Papers

VIP-Sim: A User-Centered Approach to Vision Impairment Simulation for Accessible Design

People with vision impairments (VIPs) often rely on their remaining vision when interacting with user interfaces. Simulating visual impairments is an effective tool for designers, fostering awareness of the challenges faced by VIPs. While previous research has introduced various vision impairment simulators, none have yet been developed with the direct involvement of VIPs or thoroughly evaluated from their perspective. To address this gap, we developed VIP-Sim. This symptom-based vision simulator was created through a participatory design process tailored explicitly for this purpose, involving N=7 VIPs. 21 symptoms, like field loss or light sensitivity, can be overlaid on desktop design tools. Most participants felt VIP-Sim could replicate their symptoms. VIP-Sim was received positively, but concerns about exclusion in design and comprehensiveness of the simulation remain, mainly whether it represents the experiences of other VIPs.

Mind Games! Exploring the Impact of Dark Patterns in Mixed Reality Scenarios

Mixed Reality (MR) integrates virtual objects with the real world, offering potential but raising concerns about misuse through dark patterns. This study explored the effects of four dark patterns, adapted from prior research, and applied to MR across three targets: places, products, and people. In a two-factorial within-subject study with 74 participants, we analyzed 13 videos simulating MR experiences during a city walk. Results show that all dark patterns significantly reduced user comfort, increased reactance, and decreased the intention to use MR glasses, with the most disruptive effects linked to personal or monetary manipulation. Additionally, the dark patterns of Emotional and Sensory Manipulation and Hiding Information produced similar impacts on the user in MR, suggesting a re-evaluation of current classifications to go beyond deceptive design techniques. Our findings highlight the importance of developing ethical design guidelines and tools to detect and prevent dark patterns as immersive technologies continue to evolve.

Introducing ROADS: A Systematic Comparison of Remote Control Interaction Concepts for Automated Vehicles at Road Works

As vehicle automation technology continues to mature, there is a necessity for robust remote monitoring and intervention features. These are essential for intervening during vehicle malfunctions, challenging road conditions, or in areas that are difficult to navigate. This evolution in the role of the human operator—from a constant driver to an intermittent teleoperator—necessitates the development of suitable interaction interfaces. While some interfaces were suggested, a comparative study is missing. We designed, implemented, and evaluated three interaction concepts (path planning, trajectory guidance, and waypoint guidance) with up to four concurrent requests of automated vehicles in a within-subjects study with N=23 participants. The results showed a clear preference for the path planning concept. It also led to the highest usability but lower satisfaction. With trajectory guidance, the fewest requests were resolved. The study’s findings contribute to the ongoing development of HMIs focused on the remote assistance of automated vehicles.

Light My Way. Developing and Exploring a Multimodal Interface to Assist People With Visual Impairments to Exit Highly Automated Vehicles

The introduction of Highly Automated Vehicles (HAVs) has the potential to increase the independence of blind and visually impaired people (BVIPs). However, ensuring safety and situation awareness when exiting these vehicles in unfamiliar environments remains challenging. To address this, we conducted an interactive workshop with N=5 BVIPs to identify their information needs when exiting an HAV and evaluated three prior-developed low-fidelity prototypes. The insights from this workshop guided the development of PathFinder, a multimodal interface combining visual, auditory, and tactile modalities tailored to BVIP's unique needs. In a three-factorial within-between-subject study with N=16 BVIPs, we evaluated PathFinder against an auditory-only baseline in urban and rural scenarios. PathFinder significantly reduced mental demand and maintained high perceived safety in both scenarios, while the auditory baseline led to lower perceived safety in the urban scenario compared to the rural one. Qualitative feedback further supported PathFinder's effectiveness in providing spatial orientation during exiting.

Improving External Communication of Automated Vehicles Using Bayesian Optimization

The absence of a human operator in automated vehicles (AVs) may require external Human-Machine Interfaces (eHMIs) to facilitate communication with other road users in uncertain scenarios, for example, regarding the right of way. Given the plethora of adjustable parameters, balancing visual and auditory elements is crucial for effective communication with other road users. With N=37 participants, this study employed multi-objective Bayesian optimization to enhance eHMI designs and improve trust, safety perception, and mental demand. By reporting the Pareto front, we identify optimal design trade-offs. This research contributes to the ongoing standardization efforts of eHMIs, supporting broader adoption.

