a view of what the sample population were using their mobiles phones

for and what phones they have used, the questionnaire (Appendix A), was

distributed by e-mail. The answers were stored in an Excel spread sheet to be

analysed.

HYPOTHESIS

The current style of phone sales from a high street network store often offers a

free mobile phone handset when a 12 or 18 month pay monthly tariff is

purchased. After this time, a new tariff is sold, resulting in a new handset. This

market trend will undoubtedly result in the vast majority of participants to have

owned their phone for a short period of time, having a positive correlation to the

number of phones that have been used in the past.

This style of selling results in the user making their way through a high number

of phones in a relatively short period of time, potentially learning a new interface

every year or so. The user may, to make things easier, repeatedly choose the

same phone manufacturer to replace the old handset. New technologies,

appearances and styles are most probably the main factors that would cause the

user to choose a new phone manufacturer. Users may have the ability to be in

contact with the new handsets from peers, so when time comes to choose a new

handset, the buyer may have already done their market research and already

made their decision for a new phone before walking into the store. The factors

discussed here will become apparent, or disproved by the correlations between

the handset currently used and those that have been used before.

Remaining at heart, a telephone, it is hypothesised that calls will rank the highest

score for use of the mobile phone. With the success of the text message after


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Figure 5.2 Samsung SCH-V770(www.cellphones.techfresh.net)

the advent of 2G network capabilities, text messaging

will score highly also. Sony Ericsson created a range

Walkman mobile phones, with their MP3 capabilities

being advertised heavily (figure 5.1). This technology

comes almost as standard for most modern phones, but

these are still early days to faze out specific, proven,

large memory MP3 players. Due to advertising, those

that own Sony Ericsson handsets are more likely to

have a high MP3 score than other phones.

The digital camera function has hit a broader niche. A mobile phone is carried on

ones person almost 24/7, including times when one would not want to take an

expensive digital camera. These times do not

require excellent resolution or swift transfer rates,

making the camera phone (figure 5.2) an excellent

extra feature. Use of this will only increase as

miniaturisation of good camera technologies leak

their way into mobile phones. It is believed that

the camera will score highly as a use for the

mobile phone.

It is not expected that internet and e-mail will have high scores as these are still

relatively new technologies for the mobile phone and most people will have a

computer linked to far faster internet at home. Those with rapid moving business

lives would be more likely to utilise the on-the-go internet and e-mail services.

Games also, are expected to score low, simply because the youthful users, less

than 17 years of age, have not been included in this survey due to ethical

reasons.


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The awareness and ability sections of the questionnaire will unveil how confident

users feel about their current phone. Phones with a high awareness score may

have an open feel to their interface, where most of these features will be on

display at the same time, increasing awareness (figure 5.3). A high score will

naturally appear if the user actually uses all

the features of their phone. In theory, the

ability score should not exceed the awareness

score, as awareness must be present before

one can have the ability to use a feature.

There may however be some confusion here

and perhaps pride also, where the user may

rank their ability to use all the features they

regularly use. The ease of learning ones

current phone is a direct score for specific

manufacturers and will be analysed as such. If the hypothesis of most phones

being owned for 1 or under years is true, then this question holds a great

significance as the early learning stages may still be fresh in the users mind.


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6.EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES AND HYPOTHESIS

Before the experiment began, the following consent form was asked to be filled

in by the participant. The experiment was only carried out with those who had

given their written permission.

6.1 VISUAL TEST

The experiment consisted of two parts. The first part involved a visual test with

two schematics of simplified button configurations; one based on the Nokia

system (figure 6.2) and the other, based on the Sony Ericsson system (figure

6.3), which also holds similarities to the Motorola, Samsung and iPod systems.

The test was videoed with a digital camera for analysis.


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The aim of this part of the experiment was do determine what keys, or areas ofthe mobile phone facia were most commonly viewed to be used for specific tasks

and to investigate if there were any consistencies with the methods required for

existing phones and these schematics. The schematics were considerably larger

than life size, printed on A4 paper. Participants were informed about the scene in

front of them;

You have in front of you a simple schematic of a phone facia. The visuals, keynotation and screen interface are entirely that of your choice. You are currently

at your home screen with a locked keypad.

The participants were asked to carry out the following tasks, on each

configuration one at a time, using the schematics in any way they saw fit.


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The results from this task were used to determine any consistency in the areas

used for locking and unlocking the keypad, menu, select, back, number keys,

delete and scroll down, scroll up, call and hang up.

HYPOTHESIS

It is hypothesised that there should be no problems with the typing of numbers

due to the repeated constant standards of these keys being placed at the base of

the keypad with the ordering of 1 top left and 9 bottom right with *, 0 and #

along the bottom row.

The Nokia schematic may cause more inconsistencies than the Sony Ericsson

schematic as the only variable in the former is position, with identically sized and

shaped keys, thus removing most of the Gestalt laws. The results from this test

may therefore indicate broad similarities in desired positions of keys only.

Having the round shape in the top central position of the Sony Ericsson

schematic bares a far closer resemblance to the items from which this schematic

has been derived, and may cause initial recollection of past experiences with

such items. If this is the case, it would be expected that each test on this

schematic will result in similar patterns of interaction.


