Tools used for remote collaboration and assistance within the industrial sector have remained unchanged for a long time. We introduce a concept called "Expert on Wheels" as the next step in development of remote collaboration tools. "Expert on Wheels" is a mobile tele-presence robot designed to support collaboration between a field worker and a remote expert. This paper presents an exploratory research study, in which "Expert on Wheels" was evaluated with target users as well as in a lab environment. The results indicate that the system has potential but requires improvements in key areas such as the situation awareness of the expert and the system's mobility as a whole. We conclude by discussing if and how such systems could be accepted and useful in different industrial settings.

Augmented Reality (AR) enhances real-world view with additional virtual information. This technique can be applied to a variety of industrial applications. It can be used to localize equipment in an industrial plant, to identify a dedicated device or to show its configuration. In addition, AR can be used in remote service situations, where remote experts are guiding local field workers in maintenance tasks. In this paper, we will describe the opportunities of utilizing the AR technology in industrial settings. Besides the presentation of the envisioned use cases, we will present some prototypes that were developed and evaluated during our work.

In this research, we explore how different types of augmented gesture communication cues can be used under different view sharing techniques in a remote collaboration system. In a pilot study, we compared four conditions: (1) Pointers on Still Image, (2) Pointers on Live Video, (3) Annotation on Still Image, and (4) Annotation on Live Video. Through this study, we found three results. First, users collaborate more efficiently using annotation cues than pointer cues for communicating object position and orientation information. Second, live video becomes more important when quick feedback is needed. Third, the type of gesture cue has more influence on performance and user preference than the type of view sharing method.

This paper describes an AR system for remote collaboration using a captured 3D model of the local user's scene. In the system a remote user can manipulate the scene independently of the view of the local user and add AR annotations that appear projected into the real world. Results from a pilot study and the design of a further full study are presented.

In this article we describe a novel approach to collaborative video authoring using handheld projectors. PicoTales are created by sketching story elements on a projector+phone prototype, and then animated by moving the projected image. Movements are captured using motion sensor data, rather than visual or other tracking methods, allowing interaction and story creation anywhere. We describe in detail the design and development of our prototype device, and also address issues in position estimation and element tracking. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the prototype, demonstrating its accuracy and usability for ad-hoc creation of story videos. The potential of the system for story authoring is shown via a further experiment looking at the quality of the animated story videos produced. We conclude by considering possible future developments of the concept, and highlighting the benefits of our design for collaborative story capture.

In this paper we consider the current and future use of cameraphones in the context of rural South Africa, where many people do not have access to the latest models and ICT infrastructure is poor. We report a new study of cameraphone use in this setting, and the design and testing of a novel application for creating rich multimedia narratives and materials. We argue for better creative media applications on mobile platforms in this region, and greater attention to their local use.

Internet services are becoming essential in people's daily lives. They offer functionality and content that are also relevant for mobile use, as mobile devices of today are technologically sophisticated enabling online access anytime, anywhere. Unfortunately, Internet services specifically designed for mobiles utilizing their capabilities to the fullest are largely still missing. In this paper, we introduce Image Exchange, a photo sharing Internet service, that exploits two essential things that a mobile device has to offer: a personal identifier (a user's phone number) and social network (phonebook contacts). We evaluated Image Exchange in a field study and the results show that the current design is a good starting point but needs to be extended to enable a truly social photo sharing service.

Cloud computing is a new paradigm for how applications and services are designed, implemented and accessed through Internet. In the cloud, the user can access services and his personal data real-time from any device. There are already services available in the market using cloud computing, such as email, enterprise planning software, and social media services. Still, research on cloud is in its early phase, especially when considering the user experience of mobile cloud services. In this paper, we introduce Image Exchange, a photo sharing Internet service that was designed from the cloud computing perspective. We evaluated Image Exchange through two user studies and the results presented in this paper describe important implications for cloud computing on mobile devices. Furthermore, we found special types of social interactions that emerged within the users of Image Exchange due to its cloud computing nature. The results show that the current design of Image Exchange provides a rather positive user experience, but it could be developed further to fully utilize the benefits of cloud computing.

Rolling back to previously visited Web pages and opening multiple browser windows or tabs at the same time are common activities in a Web browsing session on a PC. When using a mobile device for Web browsing, these usage patterns have to be supported seamlessly in the mobile environment under the additional constraint of limited screen real estate. In this paper, we introduce a solution called rolling history, a user interface targeted for mobile devices with 4-way navigation control and graphics acceleration hardware. We tested the usefulness of a rolling history prototype in two small-scale user studies and the results indicate that rolling history is a useful feature for Web history navigation and browser windows management. The rolling history case demonstrates how to design a unique user interface for a mobile device without displacing the deep-seated use patterns that people have found useful on a PC.

The Web has become available even on mobile phones, but the current methods to view large pages on small screens have not been highly usable. Current mobile phone browsers reformat Web pages to a single column that fits the screen width. Because not all content is comprehensible in this format, browsers provide a second mode for viewing pages in the same layout as on a PC. We have developed a modeless Web page visualization method called Minimap that shows pages in a modified Original layout. We conducted a long-term usability study with 20 participants to compare the state-of-the-art mobile phone browser with this new method. 18 participants preferred the new method, and it also scored better in more detailed usability ratings.