The purpose of this work is to propose effective approximate algorithms capable to generate, in a very short time, feasible 2-dimensional configurations (interfaces) containing a set of given menus adapted to a certain user context (physical activity for example). As in some previous works, the proposed approach gives good solutions that minimize the used surface to pack all the tiles into a variable-size bin. Such a size should respect a fixed ratio for the screen between its width and its height. Moreover, the proposed approaches (based on shelf strategy), genetic algorithm are compared to an exact model. The exact resolution of this mathematical model gives an optimal solution only for small instances. For the other instances, it is difficult to reach the optimal value in a short running time, which shows the practical interest of the proposed approaches.

With the evolution of mobile technology, many devices are introduced with very limited screen sizes like smart glasses.This technology must be accompanied with new visualization techniques.A classic interface can't meet the expectations of the user who becomes increasingly hard to please.The challenge is to display information and allow the user a better navigation with less effort especially in situation of mobility.This paper explores a fisheye view on tiled user interfaces for smart glasses that uses the semantic relationships of items of information contained in the tiles.We propose a reformulation of the degree of interest function and a semantic model for tiled interfaces that supports this reformulation.We developed a prototype to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach and to improve our design approach in our future work.

Smart and wearable devices are trendy electronic objects that have become increasingly popular in recent years. Those devices are, by definition, tightly connected with the user's personal activities. Authentication is therefore a critical feature for both identifying users and personalizing the services on the device. In particular, the emergence of smartglasses changed the way we thought a wearable could assist users in their daily activities. As designed by commercial providers, smartglasses are sold with a very specific set of interactions capabilities. These capabilities have a strong impact on how comfortably or safely users may authenticate to their smartglasses. For this reason, we investigate in this paper the different authentication methods available for smartphones and we comparatively position the smartglasses in the design space of authentication methods. We propose a new approach based on touch input on an arbitrary surface using thermal camera input. This approach aims to circumvent the lack of touch surface provided by smartglasses, while maintaining an acceptable level of security.

Despite the rapid pace of gadgets released on the market, research in the area of usable interfaces for wearables is lagging behind. Smartglasses are new wearables that embed diverse sensors but also have small displays, and this makes it hard for the wearer to visualize real-time data. To bridge this gap, the contribution of this paper is threefold. First, we propose a data representation model to combine applications and services that match user activities and contexts. Second, we present an approach of showing relevant services to the user based on `tiles' (such as those in recent Microsoft Windows interfaces) while considering the device constraints. Finally, we suggest that combining those two aspects can open the way to personalized services for the end user, creating new ways of interacting with applications and devices.

In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of the gaze interaction within near-to-eye display. The practical aspect of the paper is about combining an eye tracker with smart glasses. Presented research is related with the eGlasses project, which is focused on the development of an open platform in the form of multisensory electronic glasses and related interaction methods. One of the implemented interaction methods is the one based on eye tracking module. Both, the advantages and limitation of the method are discussed. We also considering the calibration free method of fixation points estimation within the near-to-eye display.

In this paper we propose to cast the problem of identification of people, objects or places into an application for smart glasses that decodes information from graphical markers. We focus on analyzing different factors that can have influence on the processes of the automatic recognition of information from a code. The research we present aims at reviewing recognition performances in function of: size of a marker, distance from/to a marker, position of a marker and hardware used to decode information. Additionally, we describe a colorful graphical marker which was created for comparative analysis with existing monochrome codes. We also analyze accuracy of the detection of markers colors under different illumination conditions and different scanning distances. Moreover, considering possible usages of graphical markers, we present a prototype application, which can potentially provide faster access to patients' information. We believe that it may be very useful, because health care have to deal with a lot of various assets that could be identify or classify by using eyewear devices. Our first conclusions are the facts that following factors may have influence on monochrome code recognition (i) distance from the camera, (ii) rotation and slope of code, (iii) quality and size of the code. Distance from the camera should be adapted to the device that is used to scan the code. Under preliminary studies with colorful codes, tested light conditions and distances did not affect the classification of colors.

This paper presents a comparative pilot usability study of Dasher and an on-screen keyboard on a head-mounted display. Interaction logging data was captured along with subjective responses (via the SUS questionnaire). The results indicate that there is a strong need to develop text entry systems for smart glasses rather to simply adopt those that are already available. However, both approaches are useful when there is a need to enter private or sensitive data.