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6.2 IMAGE SCHEMA TEST

The second sections to the experiment aimed to explore what image schema

were created in the mind when asked to carry out typical tasks that occur on

mobile phones. Movement of the thumb was recorded using an Immersion

CyberGlove, figure 6.4, details of which are cited in Appendix C. As the mobile

phone handset is typically used mainly with the thumb, the analytical programme

was written to track this motion. Matlab was used to carry out this task, and the

written code can be found in Appendix G. The full process of handling the raw

data and calibration of the CyberGlove are found in Appendix F.

This test was carried out using the left hand to reduce the effects of muscle

memory for right handed people, in theory leading the participant to think a little

deeper about what they want to do. The participant was asked to make the

thumbs up gesture, as shown in figure 6.5. This was done to restrict the

movement of the other fingers achieving as much motion as possible solely by

the thumb. The participants were then informed that they had the ability to

control a hand held device simply by the movement of their thumb. Beingimaginary, whatever motion was made, the desired interaction would take place.

At the end of the experiment, the dimensions of the participants thumb was

measured using a rule to be input into the Matlab programme (Appendix G).


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Three tasks were asked to be carried out;

Care had to be taken not to reduce the scope of imagination from the participant

by asking for example, scroll downa list. This would have naturally forced list

and an image schemata relating to down to be created in the mind of the

participant, rendering the experiment useless.


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HYPOTHESIS

It is believed that this section of the experiment will show that mobile phones

have greatly influenced our perception of what is possible in terms of interaction

with a hand held device. Having been carried out after the mobile phone facia

test, these interactions will be fresh in the participants minds, possibly causing

the results from this latter part to follow a very similar pattern. The input of a

number will no doubt result in many responses of key pressing on an imaginary

keypad, as this is the way all mobile telephones operate.

It is believed that the majority of participants will refer to touching a surface.

With the positioning of the hand, this surface will no doubt be their first finger.

It is hypothesised that interaction with a device must use more than one image

schema because the ability to interact with a man made object will not be an

innate ability, but instead may be a complex thought process involving many

links to past experiences to make this interaction take place. The tasks shape a

primary image schema; list, increase or decrease; and it is what secondary,

tertiary or further image schemas are used in partnership that is being

investigated. It is believed that the scale image schema will be used with another

directional schema. The directions in which the participants move their thumb

may be shaped however, by the physical affordances that have occurred in past

experiences.

For passing through a list, it is hypothesised that the list image schema will be

paired with the vertical schema, passing down and up a list. Increasing and

decreasing a value may well result in the same motion as the list, because to

increase is typically synonymous with upwards, and visa versa.


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7.RESULTS

7.1 QUESTIONNAIRE

The resultant charts from the questionnaire can be viewed in appendix B.1.

A total of 46 completed questionnaires were returned and analysed. Only one of

these participants did not own a mobile phone. The average age was 28 years

and on average, each user had owned 5.5 phones in their time.

Text messaging had 33% of the score for use of the mobile phone (figure B.1.5),

and calls had 32%. The final third was split between all other uses displayed in

the questionnaire.

Nokia dominated the past market share with 49% (figure B.1.6). Sony Ericsson

and Motorola shared the runner up spot, holding 15% of past sales. However, of

currently owned phones (figure B.1.7), Nokia and Sony Ericsson share the top

spot with 32% each and Samsung took the third spot with 16% as Motorola

dropped to fourth with 12%.

Participants gave themselves average scores of 3.4, 3.2 and 3.6 of a possible 5

(figure B.1.8), for phone awareness, ability to use all features and ease of

learning current phone respectively.


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7.2 VISUAL TEST

The results from the visual test have been displayed in appendix B.2

There were a total of 8 participants in this section of the experiment. All

participants carried out the tasks on both schematics, the Nokia schematic first,

followed by the Sony Ericsson schematic.

The Nokia schematic had a 50% success for the correct interaction being carried

out for the respective task. The Sony Ericsson scheme achieved 61%.

7.3 IMAGE SCHEMATEST

The resultant vector graphs from the image schema test have been displayed in

appendix B.3

A total of 7 participants completed this section of the experiment, apart from test

C, which 6 participants completed as one result was not recorded properly. The

majority of movement occurred in the vertical, Z axis and most participants made

actions representing the pressing of a button for their choice of interaction. Of

the 7 participants, 5 were right handed and using their weaker hand to interact.


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8 D ISCUSSION

8.1 QUESTIONNAIRE

Persons less than 24 years of age accounted for 74% of the completed

questionnaires, indicating that the results will show the trends that exist for a

small sample of the future independent generation. The vast majority of these

results are the perceptions of students in this age range. This generation has

grown up surrounded by technology and the computer era from a relatively

young age. The student will have a high social use of their mobile phone, the

possibility of higher peer pressures to keep up to date with styles and

technology, a fair amount of free time, but less free cash flow and may be open

or naive to special marketing techniques targeting the student customer base.

The results gathered from older generations can be used as a slight comparison,

but no claim is made that the perceptions of these generations are properly

represented.

Almost 60% of those asked said they still used instruction manuals. This

question was asked before the mention of a mobile phone, so the results indicate

that either the user is not willing to trust their existing ability with technology, or

the majority of devices are still too complicated to use on first experience,

suggesting that there is much scope for improvement in the way technology

presents the way it should be interacted with.

Mobile phones have been used by those asked for an average of 6.8 years, with

an average of 5.5 phones being owned in this time. This positively correlates

with the result of 55% of the participants owning their current phone for less

than 1year and a total of 87% for fewer than 2 years. This result follows an

exponential decay profile, showing that future sales of mobile phones have the


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opportunity to continue to soar as they are currently doing so. If this influx of

new phones to the population continues, they will have an even greater effect on

shaping how one interacts with technology than this study will show.

