Touch-screen Interaction at Digital Bus Shelter - Video via Daily DOOH

JCDecaux Innovate Touch-Screen Bus Shelters
Chris Sheldrake, Daily DOOH (Digital Out of Home) 12/2/09

RELATED
The World is My Web Browser: Interactive Technology in Public Spaces
(Watch the video of the interactive "Splat the Cadbury Creme Egg" game played on a large touch screen display at a bus shelter.)

JCDecaux Innovate - Gorillaz for Bus Shelters

Chris O'Shea's Hand from Above Interactive Screen; Info about Interactive Architecture

A recent post on the Interactive Architecture blog was of artist Chris O'Shea's "Hand from Above" project, a joint co-commission between FACT (Foundation for Art & Creative Technology), Liverpool City Council for BBC Big Screen Liverpool, and the Live Sites Network.  The installation premiered during the Abandon Normal Devices Festival.


Hand from Above from Chris O'Shea on Vimeo. (Written using openFrameworks & openCV. Sounds by Owen Lloyd.)

"Just imagine walking through your town or city centre, watching yourself on the Big Screen, when all of a sudden a giant finger appears and starts to play with you!...Hand From Above encourages us to question our normal routine when we often find ourselves rushing from one destination to another. Inspired by Land of the Giants and Goliath, we are reminded of mythical stories by mischievously unleashing a giant hand from the BBC Big Screen. Passers by will be playfully transformed. What if humans weren’t on top of the food chain? Unsuspecting pedestrians will be tickled, stretched, flicked or removed entirely in real-time by a giant deity"

For more information about Interactive Architecture and related topics read the following post:


Interactive Architecture and Transdisciplinary Convergence...
(The World Is My Interface blog)

Interactive Displays in Public Spaces

Daniel Michelis recently completed his Ph.D. dissertation on a topic that is dear to my heart. Information about his research can be found on his Interactive Displays in Public Spaces blog.

(Note: This was cross posted on the Technology-Supported Human World Interaction blog.)

Here are links to a few of his posts:

Interactive Displays: Perception, Awareness, and Interaction

Evaluating Interaction with Display Applications in Public Space

I especially like the diagrams Daniel uses to depict zones of interaction:

Figure 3: Four-phase Model
(Source: Daniel Michelis (2009), according to: Vogel and Balakrishnan, 2004)

(Author: Daniel Michelis, Institute for Media and Communications Management, University of St. Gallen)

Figure 1: Perception and Usage of Interactive Displays
(Source: Daniel Michelis (2009), according to: Brignull & Rogers, 2003)

Touch Screen Interaction in Public Spaces: Room for Improvement, if "Every Surface is to be a Computer"

Via Technology Supported Human-World Interaction

With Win7's "multi-touch" capabilities, Bill Gate's statement that every surface will be a computer might come true, but from what I can see, we have a long way to go before we get it right!

One of the concerns I have about "touch" screen interaction in public spaces is that not much thought is given to the environmental factors surrounding the system. The system that is tested for the first time after installation might work just fine, but not when it is put to use under a variety of conditions or situations.

EXAMPLES (I've recycled a few of these from previous posts.)

Touch Screen Kiosk/Display in Upscale Shopping Area, St. Thomas(?)

I came across this system when I was walking around in St. Thomas with my husband. I wasn't sure what to make of it. There wasn't anything on the large display, and I couldn't tell from a short distance if the two smaller displays were active. I noticed that the display had an awning of sorts, so the fact that the display would be used in a sunny location had been considered. Unfortunately, the awning didn't solve this problem, as you can see from the pictures below:

CLOSER UP

As we approached the display, it was almost impossible to see what was on the screen. In fact, we weren't sure what the display was all about. It looked like something you'd see at an airport check-in, not in a lush tropical setting.

Below is a shot of my husband, trying to see what is on the screen. This photo shows exactly what the screen looked like at the time:

The next picture tells it all. You can see that there is some sort of alphabet on the right side of the screen, but the reflection of my husband is easier to see. We couldn't figure this one out.

The following clip demonstrates how environmental concerns, such as wind and "sideways" rain, can make an interactive display at a shopping center difficult to use. During this clip, you can hear me muttering about the difficulties I had interacting with the information on the touch-screen display. It is possible that the system wasn't working well because of the exposure to the elements.

WIND AND SIDEWAYS RAIN

You can see that the navigation system was confusing. At the end, the entire screen turned red, and I gave up.

The next video-clip is of a touch-screen map at the Cleveland Clinic hospital. I was with my elderly aunt and my sister, and we were trying to figure out how to get to a restaurant. We never found it.

Although the screen was easy to see, the application was... crazy!

In my opinion, an interactive wayfinding application should run on a larger display and support two or more people, since many hospital visitors often run in pairs or small groups.

Streaming Museum in Cyberspace and Public Space on 7 Continents

For more information, see my recent post on the Technology Supported Human-World Interaction blog.

Two Links: Urban Screens, Urban Interfaces, Digital Media, and the Arts in Social-Public Spaces; Edward Tufte is a Smart Guy

Here are two links that I think you'll find interesting:

My post on the TSHWI blog, reflecting on interdisciplinary research and topics related to ubiquitous computing and large interactive displays in public spaces:

Urban Screens, Urban Interfaces, Digital Media, and the Arts in Social-Public Spaces


Bill Mackenty's reflections about workshop he attended that was led by Edward Tufte, known for his insights about the presentation of information graphics:

Edward Tufte is a Smart Guy