Augmenting the Periphery with Large-Scale Visual Displays

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this research is to explore and evaluate the addition of visual peripheral displays to human-computer interfaces. Through a series of laboratory experiments, in conjunction with usability evaluations and field trials of system prototypes, the PI will conduct an in-depth exploration of how peripheral information can be used effectively in an office setting. The PI and her team will design and build an interface that uses projected visual displays to extend the user's virtual workspace past the confines of his/her desktop monitor, and then use it to augment an office environment in a way that supports current working practices. The emphasis on supporting current work practice, with its resulting inclusion of desktop computers, is in sharp contrast to visions of tomorrow's world where the desktop computer is replaced by either a plethora of computing devices (ubiquitous computing) or a single personal head-worn display that superimposes information over the wearer's view of the world (wearable augmented reality). The PI posits that her approach, coupled with a set of carefully designed laboratory experiments, will lead to a deep understanding of the issues involved in deploying peripheral displays in realistic environments. This research is expected to have several important outcomes. It will lead to techniques for determining and modeling a user's working contexts, especially the ranking and clustering of documents within those contexts; these will enable the user to easily shift between tasks, quickly regaining the last state of previous efforts and maintaining an awareness of documents used in the past. This research will also lead to techniques for visually presenting peripheral information, perhaps as visual montages designed to take advantage of peripheral perception mechanisms by conveying the salient portions of a piece of information, including its surrounding context, while remaining unobtrusive. Finally, the research will provide insight into the design of a 3D peripheral space that augments the use of traditional desktop terminals, with emphasis on the division of this space into logical groups based on the relevance and familiarity of the material, and the dynamic behavior of the space as material becomes more or less relevant to the current task.