Text messaging takes the top spot for mobile phone use with 33% of the total

scores, whilst calling takes a second third with 32% of the scores. As predicted,

the use of a phone as a camera scores highly amongst the remaining uses at

12%. MP3 capabilities score joint 4th with organisation at 7%, with Sony Ericsson

users donating 56% of the MP3 player score. Interestingly, games scored higher

than both internet access and e-mail which take only 4% of the scores between

them. This agrees with the hypothesis that this technology is still new and slow

in comparison to using a home computer. It also shows that access to the

internet is rarely so important to this sample population that it cannot wait until

one can find a better connection, for a fraction of the cost that it would from a

mobile device.

A staggering 49% of previously owned mobile phones have been manufactured

by Nokia. This Nokia flooding of the market must have had a great influence in

inspiring other manufacturers and setting the expectations of users on how to

interact with a mobile device. Sony Ericsson however tied Nokia with a fraction

under a third share of the current phones owned each. This means the visual

test section of the experiment is a comparison of the top two manufacturers for

this sample. All other manufactures have had a relatively constant share, with

Samsung, LG and 3 enjoying a slight increase of the share, whilst Motorola has

lost a little and Samsung has dropped to the ranks of Blackberry and Alcatec with

no current phones owned by this sample population.

These mobile phone owners gave themselves an average score of 3.4/5 (70%)

for phone feature awareness. This is a good score, but with the low use scores

for the newer features, this suggests that that a mobile phone is still essentially a


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speech and text communicator between individuals. Over half of the sample gave

themselves, perhaps modestly, a score of 4/5 for their ability to use the features

available. This suggests that phones are generally well mastered by the sample,

however, all five participants to give a score of 1 for this question was less than

24years of age, and all owned a Nokia mobile phone. It is not known which

phone was owned. The source of this could prove to be a very important factor

for future development. It may be a factor of Nokia simply having too many

features available on a mobile phone, or that these features are difficult to

manipulate with the classic interface that Nokia mastered during the 2G era.

Nokia did however score a remarkable 4.7/5 score for ease of learning the

current phone. If Nokia decide to alter the way their interface functions to

promote the use of the newer features, the interactions required for calling and

sending a text message should not change. Sony Ericsson had the only two 1/5

scores for ease of learning, but overall scored a second place average of 3.4/5.


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8.2 EXPERIMENT

Eight subjects took part in the experiment due to time restraints. On average,

the experiment took a total of 10 to 15 minutes for the participant to complete,

but as most of the participants were fellow students, finding suitable time off for

both parties proved to be the challenge. This small number of subjects and age

range makes it difficult to make any valid conclusions, so this section of the

dissertation has become a preliminary study and even a test of the success of

the experimental procedure. Computerisation of collection and analysis of results

would have made this task easier.

8.2.1VISUAL TEST

Figure 8.1to figure 8.13, excluding figure 8.7and figure 8.8are the authors

own work, produced using Microsoft PowerPoint.

Unlock;

Although there was no deviation by any participants between their interaction

process to lock and unlock a keypad, there appears to be many different ideas

for what these interactions should be. The Nokia system resulted in six different

interactions, whilst the Sony Ericsson had seven. It does however appear to be

the general consensus (81%) that locking and unlocking the keypad should

involve the pressing of two keys, typically at opposite ends of the keypad.

Neither top to bottom nor bottom to top comes out as dominant, with both

schemes producing a balance of almost 50% each way. The only other technique

involved a long hold of a single key, chosen once for the Nokia scheme and twice

for the Sony Ericsson. Using two keys gives more safety against accidental

unlocking of the keypad, perhaps why it is the favoured technique.

The bottom left of the keypad holds a significant influence in this task, being

used by 75% of participants for the Nokia scheme and 62.5% of participants for


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the Sony Ericsson scheme. The entire top row has been used for both schemes,

and in fact each interface interaction key has been used in the Sony Ericsson

system. Generally, each participant has tried to fit the system they have used for

the first scheme to the second, showing that perhaps this task is not greatly

affected by the configuration of keys, but instead any users preferred method is

simple and flexible enough to easily adapt to multiple keypads. The strong

correlation of use of the bottom section of the schemes paired with the looser

correlations for the top indicate that perhaps this is how each phone

manufacturer has tried to come close to an existing method to make learning

their interface easier.

Only a single participant used the correct method for locking or unlocking the

keypad for the Nokia scheme (figure 8.1), and only two for the Sony Ericsson

scheme (figure 8.2). This is surprisingly low for both, as from the results from

the questionnaire, Nokia have had a very large influence in the market, and Sony

Ericsson has been growing rapidly in recent years. It can clearly be seen how

Sony Ericsson have mirror mimicked the Nokia method.


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Menu;

The top left and top centres are clearly the preferred areas for the menu key.

The enclosed key in the Sony Ericsson scheme scored 75% of the participants

opinion, one of the two existing menu keys on a Sony Ericsson mobile phone

(figure 8.4). The top left is Nokias choice of menu key (figure 8.3), which 50%

of participants used, closely followed by the top central key.