There are several High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) extensions providing new tools on the top of a common HEVC base layer. These HEVC extensions enable higher temporal, spatial or quality of the video, 3-D rendering and range extension. In addition to the conforming HEVC decoder, the end-user need to support the decoding of the HEVC extension to benefits from its tools. In this paper we propose an unified software decoder enabling to decode all HEVC extensions. This solution is based on the open source project OpenHEVC which implements a conforming HEVC decoder. The new tools defined in HEVC extension are implemented and integrated into the OpenHEVC decoder. We show the first end-to-end video streaming demonstration of the HEVC extensions with the OpenHEVC decoder and the GPAC player. The GPAC server streams one HEVC base layer and two enhancement layers. At the client side, GPAC player uses the OpenHEVC to decode the base layer for HD resolution and can also decode whether the first EL for 4K resolution or the second EL for 3-D rendering.

We describe the design and evaluation of a gestural text editing technique for touchscreen devices. The gestures are drawn on top of the soft keyboard and interpreted as commands for moving the caret, performing selections, and controlling the clipboard. Our implementation is an Android service that can be used in any text editing task on Android-based devices. We conducted an experiment to compare the gestural editing technique against the widget-based technique available on a smartphone (Samsung Galaxy II with Android 2.3.5). The results show a performance benefit of 13-24% for the gestural technique depending on the font size. Subjective feedback from the participants was also positive. Because the two editing techniques use different input areas, they can co-exist on a device. This means that the gestural editing can be added on any soft keyboard without interfering with user experience for those users that choose not to use it.

Edgewrite is a text entry method where the user follows the edges of a physical guiding rectangle to enter corner sequences that are interpreted as characters. The original Edgewrite character set resembles the Latin alphabet and includes explicit character segmentation by lifting the stylus (or centering the joystick, etc). We present a variant of Edgewrite that we call the continuous Edgewrite. It relies on a dictionary instead of user's character segmentation to disambiguate words. New users can use the continuous Edgewrite with the help of an interactive visualization of possible continuations while writing. In a 6-session user study we measured initial text transcription performance (increased from 1 to 5.4 wpm) and the ratio of observed explicit segmentations to optimal continuous writing (decreased from 2.5 to 1.5). These results show that it is possible to learn to use the continuous writing mode, but also that the learning takes some time.

We describe a system that informs the users of the shape of the EdgeWrite characters within the visual feedback area of EdgeWrite. We compared two versions (static and dynamic) of this design to a printed character chart in a five-session text entry experiment with three 8-participant groups. The participants were able to use EdgeWrite with the integrated help systems. There were no statistically significant differences in text entry rate between the group using the character chart and the two groups using the integrated help. However, the group with the dynamic help was faster than the group with the static help while maintaining a low corrected error rate.

Modern information technology allows us to seek out new ways to support the computer use and communication of disabled people. With the aid of new interaction technologies and techniques visually impaired and sighted users can collaborate, for example, in the classroom situations. The main goal of the MICOLE project was to create a software architecture that makes it easier for the developers to create multimodal multi-user applications. The framework is based on interconnected software agents. The hardware used in this study includes VTPlayer Mouse which has two built-in Braille displays, and several haptic devices such as PHANToM Omni, PHANToM Desktop and PHANToM Premium. We also used the SpaceMouse and various audio setups in the applications. In this paper we present a software architecture, a set of software agents, and an example of using the architecture. The example application shown is an electric circuit application that follows the single-user with many devices scenario. The application uses a PHANToM and a VTPlayer Mouse together with visual and audio feedback to make the electric circuits understandable through touch.

Trackball-mice are devices that include both a trackball and a mouse. In this paper we discuss our experiences in building and testing trackball-mouse prototypes. We report four experiments on user performance with the prototypes used as trackball-mice, conventional mice, and in two-handed configuration with a separate trackball for the non-dominant hand. The results show that user performance with the two-handed configuration was better than in one-handed operation of a trackball-mouse and in one-handed operation of a mouse. Trackball-mouse use and conventional mouse use were more evenly matched. However, Trackball-mouse operation involves a skill that most users do not have whereas mouse operation is familiar to most. Therefore, widespread introduction of trackball-mice does not appear to be justified on performance grounds alone. However, trackball-mice can be used as regular mice by ignoring the ball. This makes them compatible with traditional graphical user interfaces while offering two extra degrees of freedom in tasks where they are beneficial.

The VirHKey is a new text entry method for mobile devices using a simple Unistroke-like alphabet. Gesture recognition is accomplished not through pattern recognition but through sequences of flicks with low required angular accuracy: 2p/5 in radians. This means that the full stroke path is unimportant and recognition is highly deterministic, enabling good accuracy. All during the interaction, an optional visual feedback is provided at least for the learning stage. This is done with a focus and context display based on the hyperbolic geometry. To illustrate the possibilities of the VirHKey, a prototype application was developed and usability tests demonstrated the overall good performances of the proposition with a text entry rate from 18 to 25 words per minute and a high satisfaction of users.