PlantPal: Leveraging Precision Agriculture Robots to Facilitate Remote Engagement in Urban Gardening

Urban gardening is widely recognized for its numerous health and environmental benefits. However, the lack of suitable garden spaces, demanding daily schedules and limited gardening expertise present major roadblocks for citizens looking to engage in urban gardening. While prior research has explored smart home solutions to support urban gardeners, these approaches currently do not fully address these practical barriers. In this paper, we present PlantPal, a system that enables the cultivation of garden spaces irrespective of one's location, expertise level, or time constraints. PlantPal enables the shared operation of a precision agriculture robot (PAR) that is equipped with garden tools and a multi-camera system. Insights from a 3-week deployment (N=18) indicate that PlantPal facilitated the integration of gardening tasks into daily routines, fostered a sense of connection with one's field, and provided an engaging experience despite the remote setting. We contribute design considerations for future robot-assisted urban gardening concepts.

OptiCarVis: Improving Automated Vehicle Functionality Visualizations Using Bayesian Optimization to Enhance User Experience

Automated vehicle (AV) acceptance relies on their understanding via feedback. While visualizations aim to enhance user understanding of AV's detection, prediction, and planning functionalities, establishing an optimal design is challenging. Traditional "one-size-fits-all" designs might be unsuitable, stemming from resource-intensive empirical evaluations. This paper introduces OptiCarVis, a set of Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) approaches using Multi-Objective Bayesian Optimization (MOBO) to optimize AV feedback visualizations. We compare conditions using eight expert and user-customized designs for a Warm-Start HITL MOBO. An online study (N=117) demonstrates OptiCarVis efficacy in significantly improving trust, acceptance, perceived safety, and predictability without increasing cognitive load. OptiCarVis facilitates a comprehensive design space exploration, enhancing in-vehicle interfaces for optimal passenger experiences and broader applicability.

When Do We Feel Present in a Virtual Reality? Towards Sensitivity and User Acceptance of Presence Questionnaires

Presence is an important and widely used metric to measure the quality of virtual reality (VR) applications. Given the multifaceted and subjective nature of presence, the most common measures for presence are questionnaires. But there is little research on their validity regarding specific presence dimensions and their responsiveness to differences in perception among users. We investigated four presence questionnaires (SUS, PQ, IPQ, Bouchard) on their responsiveness to intensity variations of known presence dimensions and asked users about their consistency with their experience. Therefore, we created five VR scenarios that were designed to emphasize a specific presence dimension. Our findings showed heterogeneous sensitivity of the questionnaires dependent on the different dimensions of presence. This highlights a context-specific suitability of presence questionnaires. The questionnaires' sensitivity was further stated as lower than actually perceived. Based on our findings, we offer guidance on selecting these questionnaires based on their suitability for particular use cases.

Scrolling in the Deep: Analysing Contextual Influences on Intervention Effectiveness during Infinite Scrolling on Social Media

Infinite scrolling on social media platforms is designed to encourage prolonged engagement, leading users to spend more time than desired, which can provoke negative emotions. Interventions to mitigate infinite scrolling have shown initial success, yet users become desensitized due to the lack of contextual relevance. Understanding how contextual factors influence intervention effectiveness remains underexplored. We conducted a 7-day user study (N=72) investigating how these contextual factors affect users' reactance and responsiveness to interventions during infinite scrolling. Our study revealed an interplay, with contextual factors such as being at home, sleepiness, and valence playing significant roles in the intervention's effectiveness. Low valence coupled with being at home slows down the responsiveness to interventions, and sleepiness lowers reactance towards interventions, increasing user acceptance of the intervention. Overall, our work contributes to a deeper understanding of user responses toward interventions and paves the way for developing more effective interventions during infinite scrolling.

