After years in the lab, interactive public displays are finding their way into public spaces, shop windows, and public institutions They are equipped with a multitude of sensors as well as (multi-) touch surfaces allowing not only the audience to be sensed, but also their effectiveness to be measured The lack of generally accepted design guidelines for public displays and the fact that there are many different objectives (eg, increasing attention, optimizing interaction times, finding the best interaction technique) make it a challenging task to pick the most suitable evaluation method Based on a literature survey and our own experiences, this paper provides an overview of study types, paradigms, and methods for evaluation both in the lab and in the real world Following a discussion of design challenges, we provide a set of guidelines for researchers and practitioners alike to be applied when evaluating public displays

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How to evaluate public displays

Large interactive displays are increasingly placed in public (or semipublic) locations, including museums, shops, various city settings, and offices. This article discusses the evolution of such displays by looking at their use and analyzing how they are changing the concept of human-computer interaction through new modalities. By surveying the literature on systems using these displays, relevant features were identified and used as classification dimensions. The analysis provided may inform the design and development of future installations. A discussion on research challenges concludes the article.

Interaction with Large Displays: A Survey

Most interactive public displays currently rely on flat screens This form factor impacts how users (1) notice the public display (2) develop motivation and (3) (socially) interact with the public display In this paper, we present Chained Displays, a combination of several screens to create different form factors for interactive public displays We also present a design space based on two complementary concepts, Focus and Nimbus, to describe and compare chained display configurations Finally, we performed a field study comparing three chained displays: Flat, Concave, and Hexagonal Results show that Flat triggers the strongest honeypot effect, Hexagonal causes low social learning, and Concave triggers the smallest amount of simultaneously interacting users among other findings

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Chained displays: configurations of public displays can be used to influence actor-, audience-, and passer-by behavior

Fueled by falling display hardware costs and rising demand, digital signage and pervasive displays are becoming ever more ubiquitous. Such systems have traditionally been used for advertising and information dissemination, with digital signage commonplace in shopping malls, airports and public spaces. While advertising and broadcasting announcements remain important applications, developments in sensing and interaction technologies are enabling entirely new classes of display applications that tailor content to the situation and audience of the display. As a result, signage systems are beginning to transition from simple broadcast systems to rich platforms for communication and interaction. In this lecture, we provide an introduction to this emerging field for researchers and practitioners interested in creating state-of-the-art pervasive display systems. We begin by describing the history of pervasive display research, providing illustrations of key systems, from pioneering work on supporting collaboration to contemporary systems designed for personalized information delivery. We then consider what the near future might hold for display networks -- describing a series of compelling applications that are being postulated for future display networks. Creating such systems raises a wide range of challenges and requires designers to make a series of important trade-offs. We dedicate four chapters to key aspects of pervasive display design: audience engagement, display interaction, system software, and system evaluation. These chapters provide an overview of current thinking in each area. Finally, we present a series of case studies of display systems and our concluding remarks.

Pervasive Displays: Understanding the Future of Digital Signage

Volumetric displays provide interesting opportunities and challenges for 3D interaction and visualization, particularly when used in a highly interactive manner. We explore this area through the design and implementation of techniques for interactive direct manipulation of objects with a 3D volumetric display. Motion tracking of the user's fingers provides for direct gestural interaction with the virtual objects, through manipulations on and around the display's hemispheric enclosure. Our techniques leverage the unique features of volumetric displays, including a 360° viewing volume that enables manipulation from any viewpoint around the display, as well as natural and accurate perception of true depth information in the displayed 3D scene. We demonstrate our techniques within a prototype 3D geometric model building application.

Multi-Finger Gestural Interaction with 3D Volumetric Displays

Non-planar screens, such as columns, have been a popular means for displaying information for a long time. In con-trast to traditional displays their digital counterparts are mainly flat and rectangular due to current technological constraints. However, we envision bendable displays to be available in the future, which will allow for creating new forms of displays with new properties. In this paper we ex-plore cylindrical displays as a possible form of such novel public displays. We present a prototype and report on a user study, comparing the influence of the display shape on user behavior and user experience between flat and cylindrical displays. The results indicate that people move more in the vicinity of cylindrical displays and that there is no longer a default position when it comes to interaction. As a result, such displays are especially suitable to keep people in motion and to support gesture-like interaction.

