The Leap Motion allows multiple users to interact with the system. There was no software limitation placed on the number of hands the system could track, but the limited space of the area tracked by the Leap Motion will limit the number of people who interact with the system. False positives found in the first experiment did not have a significant impact on enjoyment of the installation, but had the potential to impact the user experience if they were not addressed.
The installation was playful, but not collaborative.
The Leap Motion works well with a single-user, and users enjoyed the experience with the installation. Incorporating collaborative learning is one way that the user-experience can be improved. It was decided that collaborative play and a game-like challenge was desirable after several users asked if there was an “objective” to the simulations used in testing. Some users expressed that it was familiar
with other games they had played (such as Fruit Ninja2). The versions of 18S rDNA used in testing
provided no incentive or reward, other than exploring the data. Collaboration, reward and incentive could be used in future versions to encourage users to interact.
The installation acted only as a syntactic boundary object.
Interactive installations have the potential to act as semantic, or potentially pragmatic boundary ob- jects. Though a semantic or pragmatic boundary object is not inherently “better” than a syntactic boundary object, the potential to communicate information about how the data was collected was a desirable outcome for 18S rDNA.
5.4 Final Version
After the experiments were completed, further consideration was given to the way that user needs can be integrated with the data. At this point, I developed the NEUVis Data-Visualisation Schem- atic, presented in 4.5 on page 83. This tool was used to develop a final version of the installation. In addition to the use of the NEUVis Data-Visualisation Schematic, this version uses the Microsoft Kinect[136] as the interface, and was developed using openFrameworks [152] in Xcode 7 [4], a development environment for Mac OSX. The Kinect (version 1) was chosen as an interface to the simulation, as it enables robust, multi-user interactivity. The decision to use openFrameworks was based on the availability of useful third-party libraries (particularly OpenNI [153], which captures and processes data from the Kinect) and overall improvements to performance of the installation. This presented a significant learning experience as openFrameworks was an unfamiliar development platform to me.
The series of images in 5.6 on page 99 and 5.7 on page 100 outlines the way in which the user
can interact with the system. A video demonstration of the interaction is also available at https:
//youtu.be/OyIGzpOlgZU 2see http://fruitninja.com/
5.4.1 Creating the Design Understanding
Before starting the final iteration the initial steps of the design process (see 4.2 on page 78) were reiterated, so that the entire process can be more effectively evaluated. This involved observational activities at a science museum, to observe the mix of people who visited. User personas were created from the observations, as well as a NEUVis Data-Visualisation Schematic (see table 5.1). The responses to questions, as stated in 5.3.3 on page 94, had not changed, since the same data set was being used. An observation exercise was undertaken on a weekend at the Queensland Museum, to examine the way that users engaged with museum installations in a natural context. Two digital installations, 4,000
Species (see figure 5.8) and a digital projection as part of the Lost Creatures (see figure 5.9) exhibition were
observed. 4,000 Species is an interactive installation that allows users to explore the tree of life using one of three large touch-screen displays. It is situated in a main thoroughfare that experienced consistent traffic. The screens are integrated into the wall, and there were two tangible exhibits in front of the installation (they do not block access to 4000 Species). The installation appeared to be thoughtfully designed, and interacting with the installation was simple and straightforward. Museum guests of a very broad range of ages passed through the area; parents with children in prams, teenage or young adult couples, families with children, senior citizens. A few adults noticed the installation, but chose not to interact with it. The installation was not as interesting to the visitors as the two tangible installations that were nearby. After several minutes, the first user observed interacting with 4,000
Species was a child, who was part of a group of guests, which seemed to be two or three mothers who
were taking all their children to the museum together. The child was able to explore the installation easily, without assistance, after loosing interest in the nearest tangible exhibit (a preserved giant squid in a glass case), with which the other children were still engaged. 4,000 Species did not attract users on its own, it had little novelty to offer in comparison with the specimens in front of it, which most people stopped to look at. It was often noticed that users looking at the squid would turn to the wall to see what it was, and looked away without interacting or moving towards the screens. This is not to say that 4,000 Species is a failure, but it did not offer the same novelty as a giant squid in formaldehyde—something tangible, which is less likely that guests have seen often, if ever. One design flaw of 4,000 Species may be that it offers little more than a well-designed application for a smart phone or tablet, which is what the children who were fascinated by the tangible exhibits may have been doing on a bus trip to the museum.