As each participant has chosen an area at the top of the keypad and the right

hand side has not been used by any participant for either scheme, an added

importance has been to the top and the left hand side of the keypad. The menu

key is probably one of the most used on a phone keypad and acts as the first

port of call when carrying out almost any function on the phone, drawing

similarities to how Western text is written, starting at the top left, moving right

and down. This result could lead to the conclusion that the more important or

common the use of the key, the closer to the top it should be, and if there is no

obvious central location, to the left also.


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Select;

The results for the select key and the menu key are exactly the same, and it was

so for each participant. Nokia (figure 8.5) have used this system on their phones

and Sony Ericsson (figure 8.6) have made use of the enclosed central key for

both features, although they have changed the top key from top right to top left.

As it was Nokia who made their phones originally work as such, credit must be

given, as it is now simply expected by the user.

Using the lone key for both features saves time and effort for the user and

makes sense for the interface also. These top keys typically have no pre-

described function attached to them as they stand alone, but is allocated as

shown in figure 8.7, which shows a welcome screen on the left and the text

message Inbox folder on the right. These keys are referred to as soft keys as it

is the phone software that determines their use.


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Back;

Other than the general use of the top section of the keypad, no particular key

seems to indicate a strong correlation for the back function. No central keys

have been used however, so a side key should definitely be used, but there is no

sway to which side should take preference with both left and right taking 50% of

the results. Only two participants thought that back should be an option for the

soft keys on the Sony Ericsson scheme.

It should be noted that with a Nokia phone, the red hang up key, shown in figure

8.8, acts as a cancel key when not in a phone call, returning the user to the

welcome screen, whilst the back key will take the user back only one step.

Therefore, those who pressed this key would have had the desired effect as the

question was to return to the welcome screen. This means half the participants

had a correct solution for the Nokia scheme, whilst only 3 of 8 did so for the

Sony Ericsson scheme. Almost all participants decided to hold their chosen key to

return to the home screen, with the same desired result as the Nokia hang up

key. The two participants that repeatedly tapped the same key did so at least 3

times.


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Number Pad;

There is no discrepancy here. When asked to type in a number, all participants

did so the same way, as it would have been on a real phone ( figures 8.11 and

8.12). This makes it clear that this part of a mobile handset is so set in ones

mind because all phone manufacturers have followed the same system. The

number that was asked to be typed in started with a zero, as do all UK numbers.

With this as the bottom central key, a good reference point is made to determine

where the other numbers lye in relation to this one. More time was taken by

participants to key in correctly on the Nokia scheme, no doubt because of the

lack of gestalt laws between the keys, whilst less time was spent on the Sony

Ericsson scheme, agreeing with the hypothesis that a clear difference in the

function of the top keys to the bottom keys is made apparent on this scheme.


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Delete;

The results for delete share much similarity with the results for back, suggesting

that the same key should be used for both, however both have a wide spread of

results. Both left and right hand sides have been used, and one participant used

the bottom left key. There is a slight preference for the delete function to be

placed on the left hand side, which is the opposite of both Nokia (figure 8.13)

and Sony Ericsson (figure 8.14). Only two participants thought that delete should

be a soft key for the Sony Ericsson scheme, whilst half did for the Nokia.

Finding Contacts;

As with unlocking the keypad, finding contacts has spawned many different

results. Both Nokia and Sony Ericsson have multiple methods of finding contacts

(figure 8.15, figure 8.16) and both share the same shortcut; pressing the down

key. Only one participant carried out the true manipulation for the Nokia scheme,

using this shortcut, with another using the same method, but using the top key

as a joystick. Three selected the correct first key for the Nokia method (b) so

with a screen, they would have realised they just needed to select one other key

to find their contacts successfully. Three used the correct scheme for the Sony

Ericsson but this would increase to four (50%) if the outer circle acted as a

sliding scroll wheel, with only one using the shortcut. It is clear that the majority

would like to find their contacts with the press of just one key, but it is believed

that the multiple true methods available have caused some confusion. For those


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that found their contacts via the menu, all have indicated that contacts are not

the first option in the menu, but can be found directly below. During the text

message part of this test, all indicated that messaging was the first option

available in the main menu. This is the case for most phone manufacturers and

is clearly imbedded in the participants expectations.

Scroll Down and Scroll Up;

The central column of keys has been used by all participants in this exercise and

most would have achieved successful interaction with a real interface. Each

participant has also clearly used opposite motions for scroll up and scroll down.

Three participants wanted to be able to use the outer circle in the Sony Ericsson

scheme as a slide wheel, like that of the iPod, and all of these participants

interacted with a clockwise motion to pass down the list and anti clockwise to

pass up. All other participants split the circle into separate keys. All participants

scrolled down and up, as asked, not left and right.


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Call and Hang Up;

As predicted, there is a strong tendency to use the left hand side of the keypad

for making a call and the right hand side to hang up, as used by all phone

manufacturers, although one participant used the top right in the Sony Ericsson

scheme for both. Three participants used the correct Nokia interaction for both

call and hang up, whilst five could have made a call on the Sony Ericsson

scheme, but of these five, only three would have successfully hung up. There is

a fair use of the same key to call and hang up, typically a central key. Those who

used two clearly used the corresponding key on the opposite side, placing call

and hang up on the same level.


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8.2.2IMAGE SCHEMATEST

On analysis of this part of the experiment, it was discovered that a few factors of

error run through all the results and must be accounted for.

