How Users Associate Wireless Devices
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Transcript of How Users Associate Wireless Devices
How Users Associate Wireless Devices
How Users Associate Wireless DevicesMing Ki Chong ([email protected])Hans Gellersen ([email protected])
CHI 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada12
2Which of these devices are connected?Wired connectionWireless connection
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A laptop, 3 mobile phones, and a tablet computer.
Cable is obvious, but wireless is no long physical
Without a visual clue, people are required to establish the connection by interacting with the interfaces of the devicesSo, it depends on the Interaction technique and User interface3IntroductionDevice associationIdeally, an association should beQuick & EasyNo preparationWithout InstructionsSpontaneous interactionE.g., printing a document in a public environment
4Device association, or pairing, or coupling.Need a virtual connectionNave users want everything to be done in the simplest way. I.e., Things should connect automaticallyBut that is dangerous because of accidental connectionSo, it always needs a user
Ideally, an association should be intuitiveQuick & EasyNo preparationWithout Instructions
So we can connect devices spontaneously, which is enabled by wireless technology.
It is important to examine the types of actions that people would spontaneously perform to connect devices.
4QuestionWhat types of actions do people spontaneously produce to associate wireless devices?How would you do it?5
Second point: How would you do it?A quick mental experiment: Regardless of what you know, imagine how you would want to associate them.What is the most intuitive way?Some may say Bluetooth, some people might disagree5Some examples
Synchronous Gestures (Hinckley, 2003)
Spatial Alignment. Pointing a laser (Mayrhofer, 2007)
Pen Gestures. Stitching (Hinckley, 2004)6
Shaking. Shake well before use (Mayrhofer, 2009)
Proximity (Rekimoto, 2003)And, lots more
Many methods, some were driven by usability, other were driven by technology or security.
This is what research has suggested, what about the users?
Do people propose the same ideas? Do they expect the same things?6MethodologyUser-defined actionsSimilar to Wobbrock et al. (2009) and Kray et al. (2010)Spontaneous actions, i.e., without premeditation and no hints18 non-technical participants (9 , 9 )
7We conducted a user study to find out! We let people tell us how they would associate devices.
Without premeditation. Users were not given any information beforehand.
Spontaneous: using intuition7Generic Prototypes12 types of wireless devicesWe made low-fi plastic props with minimal user interfaces8
(Left) Interactive Display(Right, top row) Tablet Computer, Keyboard(Second row) Media player, Digital Camera, Microphone, Mouse, Handheld Projector (Bottom row) Digital Watch, Mobile Phone, Gaming Device, HeadphonesAbstract generic interfaces. Provide the look-and-feel of the representing devices, but not actual functionalities.
We used generic prototypes to avoid the participants to be influenced or misled by the interfaces of existing commercial products.8Setup37 combinations of devices30 pairings7 groups of 3 or moreSelected 3 primary devicesMobile PhoneTablet ComputerInteractive DisplayAt least one primary in each combination9
LibraryEnvironment10CameraParticipantPlastic PropsConductor*A mock-up picture of the user study setup.Quiet environment
1 on 1 user study per session
10Video : Mobile Phone + Handheld Projector
11Handheld ProjectorMobile PhoneVideo examples of the user study
Give context before starting the videoPairing a mobile phone with a handheld projector
The participant points the projector at the phone and shines a beam of light.The phone is then able to record the data sent from the projector.11Video : Interactive Display + Wireless Keyboard
12Interactive DisplayWireless KeyboardGive context before starting the video
Pairing a wireless keyboard with an interactive display
Take a USB stick out of the keyboard.Plug the USB stick into the display.And they connect.12ResultsCollected 752 instances36 unique actions. For example:13
Docking
Hanging
Physical Contact
Pointing
Snap a picture
SwipingDevice TouchBriefly explain the actions
2nd iteration: Docking and Physical Contact, both have the same characteristic that the devices must touch13Twelve categoriesThe top five categories Search & SelectProximityButton EventDevice TouchGestureNot a single category with a large proportion5 large shares14
Overall occurrences of the twelve categoriesExplain how the categories were found!The second iteration
Explain the top 5 categoriesSearch & SelectProximityButton EventDevice TouchGesture14
Total number of occurrences37 Device Combinations3 or moreMobile PhoneTablet ComputerInteractive DisplayMultiple Devices
Total number of occurrences12 CategoriesTop Five CategoriesThe numbers represent instances = 752
Horizontally:37 device combinationsGrouped by the primary devicesA row = a device combination
Vertically:12 categoriesA column = a type of action15
Mobile PhoneTablet ComputerInteractive DisplayMultiple DevicesWireless Headset 3 4 1 5 3 - - 1 - 1 1 -Peoples choices varies.
For each row, no single category achieves over 50% dominance. High variance.It indicates that different people have different ideas.16
Mobile PhoneTablet ComputerInteractive DisplayMultiple DevicesHighest numbers onlyProximityProjectorProjectorProjectorProjectorGestureSearch & SelectMobile: search & selectPeople are already used to Bluetooth
Multiple: search & selectCould be people dont want to interact with too many devices. Rather interact with one, and use search and selectToo difficult to think of a technique that can fit all of the devices17
Mobile PhoneTablet ComputerInteractive DisplayMultiple DevicesTokenToken was not suggested by the participants when pairing devices with a mobile phonePhysical token was not found in researchPhysical token is closest to using a cable18Discussion / ReflectionPeople have many ideasCommercial products have adoptedsearch & select, bumping, device touchOverlaps between researchers and users, but not always in harmony, e.g.:ShakingPhysical Token
People have different ideas about associating wireless devicesNot one category had achieved dominance in any of the device combinations
Commercial productsBesides using the commercial techniques, people also have their own ideas of how devices should be associated
Overlaps:Shaking: research shows it is very intuitive, but our results show that it is not spontaneously obvious to usersToken: Our participants have suggested the use of tokens, but no research has suggested the use of a physical token for association19SummaryPresented a study of user-defined actions for spontaneous device associationNo single favourite action, instead five dominant categories were foundThe data we have is a snapshot of peoples current view
205 categories:Search & select, Proximity, Gesture, Device Touch, Button Event
Snapshot: A snapshot of the current generation of wireless usersas new interaction techniques are introduced, peoples expectation will change over time.With a better understanding of the users, we expect new methods will be designedSo, we expect our results to influence future design
-Final unofficial take home message, It is a bit freaky with this wireless technology
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