Subtle User Interfaces

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This research is focused on exploring new user interaction and visualization techniques for a broad range of next generation input, output, and display technologies. As computing steadily moves to mobile usage environments, the computing technologies we use and interact with are becoming increasingly heterogeneous and often require a medley of interleaved interactions spanning devices, usage context, and physical space. Further, the variable environmental context of use can significantly alter the types of input and output modalities that are best suited for human communication with the technology. Unlike in the past, where more static usage scenarios were prevalent and as such a particular input/output modality could be chosen and used for a good chunk of time, we are currently moving to a situation where usage scenarios are very fluid and can rapidly change over time and space. Our current user interfaces and visualization strategies are not particularly well adapted to handling fluid switching of interaction modalities as usage context rapidly changes. The key objective in the proposed research is to develop a unified approach to interaction and visualization as users move from one device and usage context to another and back in rapid sequence, enabling smooth switching of input and output devices and modalities as these context switches happen. To support this, the research will also explore more subtle and less explicit forms of input and feedback, such as vision based sensing and micro haptic feeback, that could help tie the interface together and maintain a sense of continuity as one transitions from one form of interaction to another and back. The approach will be one of building creative new exploratory interfaces that will be used as probes in user deployments, followed by empirical evaluation of the interfaces, with the results being used to refine the designs. The resulting system artifacts will significantly deviate from the interfaces of today, and hence has the potential to alter the way we consume and interact with data on future computing devices.