The biggest factor is that the thumb has a small range of motion in the y axis. To

overcome this problem, the rest of the hand moves to increase the relative

movement. As this relative movement has been reduced as much as possible in

the experiment by the forming of the thumbs up gesture, any measured

movements along this axis are much smaller than those in the x and z axes. This

could not be rectified without causing a large scale change to the operation of

the experiment, but can simply be factored in when analysing the resultant

vector graphs. This is most apparent in the typing of a number test (figure

B.3.21).

Where participants have been pressing a button a number of times, it was rare

for each pass to follow the same path, producing a number of lines with

approximately the same motion, but shifted along one of the axes. This can be

seen in figure B.3.3. The fact that the participants were asked to use their left

hand, which for 70% of the participants was their weaker hand, may have

resulted in their movements being less defined and controlled.

Some participants used the top of their first finger as a surface tool for

interaction whilst others did not. This occurs where there is a clear, abrupt stop

in the motion. However, as this surface is not flat, when touched in different

areas the z position may be different, as in figure 7.24.

When participants were holding their thumb still, without touching a surface, the

CyberGlove would often continue reading small movements, twitching of the


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participants thumb or relative movement of the glove to the hand. This resulted

in a cloud of small vector plots (figure B.3.6), preventing a vertical marker plot

to be added. This could be rectified by setting a lower threshold vector value, for

example 0.1mm in all directions, replacing all with zeros. However, if participants

were asked to specifically pause to indicate they were pressing a button, then

more participants would have used buttons to interact rather than their desired

method.

This part of the experiment was always carried out directly after the visual test

using the mobile phone fascias, resulting in the participant imagining a mobile

phone as their device. For this section to work as planned, ideally the participant

would have imagined anything else as a comparison to the mobile phone. These

effects could have been reduced by each section being carried out in alternative

order for each participant.

Passing through a list and changing a variable

Results for passing through a list and changing a variable share striking

similarities with each other, showing that very similar image schemas have been

used to carry out both these tasks

Three results for each task made very little movement in the x or y axes but a

large straight motion in the z axis (figures B.3.4, B.3.6, B.3.7, B.3.11, B.3.12 and

B.3.15) This shows they have placed a vertical image schema with the list

schema to interact with their device. All of these participants preferred to make

the downward motion followed by the upward motion for the list and used

upwards to increase and downwards to decrease avalue.

The participant for figure 7.23makes use of some movement in the y axis also,

combining the vertical schema with the forward or inwards schema. Combining


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makes a movement similar to a typical volume symbol, shown in figure 8.21.

This means that it could be images like this, the symbols used to indicate

function, that shape the thought functions and hence the image schema when

carrying out a task.

It is believed that the participants represented in figures B.3.2, B.3.3, B.3.5and

B.3.8used a forward and backward directional image schema for the list task,

but they could also be translated as an in and out depth image schema. The

inward/outward or forward/backward schema has been used to increase and

decrease a variable by the three participants in figures B.3.10, B.3.13 and

B.3.14. Each of these participants have also moved right as they have gone

forward, creating a similarity to figure 8.14.

Figure B.3.8 has a stark difference all the other results in this test, being the only

one to apply a scroll or circular motion. The arrows pass both ways around the

movement, so reversed motion has been used to pass either way through the

list. The shape is so oval because of the limited motion the thumb has in the y

axis, as discussed earlier. This result holds particular interest as devices closest

to using this scheme have a roller wheel, like that of a relevant computer mouse,

but they are relatively few devices that work in this manner.


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Typing a telephone number

All participants in this section chose to type a number in button fashion as on an

existing mobile phone keypad.

It can also be seen how the 0 key acts as the reference point to determine the

positioning of all the other numbers. Figure B.3.16 and figure B.3.21 have a

clear gap between where the number 0 was selected with respect to the others,

which seem to be grouped far closer together and almost indistinguishable.

Where participants paused for a short while between numbers, determining the

positioning of the next, there is constant motion of the thumb at a similar height

(figuresB.3.17, B.3.18, and B.3.20). If this had occurred in tests A or B, it may

have been analysed as an interaction. Not all movements made will be an

intentional interaction. It is instead a passive extension of the mind whilst

thinking. It is this level that is required to be tapped into to further this study,removing the ideas of a device at all, but instead just the movements that the

body passively performs whilst thinking on an operation, to then be compared to

the movements required to operate a device.


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9 CONCLUSIONS

9.1 EXPERIMENTAL CONCLUSIONS

It can be concluded that the mobile phone, when used as a voice and text

message communicator, is generally a very successful product in terms of being

easy to use. The majority of phones are based on one of a few classic styles and

there has been much pressure from the consumer for these devices to be

intuitive to use. However, phone manufacturers have a delicate time ahead of

them as the era of the mobile phone in a pure sense coming to a close. New

technologies are changing the function of the mobile phone and currently these

new functions appear to be confusing to use on such a small device. This

justifies research into intuitive design in the future as many different devices,

along with their respective styles of interaction, are fused together into what is

currently the mobile phone.

On reviewing literature and carrying out this study, the author has decided the

following is a fair statement as a definition for intuitive design for the interface of

a device:

Intuitive design is the seamless alignment of cognitive expectation with interface

actuality.

The participants in this study have shown that Nokia have set a very high

standard of intuitive design for the mobile phone. Even with an unmarked,

limited Gestalt arrangement of keys, 50% of all interactions asked to be carried

out on the schema would have been successful. Sony Ericsson, with a starkly

different scheme, where Gestalt laws are far more eminent had the higher score

with a 61% successful interaction rate. However, Sony Ericsson scored only


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3.4/5 score for ease of learning whilst Nokia have clearly set the standard with a

4.7/5 score. This early appreciation of ease of use must have played a key factor

in Nokias early domination of the market, but now other manufacturers have

learnt this fact and are far closer competitors to Nokia than just a few years ago.