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Audience behavior around large interactive cylindrical screens

The invention relates to a calibration method and a calibration system for at least one projection apparatus (11, 12, 13) for projecting images onto at least one projection area (1), where the geometric data from the at least one projection area (1) have been or are stored in advance in a computer unit (20), characterized in that a) the at least one projection apparatus (11, 12, 13) projects previously known calibration patterns (30) onto at least one portion of the projection area (1), with the calibration patterns (30) having at least one overlap region (2, 2', 2'') among one another, b) the calibration patterns (30) are recorded by at least one camera apparatus (15) as a calibration image and the data from the calibration image are transmitted to the computer unit (20), where c) the computer unit (20) is used to automatically ascertain the difference between the recorded real calibration image and an ideal depiction result for the previously known calibration pattern (30) on the projection area (1) as a reference pattern (40), and where subsequently d) the difference between the real calibration image and the reference pattern (40) is used to ascertain a correction transform (50), so that the link between the correction transform (50) and a real projection of images by the at least one projection apparatus (11, 12, 13) corresponds to the reference pattern (40) particularly in an overlap region (2, 2', 2'' ) apart from a small, particularly a minimum, difference.

Calibration Method and Calibration System for Projection Apparatus

Recent research has presented large public displays in novel non-flat shapes such as spheres, curved planes and cylinders, and looked at the influence of the form factor on user behavior. Yet, the basic shape cannot be considered in isolation when interpreting the behavior of passers-by around such displays. In this paper we investigate two further display factors, framedness and seamlessness, that have to be considered in conjunction with the form factor to understand user behavior in front of large non-flat displays. We present the findings from a field study with an interactive column display and take a closer look at how these factors influence actor and bystander behavior. Our results show that rectangular frames act as a sort of funnel for user position and can easily override effects of the non-flat shape on user position and interaction, even though the users didn't recall the presence of these frames.

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Squaring the circle: how framing influences user behavior around a seamless cylindrical display

The invention relates to a calibration method and system for at least one projection apparatus, where the geometric data from at least one projection area has been or are stored in advance in a computer unit, wherein a) the at least one projection apparatus projects previously known calibration patterns onto at least one portion of the projection area, with the calibration patterns having at least one overlap region among one another, b) the calibration patterns are recorded by at least one camera apparatus as a calibration image, where c) the computer unit is used to automatically ascertain the difference between the recorded real calibration image and an ideal depiction result from the previously known calibration pattern on the projection area as a reference pattern, and where subsequently the difference between the real calibration image and the reference pattern is used to ascertain a correction transform.

System and method for calibrating and adjusting a projected image of a projection apparatus

In recent years, the advances in projection technology and the increasing rendering capacity of modern computers allowed the development of immersive digital domes. Digital dome systems are not limited to planetariums, but also find their way into science centers, theme parks, or multimedia events. However, most installations do not support 3D stereoscopic display, because of the difficulties the curved projection surface implies. In this paper, we present both the construction of a small 3D stereoscopic dome and a versatile multi-projector system that exploits the capabilities digital technology offers today. Our system performs automatic geometric and color projector calibration as well as soft-edge blending. Moreover, it implements real time media compositing, which allows enhancing dome viewing experiences and going beyond the simple playout of pre-rendered content by enabling user interaction.

Manuel Schiewe

Papers

Audience behavior around large interactive cylindrical screens

Calibration Method and Calibration System for Projection Apparatus

Squaring the circle: how framing influences user behavior around a seamless cylindrical display

System and method for calibrating and adjusting a projected image of a projection apparatus

Interactive 3D Stereoscopic Dome with Automatic Calibration