Bumpy Ride? Understanding the Effects of External Forces on Spatial Interactions in Moving Vehicles

As the use of Head-Mounted Displays in moving vehicles increases, passengers can immerse themselves in visual experiences independent of their physical environment. However, interaction methods are susceptible to physical motion, leading to input errors and reduced task performance. This work investigates the impact of G-forces, vibrations, and unpredictable maneuvers on 3D interaction methods. We conducted a field study with 24 participants in both stationary and moving vehicles to examine the effects of vehicle motion on four interaction methods: (1) Gaze\&Pinch, (2) DirectTouch, (3) Handray, and (4) HeadGaze. Participants performed selections in a Fitts' Law task. Our findings reveal a significant effect of vehicle motion on interaction accuracy and duration across the tested combinations of Interaction Method $\times$ Road Type $\times$ Curve Type. We found a significant impact of movement on throughput, error rate, and perceived workload. Finally, we propose future research considerations and recommendations on interaction methods during vehicle movement.

Fly Away: Evaluating the Impact of Motion Fidelity on Optimized User Interface Design via Bayesian Optimization in Automated Urban Air Mobility Simulations

Automated Urban Air Mobility (UAM) can improve passenger transportation and reduce congestion, but its success depends on passenger trust. While initial research addresses passengers' information needs, questions remain about how to simulate air taxi flights and how these simulations impact users and interface requirements. We conducted a between-subjects study (N=40), examining the influence of motion fidelity in Virtual-Reality-simulated air taxi flights on user effects and interface design. Our study compared simulations with and without motion cues using a 3-Degrees-of-Freedom motion chair. Optimizing the interface design across six objectives, such as trust and mental demand, we used multi-objective Bayesian optimization to determine the most effective design trade-offs. Our results indicate that motion fidelity decreases users' trust, understanding, and acceptance, highlighting the need to consider motion fidelity in future UAM studies to approach realism. However, minimal evidence was found for differences or equality in the optimized interface designs, suggesting personalized interface designs.

Effects of Uncertain Trajectory Prediction Visualization in Highly Automated Vehicles on Trust, Situation Awareness, and Cognitive Load

Colley 等人研究高度自动驾驶汽车中不确定轨迹预测可视化形式对驾驶员信任度、态势感知和认知负荷的影响机制。

Eco Is Just Marketing: Unraveling Everyday Barriers to the Adoption of Energy-Saving Features in Major Home Appliances

Story-Driven: Exploring the Impact of Providing Real-time Context Information on Automated Storytelling

Stories have long captivated the human imagination with narratives that enrich our lives. Traditional storytelling methods are often static and not designed to adapt to the listener’s environment, which is full of dynamic changes. For instance, people often listen to stories in the form of podcasts or audiobooks while traveling in a car. Yet, conventional in-car storytelling systems do not embrace the adaptive potential of this space. The advent of generative AI is the key to creating content that is not just personalized but also responsive to the changing parameters of the environment. We introduce a novel system for interactive, real-time story narration that leverages environment and user context in correspondence with estimated arrival times to adjust the generated story continuously. Through two comprehensive real-world studies with a total of 30 participants in a vehicle, we assess the user experience, level of immersion, and perception of the environment provided by the prototype. Participants' feedback shows a significant improvement over traditional storytelling and highlights the importance of context information for generative storytelling systems.

Exploring Passenger-Automated Vehicle Negotiation Utilizing Large Language Models for Natural Interaction

As vehicle automation advances to SAE Levels 3 to 5, transitioning driving control from human to system, ensuring automated vehicles (AVs) align with user preferences becomes a challenge. Natural interaction emerges as a common goal, offering ways to convey user interests in a user-friendly manner. However, technical, legal, or design constraints may prevent fulfilling these preferences, leading to potential conflicts. Through an online survey (N=50), potential driver-passenger conflicts and their handling strategies were explored. Subsequently, in a Virtual Reality study (N=14), we applied identified strategies (ranging from distracting to motivating and adhering to social norms) to user-AV interactions using a state-of-the-art language model (GPT-4 Turbo) primed with the strategies to simulate realistic dialogues. Additionally, adaptive communication was compared to non-adaptive communication. Our findings reveal a preference for adaptive communication. Yet, despite using advanced modeling, accurately predicting user interactions remained challenging, with users often trying to outsmart the AI.