It has been shown that the nearer the top of the keypad a key is positioned, the

more important, or regularly used it should be. These buttons are currently used

to interact with the software of the phone, whilst the number pad should be

exclusively used for number and text and positioned on 12, identically sized and

shaped keys in a 3x4 arrangement. Future mobile phone design should keep this

system to appear to be intuitive to use. Unlocking and locking a keypad should

involve two keys, at opposite ends of the keypad, adapted from the Nokia

system and menu should be located top left or top centre. This key should also

double up as the select key. There is no preferred side to locate a back button,

but it should not be placed in a central position. The function of a delete key

should be clearly marked as there is no preferred choice of position for this

function. Scrolling should be given a top central position, with a vertical

alignment. Call should always be on the left hand side and hang up on the right.

Investigating image schema proved difficult to analyse but has shown that the

most prevalent schema paired with function schema to interact with a mobile

phone are vertical (up and down), or depth (forward, in and backward, out).

Scale becomes more apparent when slide actions rather than buttons are

involved. It is felt however, that this section of the test requires a far more

thorough experiment than that which has been carried out. This conclusion

shows simply that existing interfaces have shaped and moulded our schema into

these angular forms through button affordances. In the future, if there is a

development in interaction techniques, this area should be consulted far more

heavily by designers, engineers and psychologists to open a path for far more

subtle interactions.


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9.2 INTUITIVE DESIGN IN THE FUTURE

Possible future methods for making an interface intuitive to every user may

involve making every interface completely customisable by the user. This way

the user can decide what features, buttons or styles they would like, and where.

A new slide phone on the market, the LG KF400, has split their main screen into

two. The top screen is the display, whilst the lower is fully touch sensitive and

changes its buttons with respect to what functions are available on the display

(figure 9.1). However, the buttons are not customisable.

This could be developed into an interesting experiment for further research. If a

piece of software was to be designed to allow the creation of individual

interfaces, given to participants to create and fine tune their own personal

interface, each creation could be analysed to find similarities in style, positioning

and size between each creation and existing interfaces. Further from this, the

search for an intuitive design may flip current normalities around. We could have

interfaces that learn and develop with the user to find their intuitive or preferred

motions to carry out tasks. This is especially viable with the increasing popularity

and success of the touch screen.


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It is believed by the author that the field of image schema involved in interaction

is one that needs further research. It is however, a very vague topic to narrow

down and requires far greater knowledge of psychology than that offered by the

author. It is debateable whether image schemas have been considered in depth

with interface design. It needs to be determined if image schema for navigation

have any similarities to those in use with technology. However, in a test, when

discovering the image schema, the participants mind should be clear from any

ideas of existing interfaces or technology, for a fair comparison.


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When Alexander Bell invented his electrical speech machine in 1876 he created

a device that has now been developed and innovated to such a level that it has

become a focal point for absorbing all forms of technology. The device itself has

shrunk in size, but its function for sharing information has covered the globe

whilst it stands calm as the perfect item to inject a seemingly unrelated product

into its being. Pioneering technologies, from all areas of the technological world

seem to simply act as a platform for inventing new functions for the mobile

phone. As an omen to its roots, future personal devices that have spawned from

this creation may still be called a mobile phone, but as this study has shown, the

classic phone call is being matched in popularity as a use by technologies that

have existed for a mere decade. The freedom that has been made available to

the current generations that make use of the technologies available is a far cry

from what was thought possible on the advent of mobile communications. They

have changed the way people live their lives and will simply continue to do so as

technology develops with new generations.

The mobile phone may on occasion have been adapted to try to mimic the

interactions previously expected from the products fused into it, but with the

mobile phone becoming the ultimate jack of all trades, intelligent, sensitive

design will be required to keep it a simple, easy to use device. This will become

increasingly difficult with more features and a new approach may well have to be

taken in the near future. This next step will be a major factor in determining the

way we, as people, view and interact with the world. The mobile phone is an

ever increasingly powerful tool and it may one day, through intuitive design,

become a part of us, rather than just a part of our life.


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APPENDIXA

QUESTIONNAIRE


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APPENDIX B

RESULTS

B.1 QUESTIONNAIRE

Figures B.1.1to B.1.8are the authors own work, produced using MicrosoftExcel.

Figure B.1.1 Age of participants who completed the questionnaire.

Figure B.1.2 Do you use instruction manuals?

Figure B.1.3 How long have you owned a mobile?


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Figure B.1.4 How long have you had your current phone?

Figure B.1.5 What are the main uses for your phone?

Figure B.1.6 - What phones have you owned in the past?

On average including that which is in current use, each participant has owned5.5 phones.


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Figure B.1.7 - What phone do you currently use?

Figure B.1.8 participant score for phone features.


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B.2 VISUAL TEST

If the same key was used by more than one participant, it has been colour codedrespectively as in the colour scale given on the left hand side in figure B.2.2. Adotted line indicates the passing from one key to the next whilst a solid lineindicates a slide, movement keeping contact with the schematic. Keys ormotions used in these scenarios have not been colour coded by occurrence, butinstead the colours of the lines correspond to different movements. This hasbeen indicated by a colour chart on the right hand side of the figure whereapplicable, with the number enclosed denoting the repeated occurrence.

