From the Publisher:
Written by the author of the best-selling HyperText & HyperMedia, this book provides an excellent guide to the methods of usability engineering. Special features: emphasizes cost-effective methods that will help developers improve their user interfaces immediately, shows you how to avoid the four most frequently listed reasons for delay in software projects, provides step-by-step information about which methods to use at various stages during the development life cycle, and offers information on the unique issues relating to informational usability. You do not need to have previous knowledge of usability to implement the methods provided, yet all of the latest research is covered.

Usability Engineering

This paper surveys the field of augmented reality AR, in which 3D virtual objects are integrated into a 3D real environment in real time. It describes the medical, manufacturing, visualization, path planning, entertainment, and military applications that have been explored. This paper describes the characteristics of augmented reality systems, including a detailed discussion of the tradeoffs between optical and video blending approaches. Registration and sensing errors are two of the biggest problems in building effective augmented reality systems, so this paper summarizes current efforts to overcome these problems. Future directions and areas requiring further research are discussed. This survey provides a starting point for anyone interested in researching or using augmented reality.

/pdf/a-survey-of-augmented-reality-17irtaxt7z.pdf

A survey of augmented reality

This paper presents our vision of Human Computer Interaction (HCI): "Tangible Bits." Tangible Bits allows users to "grasp & manipulate" bits in the center of users’ attention by coupling the bits with everyday physical objects and architectural surfaces. Tangible Bits also enables users to be aware of background bits at the periphery of human perception using ambient display media such as light, sound, airflow, and water movement in an augmented space. The goal of Tangible Bits is to bridge the gaps between both cyberspace and the physical environment, as well as the foreground and background of human activities. This paper describes three key concepts of Tangible Bits: interactive surfaces; the coupling of bits with graspable physical objects; and ambient media for background awareness. We illustrate these concepts with three prototype systems ‐ the metaDESK, transBOARD and ambientROOM ‐ to identify underlying research issues.

http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~ullmer/papers/tangible-bits.pdf

Tangible bits: towards seamless interfaces between people, bits and atoms

A number of emerging technologies including virtual reality, simulation rides, video conferencing, home theater, and high definition television are designed to provide media users with an illusion that a mediated experience is not mediated, a perception defined here as presence. Traditional media such as the telephone, radio, television, film, and many others offer a lesser degree of presence as well. This article examines the key concept of presence. It begins by noting practical and theoretical reasons for studying this concept. Six conceptualizations of presence found in a diverse set of literatures are identified and a detailed explication of the concept that incorporates these conceptualizations is presented. Existing research and speculation about the factors that encourage or discourage a sense of presence in media users as well as the physiological and psychological effects of presence are then outlined. Finally, suggestions concerning future systematic research about presence are presented.

At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence

This survey covers rollback-recovery techniques that do not require special language constructs. In the first part of the survey we classify rollback-recovery protocols into checkpoint-based and log-based.Checkpoint-based protocols rely solely on checkpointing for system state restoration. Checkpointing can be coordinated, uncoordinated, or communication-induced. Log-based protocols combine checkpointing with logging of nondeterministic events, encoded in tuples called determinants. Depending on how determinants are logged, log-based protocols can be pessimistic, optimistic, or causal. Throughout the survey, we highlight the research issues that are at the core of rollback-recovery and present the solutions that currently address them. We also compare the performance of different rollback-recovery protocols with respect to a series of desirable properties and discuss the issues that arise in the practical implementations of these protocols.

/pdf/a-survey-of-rollback-recovery-protocols-in-message-passing-bnrpate93a.pdf

A survey of rollback-recovery protocols in message-passing systems

We are developing a rapid prototyping system built on an object-oriented, interpreted language which allows small interdisciplinary teams to quickly create and modify three-dimensional interactive simulations. Like other systems, we separate the simulation and presentation frame rates, but unlike existing systems, we do so in such a way that the application-level programmer need not understand the multi-process architecture. The system has been used for building perceptual psychology experiments, for replicating techniques developed by other researchers, and for experimenting with novel three-dimensional interaction techniques.

Alice and DIVER: a software architecture for building environments

Learning to Program with Alice, Brief Edition

The Tailor project allows physically disabled users to provide real-time analog input to computer applications. We use a PolhemusTM tracking device and create a custom tailored mapping from each user's best range and type of motion into the analog control signal. The application is a simple video game based on Pong, where the analog input controls the position of the player's paddle. A group of able-bodied subjects was able to correctly hit the ball with the paddle 77% of the time, and a comparison group of children with cerebral palsy performed at the 50% level. More than half the disabled users were able to perform at a higher level than the worst able-bodied user.

One-dimensional motion tailoring for the disabled: A user study

There's no doubt that the world of digital entertainment is here to stay. In addition, ongoing advances in computer technology will continue to expand not only the graphics palate of the medium but also the realm of imaginative, virtual experiences being offered to consumers. At Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, we focus on creating new entertainment technologies, venues and experiences that take advantage of developments in technical fields like computer science, while seeking ways to include the traditional dynamics of fine arts such as drama, story-telling, film and theater. As educators of entertainment technology, we're continually asked to define our discipline. Our mission statement is "to provide leadership in education and research that combines technology and the arts to create new processes, tools and vision for story-telling and entertainment".

Randy Pausch

Papers

Alice and DIVER: a software architecture for building environments

Learning to Program with Alice, Brief Edition

One-dimensional motion tailoring for the disabled: A user study

Entertainment Technology Center

A system for application-independent time-critical rendering