Effects of a Gaze-Based 2D Platform Game on User Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, and Digital Eye Strain

Gaze interaction is a promising interaction method to increase va- riety, challenge, and fun in games.We present “Shed Some Fear”, a 2D platform game including numerous eye-gaze-based interactions. \shedSomeFear includes control with eye-gaze and traditional keyboard input. The eye-gaze interactions are partially based on eye exercises reducing digital eye strain but also on employing peripheral vision. By employing eye-gaze as a necessary input mechanism, we explore the effects on and tradeoffs between user enjoyment and digital eye strain in a five-day longitudinal between-subject study (N=17) compared to interaction with a traditional mouse. We found that perceived competence was significantly higher with eye gaze interaction and significantly higher internal eye strain. With this work, we contribute to the not straightforward inclusion of eye tracking as a useful and fun input method for games.

pARam: Leveraging Parametric Design in Extended Reality to Support the Personalization of Artifacts for Personal Fabrication

Extended Reality (XR) allows in-situ previewing of designs to be manufactured through Personal Fabrication (PF). These in-situ interactions exhibit advantages for PF, like incorporating the environment into the design process. However, design-for-fabrication in XR often happens through either highly complex 3D-modeling or is reduced to rudimentary adaptations of crowd-sourced models. We present pARam, a tool combining parametric designs (PDs) and XR, enabling in-situ configuration of artifacts for PF. In contrast to modeling- or search-focused approaches, pARam supports customization through embodied and practical inputs (e.g., gestures, recommendations) and evaluation (e.g., lighting estimation) without demanding complex 3D-modeling skills. We implemented pARam for HoloLens 2 and evaluated it (n=20), comparing XR and desktop conditions. Users succeeded in choosing context-related parameters and took their environment into account for their configuration using pARam. We reflect on the prospects and challenges of PDs in XR to streamline complex design methods for PF while retaining suitable expressivity.

Investigating the Effects of External Communication and Platoon Behavior on Manual Drivers at Highway Access

Automated vehicles are expected to improve traffic safety and efficiency. One approach to achieve this is via platooning, that is, (automated) vehicles can drive behind each other at very close proximity to reduce air resistance. However, this behavior could lead to difficulties in mixed traffic, for example, when manual drivers try to enter a highway. Therefore, we report the results of a within-subject Virtual Reality study (N=29) evaluating different platoon behaviors (single vs. multiple, i.e., four, gaps) and communication strategies (HUD, AR, attached displays). Results show that AR communication reduced mental workload, improved perceived safety, and a single big gap led to the safest merging behavior. Our work helps to incorporate novel behavior enabled by automation into general traffic better.

DungeonMaker: Embedding Tangible Creation and Destruction in Hybrid Board Games through Personal Fabrication Technology

Hybrid board games (HBGs) augment their analog origins digitally (e.g., through apps) and are an increasingly popular pastime activity. Continuous world and character development and customization, known to facilitate engagement in video games, remain rare in HBGs. If present, they happen digitally or imaginarily, often leaving physical aspects generic. We developed DungeonMaker, a fabrication-augmented HBG bridging physical and digital game elements: 1) the setup narrates a story and projects a digital game board onto a laser cutter; 2) DungeonMaker assesses player-crafted artifacts; 3) DungeonMaker's modified laser head senses and moves player- and non-player figures, and 4) can physically damage figures. An evaluation (n=4x3) indicated that DungeonMaker provides an engaging experience, may support players' connection to their figures, and potentially spark novices' interest in fabrication. DungeonMaker provides a rich constellation to play HBGs by blending aspects of craft and automation to couple the physical and digital elements of an HBG tightly.

Scalability in External Communication of Automated Vehicles: Evaluation and Recommendations

"Automated vehicles will alter traffic fundamentally. While users can engage in non-driving-related tasks such as reading or even sleeping, the possibility to interact with other road users such as pedestrians via, for example, eye contact vanishes. Therefore, external communication of automated vehicles is currently researched with various concepts spanning dimensions such as anthropomorphism, technology, viewpoint, locus, message type, and others. However, the proposed concepts are mostly evaluated in simple scenarios, such as one person trying to cross in front of one automated vehicle. Therefore, we implemented a WebGL application of a four-lane road and conducted a within-subject study (N=46) to study the effects of nine concepts with and without the presence of other pedestrians and altering the yielding target of the automated vehicle. We found that all concepts were rated better than having no external communication. However, the effects were not uniform across the concepts. https://doi.org/10.1145/3596248"