Figure B.2.1to figure B.2.11are the authors own work, produced on MicrosoftPowerPoint.

Figure B.2.1: unlock the keypad

Figure B.2.2: menu

Figure B.2.3: select


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Figure B.2.4: back

Figure B.2.5: keypad

Figure B.2.6: delete

Figure B.2.7: Find Contacts

Figure B.2.8: Scroll Down Figure B.2.9: Scroll Up

Figure B.2.10: Call Figure B.2.11: Hang up


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B.3 IMAGE SCHEMA TEST

The resultant vector graphs from the image schema tests have been displayed inthe following format; 3D vector graph; XY plot; XZ plot; YZ plot. It is importantto note that the X axis corresponds to left and right, the Y axis to forward andbackward and the Z axis to up and down, as shown in figure B.3.1.The cornerplots have been circled in pale blue to distinguish them from the others. Theyshould not be regarded in an analysis. The MoCap6 programme took data at arate of 30 frames per second, so each vector plot indicates the movement over0.03 seconds.

Figure B.3.2 to B.3.21 are the authors own work, produced using TheMathWorks MatLab and adapted using Paint and Microsoft PowerPoint.


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Test APASS THROUGH A LIST

Figure B.3.1(Authors own)

Figure B.3.2

Figure B.3.3

Figure B.3.4


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Figure B.3.5

Figure B.3.6

Figure B.3.7

Figure B.3.8


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Test BINCREASE AND DECREASE A VALUE

Figure B.3.1

(Source: Authors own)

Figure B.3.9

Figure B.3.10

Figure B.3.11


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Figure B.3.12

Figure B.3.13

Figure B.3.14

Figure B.3.15


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Test CINSERT A TELEPHONE NUMBER

Figure B.3.1

(Source: Authors own)

Figure B.3.16

Figure B.3.17


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Figure B.3.18

Figure B.3.19

Figure B.3.20

Figure B.3.21


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APPENDIX C

THE IMMERSION CYBERGLOVE

The Immersion CyberGlove measures the joint angles of the hand with theexception of wrist rotation. It does so with the use of resistive bend sensingtechnology to transform physical motion into digital angles. If hand position andorientation in space is required, motion tracking sensors can be used to receivesignals from the wristband with appropriate software.

The glove used was the 22 sensor CyberGlove I model with open fingertips to

allow the user full sensitivity when carrying out the experiment. It is powered

and connected to a computer using a 25 pin parallel port via a transformationbox. It has resolution to the accuracy of a single degree and a repeatability value

of 3 degrees. The CyberGlove II, which currently available on the market andshown in figure 6.5, has a wireless network link to a PC and is battery powered.

The glove is fabricated with an upper stretch fabric to allow free movement ofthe hand with a palm mesh to allow ventilation. The thin, lightweight sensorstrips are held in place in pockets of the stretch material and flex with the hands

movements. Each finger has three flexion sensors whilst four abduction sensors,a palm arch sensor and two sensors measure flexion and abduction of the wrist.

Figure 6.5 The Immersion Cyber Glove II(www.immersion.com)

Figure 6.6 Diagram indicating medical terminology of movements

(Authors own, adapted from www. sifter.org)


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APPENDIX D

ETHICALAPPROVAL FORM


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APPENDIX E

SETUP OF THE CYBERGLOVE INTOALIAS MOCAP6

Figure D.1to figure D.8are the authors own work and include screen shots fromAlias MoCap6.

Figure D.1Opening screen of Alias Mocap 6

Figure D.2Drag and drop CyberGlove into

ViewerCreate Model bindingSet Port to Comm 7

Set Speed to 38 400

Figure D.3Zoom, rotate and pan viewer using buttons at the top.Hold click on the respective icon and move mouse to alter image.Click Online and wait for the dial to turn green.Begin calibration.


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CalibrationThe buttons for calibration are found at the bottom central position. The handpostures are shown below as figure D.4x to figure D.8. The hand should be putinto position before the respective calibration button is selected.

Figure D.4All Open

Figure D.5Flat closed

Figure D.6Fingers closed

Figure D.7Thumb to pinkie

Thumb closed

Figure D.8

To record the test, make sure the frame number is set to zero, select record,which will begin when the play button is also selected. Select stop at the end ofthe test. Save and then export as a .amc file. This file type can be opened as atext document, consisting of angles to be imported into Excel.


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APPENDIX F

IMPORTING DATAINTO M ICROSOFT EXCEL

Figure E.1to figure E.7are the authors own work and include screen shots fromMicrosoft Excel.

Figure E.1 Import data into Excel

Figure E.2 Find data file.amc

Figure E.3 Delimited data type


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Figure E.4 Select tab and space

Figure E.5 - Finish

Figure E.6 Click O.K.


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Figure E.7 Summary of spreadsheet

The participants thumb dimensions a, b and c was input by hand into cells I3, J3and K3 respectively. The raw data from each test of each individual participantwas allocated a separate worksheet. The selected raw data to be analysed mustbe copied and pasted into worksheet 01 and the file saved.

nb; number of time frames

Thumb matrix

Thumb A XA YA ZAThumb B XB YB ZBThumb C XB YC ZC

Sample number/Time frame


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APPENDIX G

THEANALYSIS CODE,MATLAB

Before the code can be run, each set of instructions must run up to, but notabove, the number of samples recorded as raw data (in this example, 10). If thisis not the case, the following error message will appear when the programme isrun;??? Error using ==> mtimes; Inner matrix dimensions must agree

A summary of the operations carried out by the code is given below, for ten timeframes.

