Browsing by Author "Tang, Tony"
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- ItemOpen AccessA Demographic-driven Peer-Assisted CDN for Sharing User-Generated Media Content(2017) Rougeau, Bradley; Wang, Mea; Tang, Tony; Alim, Usman; Wang, MeaInternet traffic is increasingly dominated by user-generated content, predominantly by multimedia content (photos and videos). The content is primarily shared in online social networks (OSNs) such as Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. In this thesis, we are interested in studying the traffic imposed by user-generated multimedia content in OSNs and exploring the potential of involving end-user devices for more efficient delivery of user-generated media content. To do so, we developed Viewcount, a Facebook application, to collect traces of user-generated multimedia traffic. Through analyzing social activities around user-generated multimedia content (such as user demographics and viewing distributions), we drew insightful observations correlating demographics and social activities to network traffic. These observations shed light on the design of DEPA, a demographic-driven peer-assisted content delivery network (CDN) to reduce redundant network traffic and workload on the OSN servers. In contrast to existing attempts towards peer-assisted OSNs, DEPA adapts existing OSN architecture and introduces various demographic-driven caching schemes. Through a trace-driven simulator, we evaluated DEPA in both the Viewcount network and on OSNs with different demographic properties. DEPA provided a significant reduction of traffic on the OSN servers even with very small caches on our peer-assistants. Furthermore, the demographic caching algorithm in DEPA is more adaptive to dynamic changes of user online status in OSNs.
- ItemOpen AccessBody-Centric Interaction with Wall Displays in Multi-Display Environments(2017) Zochodne, Julia; Maurer, Frank; Jacob, Christian; Tang, TonyLarge wall displays have become increasingly widespread, and they can be used in diverse environments to support information sharing and collaboration. Wall displays can also be easily incorporated into multi-display environments, allowing for information exchange between the wall display and personal devices, such as tablets. However, traditional input devices such as the mouse and keyboard present challenges for these types of displays, including problems with window and task management, navigation, as well as selecting individual regions or items. Different techniques should be investigated in order to effectively interact with these large displays. In this thesis we perform a study comparing the effectiveness of interaction techniques with large wall displays including body-centric techniques (i.e. proxemics and mid-air gestures) and interaction involving secondary devices (i.e. tablets). Participants were given tasks involving different permutations of these interaction techniques, and the results were evaluated using a quantitative measure of task completion time, and qualitative data gathered from post-study interviews and questionnaires. We found that the fastest interaction technique was touch interaction with a tablet, where the tablet was used to control the large wall display. The study also showed that touch selection was most preferred by users in terms of usability.
- ItemOpen AccessCritiquing Physical Prototypes for a Remote Audience(2017) Mok, Terrance; Oehlberg, Lora; Tang, Tony; Pexman, PenelopeI present an observational study of physical prototype critique that highlights some of the challenges of communicating physical behaviors and materiality at a distance. Geographically distributed open hardware communities often conduct user feedback and peer critique sessions via video conference. However, people have difficulty using current video conferencing tools to demonstrate and critique physical designs. To examine the challenges of remote critique, I conducted an observational lab study in which participants critiqued pairs of physical prototypes (prosthetic hands) for a face-to-face or remote collaborator. In both conditions, participants’ material experiences were an important part of their critique, however their attention was divided between interacting with the prototype and finding strategies to communicate ‘invisible’ features. Based on my findings, I propose design implications for remote collaboration tools that support the sharing of material experiences and prototype critique.
- ItemOpen AccessFluid Orientation on a Tabletop Display: Integrating Rotation and Translation(2004-05-04) Kruger, Russell; Carpendale, Sheelagh; Tang, Tony; Scott, StacyPrevious research has shown that rotation and orientation of items plays three major roles during the course of tabletop collaboration: comprehension, coordination and communication. Based on these roles of orientation, we designed a novel tabletop rotation mechanism, Rotate N Translate (RNT), which provides integral control of rotation and translation using only a single touch-point for input. We present an empirical evaluation comparing RNT to the standard rotation mechanism that separated control of rotation and translation. Results of this study indicate RNT is more efficient than the separate mechanism and better supports the communicative and comprehensive roles of orientation, without sacrificing support for coordination.
- ItemOpen AccessIn-Home Data and Data Visualization(2020-04-22) Currier, Katherine Marie; Carpendale, Sheelagh; Tang, Tony; Wang, Mea; Forlini, StefaniaIn this thesis, I present an exploration of in-home data and data visualization. I conducted a study that takes an exploratory look at ubiquitous computing in homes from the perspective of data and visualization. Through in-context interviews during home walkthroughs, I explored people’s opinions about the data they live with and how they imagine incorporating data visualization displays into their lives and their homes. I discovered that most of our study participants already live with many types of data and visualizations, and these experiences influence their proposals for future visualizations. This qualitative study raises potential factors about the future of data and data visualization as an essential part of smart home environments. Using the results of the study, I propose a flexible framework of visualization characteristics to consider when discussing visualizations for the home.
- ItemOpen AccessSensing and Visualizing Physiological Arousal(2003-09-16) Tang, Tony; Kraft, Dan; Carpendale, Sheelagh; Dunning, AlanIn order to create input devices that are capable of sensing and interpreting human affect from physiological measurements, most previous approaches have produced interfaces that are cumbersome and require overhead in setup and calibration. Our goal was to create a minimal interface that could still interpret human affect. The results from this input are visualized to inform the user about his or her own state. We describe our simple tangible interface that requires no configuration, minimal explanation and does not require known actions from the user. This interface collects galvanic skin response (GSR) date and creates a visualization of this data.
- ItemOpen AccessSituated Self-Tracking: Ideating, Designing, and Deploying Dedicated User-driven Personal Informatics Systems(2021-01-20) Wannamaker, Kendra; Willett, Wesley J.; Tang, Tony; Suzuki, Ryo; Willett, Wesley J.In this thesis, we examine the intersection between personal informatics and situated visualization. Personal Informatics systems aim to help people collect and utilize their own data. Situated visualizations aim to decentralize data consumption and support people in making data-driven decisions in-situ. We present I/O Bits, a prototype personal informatics system that explores the potential for situated self-tracking. With simple tactile inputs and small e-paper visualizations, I/O Bits are dedicated physical devices that allow individuals to track and visualize different kinds of personal activities in-situ. This is in contrast to most self-tracking systems, which automate data collection, centralize information displays, or integrate into multi-purpose devices like smartwatches or mobile phones. Our contributions stem from a set of situated ideation workshops, an e-paper visualization workshop, the development of I/O Bits, and a prototype deployment where participants constructed their own I/O Bits and used them to track a range of personal data. We make three contributions with this work. First, we report on methodologies from seven design workshops that used ideation and sketching activities to prototype new situated visualizations. Based on our diverse set of workshops, we identify challenges and opportunities for sketching and ideating situated visualizations and highlight promising methods for both designers and researchers. Second, we use our design workshop results to design our novel situated self-tracking system, I/O Bits. We discuss the tensions experienced during our iterative design and development process and explore the design space of small situated visualizations on e-paper displays. Finally, we examine our findings from the situated ideation workshops, e-paper visualization workshop, development process, and prototype deployment. Using sketches, photos, hardware, audio recordings, and transcripts, we distill a set of insights and opportunities for future research on situated self-tracking.