In contrast to 4,000 Species, a projection as part of the Lost Creatures exhibition appeared to be im- plicitly engaging, especially with children. Lost Creatures is described on the museum website:
Lost Creatures introduces you to some of Queensland’s long-lost inhabitants, including dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles and megafauna. Meet some of our state’s inhabitants from millions of years ago and marvel at their diversity and immense size. [164]
5.4. FINAL VERSION 99
(a) The display in a waiting state, with Anthony, the NPC, prompting a user to wave their hand.
(b) A user has approached and waved their hand, the system has welcomed them, and changes state to the guided tour of the estuary that is being simulated. A marker on the screen shows the position of the hand in the model of the system.
(c) Anthony is describing the effects of environmental con- ditions on the water. The user is prompted to interact with the bars on either side of the display to compare the effects of pollution and salinity on the estuary.
(a) User examining the effect of high pollution on the or- ganisms of the estuary by moving the marker over the left hand side bar. Organisms that would not survive under these conditions turn grey and sink to the bottom of the benthic layer, indicating that they have died.
(b) With their other hand, the user is examining the effect of salinity on the estuary, with the marker on the right hand side bar.
(c) After Anthony has finished giving the tour of the estu- ary the simulation changes state again. Now the user can examine individual organisms to find out their name and the environmental condition which causes them to thrive or die.
5.4. FINAL VERSION 101
Figure 5.8: The interface for 4,000 Species the three lower displays are interactive touch screens. Photo taken with permission.
Figure 5.9: The projection in Lost Creatures comparing the silhouette of an adult (left side of projection) to several dinosaurs from the Southeast Queensland area. Photo taken with permission.
5.4. FINAL VERSION 103
(a) (b)
Figure 5.10: Volunteers testing an iteration of the final concept for 18S rDNA.
The large exhibition included interactive touch-screen displays that presented information relevant to fossils and other tangible specimens, which they were near. Users were observed to make use of these displays often, as they augmented the experience with the tangible displays. However, one attraction for young guests was a projection. This projection displayed dinosaurs and Australian megafauna on a wall that appeared to be about two or three stories tall. The projection used very simple animation, but was very popular with children. They played “with” the projection, though it was not interactive, many jumping up to see how high they could reach on the leg of a huge dinosaur that was projected at 1:1 scale. This installation was not interactive at all, but the audience enjoyed playing with realistic digital representations of life-size dinosaurs.
No concrete laws of interaction can be formulated from this single example, but it does show that interactive installations, such as 18S rDNA need to leverage novelty, in order to engage users, whether they are children or adults. The interaction system needs to be designed in a way that is unique to the context where it is being shown. This reinforces the selection of the Kinect, a body-tracking system, as the interface for 18S rDNA.
The next iteration of the installation also includes some elements from video game design, par- ticularly non-playable characters. These characters help the user understand the objectives of the installation and the science informing it. With the understanding of the data and observation of the way that museum guests were comfortable interacting, the design persona was developed for 18S
rDNA, shown in table 5.1.
5.4.2 Final Iteration
The final version of 18S rDNA was developed and tested informally with multiple users for software bugs, and to obtain informal feedback on interaction (see figure 5.10). This process was useful for development, particularly to observe how the system responded to multiple users. In this version, I introduced a non-playable character (NPC) to the installation: Anthony, a scientist who invites the
Table 5.1: NEUVis Data-Visualisation Schematic for 18S rDNA
Part 1: Data Consideration
Type .csv files of qualitative, empirical research. Attributes
Dimensionality Non-geospatial/temporal, not “big data” High-Dimensional
- Organism description (EG OTU etc) - What the organism reacts to - Strength/rapidness of reaction
- Concentrations of pH/Phosphorus that cause reaction
Attributes
Establishment Biological Sciences
Scientific Method used to collect data, rather than simulation
Advanced, high-throughput DNA sequencing
Relevance
Applicability Abstract, but actionable elements Informational
Relevance
Acquisition Using Semantic boundary object Attributes
Part 2: Visualisation Consideration
Goals Compare the the natural and artificial gradient of reactions to pH and Pollution that different organisms have.
Relevance Interface Playful, Multi-level interaction, interacting with NPCs Interaction
Construction Novel, Exploratory Interaction
Context Museum installation
- Museum guests including the general public, school groups etc.
Conference exhibition
- November 2016 conference: Global Ecologies - Local Impacts Conference
- Research Visions 2016 at The University of Sydney.
Relevance
Communication Semantic boundary object:
- Users can access data, with guidance, through video game elements, particularly NPCs
- The user is given information about the source of the scientific knowledge, and the source of the data. NPCs may be scientists.
- Creating a language that the user can understand, but cannot give feedback on, so not a pragmatic boundary object
Relevance