Define thumb dimensions of participant;Dimensions01= xlsread('File Name.xls', Spreadsheet #,

Far left coordinate:Far right coordinate')

Dimensions01= xlsread('Test Data.xls', 01, 'I3:K3')

=

C

B

A

Dimensions

Importing data into Matlab;DataT### = xlsread('File Name.xls', Spreadsheet #, 'Top left

coordinate:Bottom right coordinate')

DataT001 = xlsread('Test Data.xls', 01, 'B7:D9')










=

ZCYCXC

ZBYBXB

ZAYAXA

DataT

001


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Converting degree data into radians for Matlab;RadDataT001=(1/360)*2*pi*(DataT001)

RadDataT002=(1/360)*2*pi*(DataT002)

RadDataT003=(1/360)*2*pi*(DataT003)RadDataT004=(1/360)*2*pi*(DataT004)







Note that the data values have been transposed in this part of the code, denotedby the dash at the end of the line.

=ZCZBZA

YCYBYA

XCXBXA

RadDataT

001

Resolving angles;ResT001=cos(RadDataT001)

ResT002=cos(RadDataT002)







ResT009=cos(RadDataT009)ResT010=cos(RadDataT010)

=

ZCZBZA

YCYBYA

XCXBXA

sT

coscoscos

coscoscos

coscoscos

001Re

Determining 1x3 x yz coordinate matrices;PositionT001=ResT001*Dimensions01;

PositionT002=ResT002*Dimensions01;


PositionT004=ResT004*Dimensions01;PositionT005=ResT005*Dimensions01;






=

++

++

++

=

=

z

y

x

CBA

CBA

CBA

C

B

A

PositionT

ZCZBZA

YCYBYA

XCXBXA

ZCZBZA

YCYBYA

XCXBXA

coscoscos

coscoscos

coscoscos

coscoscos

coscoscos

coscoscos

001


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Determining 1x3 uvw vector matrices;VectorT001=PositionT002-PositionT001

VectorT002=PositionT003-PositionT002VectorT003=PositionT004-PositionT003

VectorT004=PositionT005-PositionT004







=

=

001

001

001

003

002

002

001

001

001

001

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

w

v

u

z

y

x

z

y

x

VectorT

Creating 3xT## xyz position matrix;xyz=[PositionT001 PositionT002 PositionT003 PositionT004 PositionT005

PositionT006 PositionT007 PositionT008 PositionT009 PositionT010]

=

...002001

002001

002001

TT

TT

TT

zz

yy

xx

xyz

Creating 3xT## uvw vector matrix;uvw=[VectorT001 VectorT002 VectorT003 VectorT004

VectorT005 VectorT006 VectorT007 VectorT008 VectorT009

VectorT010]

=

...002001

002001

002001

TT

TT

TT

ww

vv

uu

uvw

The last value in the uvw matrix will be zero, but is needed to ensure the matrix

dimensions agree to enable Matlab to produce the vector graph.


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Copy and paste matrices xyz and uvw into notepad, save, and then import asbefore into Excel file Results.xls.Rearrange in Excel to produce the equivalent of figure F.1;

Figure F.1

The result from each individual participant was allocated a separate worksheet.The results selected to be plotted must be copied and pasted into worksheet 01and the file saved. MoCap6 started the recording from the last recorded position,resulting in large initial vectors to the current starting position. As this was arecurrent error, the first reading for each test was deleted, so as to not appear inlatter parts of analysis.

Any pauses in motion, possibly representing the pressing of a button, or applyinga continued pressure resulted in time frames with the same positions, so

naturally, vectors of (0,0,0,). Any plots without a vector would not appear on avector graph. To indicate when such an act had occurred, the first reading in apacket of over four time frames with a (0,0,0) vector was given a vector of (0,0,-5), resulting in a vertical downward arrow on the vector graph.


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Run Matlab graph

Creating individual 1xT##

x,y,z,u,v,w matrices;x = xlsread('File Name.xls', Spreadsheet #, 'Top left

coordinate:Bottom right coordinate');x = xlsread('Results.xls', 01, 'B1:K1')

y = xlsread('Results.xls', 01, 'B2:K2')

z = xlsread('Results.xls', 01, 'B3:K3')

u = xlsread('Results.xls', 01, 'B5:K5')

v = xlsread('Results.xls', 01, 'B6:K6')

w = xlsread('Results.xls', 01, 'B7:K7')

Plotting 3D vector graph;quiver3(x,y,z,u,v,w)

The results from figure F.1 produce figure F.2. The red axis has been placed intothe image by hand and the values are given in millimetres. The blue arrowsindicate the thumbs motion, starting from their respective xyz coordinates andpointing in their respective vector components uvw. It can be seen in thisexample that the thumb has moved in a semi circular path involving all axisduring this time interval.

Figure F.2

It was realised during analysis that the axis were not all automatically plotted tothe same scale, resulting in excessively magnified movements in the plane oflowest movement. This made analysis difficult, so two corner positions wereadded to each plot, with coordinates at the minimum and maximum values of x,y or z and each with a vector of 5. This made the plot volume a cuboid, so theresults could be analysed evenly. These plots were added in the excelspreadsheets Results in columns B and C using Excel max and min functions.


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Design for Intuitive Use

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