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Attribute Gates

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Patrick OlivierORCiD

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Abstract

Attribute gates are a new user interface element designed to address the problem of concurrently setting attributes and moving objects between territories on a digital tabletop. Motivated by the notion of task levels in activity theory, and crossing interfaces, attribute gates allow users to opera-tionalize multiple subtasks in one smooth movement. We present two configurations of attribute gates; (1) grid gates which spatially distribute attribute values in a regular grid, and require users to draw trajectories through the attributes; (2) polar gates which distribute attribute values on seg-ments of concentric rings, and require users to align seg-ments when setting attribute combinations. The layout of both configurations of attribute gates was optimised based on targeting and steering laws derived from Fitts’ Law. A study compared the use of attribute gates with traditional contextual menus. Users of attribute gates demonstrated both increased performance and higher mutual awareness.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Sulaiman AN, Olivier P

Publication type: Report

Publication status: Published

Series Title: School of Computing Science Technical Report Series

Year: 2008

Pages: 12

Print publication date: 01/04/2008

Source Publication Date: April 2008

Report Number: 1087

Institution: School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne

URL: http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/trs/papers/1087.pdf


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