Past research on shape displays has primarily focused on rendering content and user interface elements through shape output, with less emphasis on dynamically changing UIs. We propose utilizing shape displays in three different ways to mediate interaction: to facilitate by providing dynamic physical affordances through shape change, to restrict by guiding users with dynamic physical constraints, and to manipulate by actuating physical objects. We outline potential interaction techniques and introduce Dynamic Physical Affordances and Constraints with our inFORM system, built on top of a state-of-the-art shape display, which provides for variable stiffness rendering and real-time user input through direct touch and tangible interaction. A set of motivating examples demonstrates how dynamic affordances, constraints and object actuation can create novel interaction possibilities.

https://static.ideaconnection.com/docs/12432/uist335-follmer.pdf

inFORM: dynamic physical affordances and constraints through shape and object actuation

A growing literature argues that wearing a heavy backpack makes slopes look steeper and distances seem longer (e.g., Proffitt, 2006). To test for effects of experimental demand characteristics in a backpack experiment, we manipulated the experimental demand of the backpack and then used a postexperiment questionnaire to assess participants’ beliefs about the purpose of the backpack. For participants in the low-demand condition, an elaborate deception was used to provide an alternative explanation of the requirement to wear a heavy backpack (i.e., that it held EMG equipment). The highest slope judgments were found for those undeceived participants who guessed that the backpack was intended to affect their slope perception and also reported that they thought they were affected by it. When persuaded that the backpack served another purpose, participants’ slope estimates were no different from those of participants not wearing a backpack. These findings suggest that backpack effects, and other reported effects of effort on perception, are judgmental biases that result from the social, not physical, demands of the experimental context.

/pdf/who-is-being-deceived-the-experimental-demands-of-wearing-a-1tyno1gbmn.pdf

Who is being deceived? The experimental demands of wearing a backpack

In a very influential yet anecdotal illustration, Yarbus suggested that human eye-movement patterns are modulated top down by different task demands. While the hypothesis that it is possible to decode the observer's task from eye movements has received some support (e.g., Henderson, Shinkareva, Wang, Luke, & Olejarczyk, 2013; Iqbal & Bailey, 2004), Greene, Liu, and Wolfe (2012) argued against it by reporting a failure. In this study, we perform a more systematic investigation of this problem, probing a larger number of experimental factors than previously. Our main goal is to determine the informativeness of eye movements for task and mental state decoding. We perform two experiments. In the first experiment, we reanalyze the data from a previous study by Greene et al. (2012) and contrary to their conclusion, we report that it is possible to decode the observer's task from aggregate eye-movement features slightly but significantly above chance, using a Boosting classifier (34.12% correct vs. 25% chance level; binomial test, p = 1.0722e - 04). In the second experiment, we repeat and extend Yarbus's original experiment by collecting eye movements of 21 observers viewing 15 natural scenes (including Yarbus's scene) under Yarbus's seven questions. We show that task decoding is possible, also moderately but significantly above chance (24.21% vs. 14.29% chance-level; binomial test, p = 2.4535e - 06). We thus conclude that Yarbus's idea is supported by our data and continues to be an inspiration for future computational and experimental eye-movement research. From a broader perspective, we discuss techniques, features, limitations, societal and technological impacts, and future directions in task decoding from eye movements.

http://ilab.usc.edu/publications/doc/Borji_Itti14jov.pdf

Defending Yarbus: eye movements reveal observers' task.

Effective countermeasures depend on first understanding how users naturally fall victim to fraudsters.

/pdf/understanding-scam-victims-seven-principles-for-systems-4tmzxfi612.pdf

Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security

We designed a magic trick in which misdirection was used to orchestrate observers’ attention in order to prevent them from detecting the to-be-concealed event. By experimentally manipulating the magician's gaze direction we investigated the role that gaze cues have in attentional orienting, independently of any low level features. Participants were significantly less likely to detect the to-be-concealed event if the misdirection was supported by the magician's gaze, thus demonstrating that the gaze plays an important role in orienting people's attention. Moreover, participants spent less time looking at the critical hand when the magician's gaze was used to misdirect their attention away from the hand. Overall, the magician's face, and in particular the eyes, accounted for a large proportion of the fixations. The eyes were popular when the magician was looking towards the observer; once he looked towards the actions and objects being manipulated, participants typically fixated the gazed-at areas. Using a ...

You look where I look! Effect of gaze cues on overt and covert attention in misdirection

Just as vision scientists study visual art and illusions to elucidate the workings of the visual system, so too can cognitive scientists study cognitive illusions to elucidate the underpinnings of cognition. Magic shows are a manifestation of accomplished magic performers' deep intuition for and understanding of human attention and awareness. By studying magicians and their techniques, neuroscientists can learn powerful methods to manipulate attention and awareness in the laboratory. Such methods could be exploited to directly study the behavioural and neural basis of consciousness itself, for instance through the use of brain imaging and other neural recording techniques.

http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com/files/publications/macknik_martinez-conde_nrn08.pdf

John Thompson

Papers

Attention and awareness in stage magic: turning tricks into research