Zoomable User Research Articles

Zooming through History: Active Perceptual Experience Mediated by Technology

This article examines the evolution of zooming and its impact on human perception, blending historical analysis with concepts from enaction and ecological psychology. The paper traces the advancement of magnifying tools from ancient lenses to modern optical instruments, highlighting their transformative role in extending human capabilities to perceive beyond natural limits. Central to this exploration are Zoomable User Interfaces (ZUIs), which exemplify the integration of perceptual theories into technological innovation. ZUIs are presented not just as tools but as interactive platforms that embody enactive and ecological principles, enabling users to engage dynamically with multi-scale digital environments. This approach challenges traditional views of perception, emphasizing an active, embodied experience that aligns with our cognitive abilities, opening up new perceptual agencies. The paper concludes by exploring future possibilities in virtual reality and multimodality, suggesting new directions for zoom technologies to enrich human perceptual experiences. This work offers a narrative that underscores the continuous human quest to enhance our understanding and interaction with the world, marking the expansion of human perception and interaction with our environment.

The effect of visuospatial designing elements of zoomable user interfaces on second language vocabulary acquisition

This study investigates coding features from cutting-edge multimedia technologies related to second language (L2) learning. The participants were fifty undergraduate students who were exposed to novel L2 words via three interfaces in the Computer-Assisted Vocabulary Acquisition software (CAVA): a verbal-based menu driven interface (L2-L1: MDI), a visual-based graphical user interface (L2-Picture: GUI), and a visuospatial-based zoomable user interface (L2-Context: ZUI). Immediate and delayed post-tests were conducted. The results for the immediate post-test revealed ZUI to be the most effective multimedia learning method. However, in the delayed post-test, ZUI’s effect declined dramatically, while GUI proved the most effective interface.

Glyphboard: Visual Exploration of High-Dimensional Data Combining Glyphs with Dimensionality Reduction.

Rigorous data science is interdisciplinary at its core. In order to make sense of high-dimensional data, data scientists need to enter into a dialogue with domain experts. We present Glyphboard, a visualization tool that aims to support this dialogue. Glyphboard is a zoomable user interface that combines well-known methods such as dimensionality reduction and glyph-based visualizations in a novel, seamless, and integrated tool. While the dimensionality reduction affords a quick overview over the data, glyph-based visualizations are able to show the most relevant dimensions in the data set at one glance. We contribute an open-source prototype of Glyphboard, a general exchange format for high-dimensional data, and a case study with nine data scientists and domain experts from four exemplary domains in order to evaluate how the different visualization and interaction features of Glyphboard are used.

Students’ experiences in learning and using Prezi in higher education

This paper documented the findings of an exploratory, qualitative case study and investigated students’ opinions about learning Prezi and their first experiences in using Prezi in Higher Education. A total of 13 students who were determined as eligible participants through a purposeful selection method were recruited. They responded to 10 interview questions that were analyzed by two researchers using content analysis. The results demonstrate that students’ experiences in acquiring practical knowledge of Prezi and creating Prezi presentations resulted in the identification of four major themes including usability, usefulness, organization and drawback. The eleven sub-themes emerged from these major themes include the following easiness, difficulty, future use, collaboration, mobility, attractiveness, zoomable user Interface & infinite canvas, effectiveness & efficiency, customization, cost and language. This study shows that although the price and limited language options of Prezi are the drawbacks, the innovative features of Prezi convert presentations from boring and linear fashion into stimulating, impressive and effective fashion. The learning and using process of Prezi are straightforward for even students who have just used traditional presentation tools such as PowerPoint.

EPlant: Visualizing and Exploring Multiple Levels of Data for Hypothesis Generation in Plant Biology.

A big challenge in current systems biology research arises when different types of data must be accessed from separate sources and visualized using separate tools. The high cognitive load required to navigate such a workflow is detrimental to hypothesis generation. Accordingly, there is a need for a robust research platform that incorporates all data and provides integrated search, analysis, and visualization features through a single portal. Here, we present ePlant (http://bar.utoronto.ca/eplant), a visual analytic tool for exploring multiple levels of Arabidopsis thaliana data through a zoomable user interface. ePlant connects to several publicly available web services to download genome, proteome, interactome, transcriptome, and 3D molecular structure data for one or more genes or gene products of interest. Data are displayed with a set of visualization tools that are presented using a conceptual hierarchy from big to small, and many of the tools combine information from more than one data type. We describe the development of ePlant in this article and present several examples illustrating its integrative features for hypothesis generation. We also describe the process of deploying ePlant as an "app" on Araport. Building on readily available web services, the code for ePlant is freely available for any other biological species research.

Personalising live zooming using the ePlayer

An innovative Internet streaming video player, called ePlayer, oriented to live events, has been researched, developed and evaluated. ePlayer supports a personalised zoomable user interface which enables a new user view experience. The main novelty of the system is first that it is designed to optimise the zoomed video quality when viewing life events, via adaptation of the streamed video quality, across multi-video streams with a variable network quality of service. Second, it also personalises the live video zooming with respect to users' zooming preferences, easing the user interaction needed for the zooming task. The experimental results indicate that the system is not only able to zoom effectively, but that it can also maintain the visual quality of the video at the same time. The ePlayer is also able to infer a user's zooming preferences via dynamically clustering a user's zooming regions of interest when viewing live sports video content.

Stories in the Rock: A Design Case of an Explorable Image Viewer in a Natural History Museum

This design case explores the affordances of gigapixel image technology for science communication and learning in museum settings through the iterative development of an explorable image viewer to engage visitors in an archaeological exhibit. We reflect on the series of user studies, prototype iterations, and design decisions taken to optimize navigation, annotation and exploration in this zoomable user interface. We highlight a set of design precedents, interaction frameworks, and content structuring approaches, while detailing the development of a media rich digital annotation strategy to augment interpretation, commentary, and conversation about a petroglyph site. Through this work, we highlight the unique affordances of multiscalar image platforms to scaffold disciplinary observation and engagement with scientific content.

The promise of zoomable user interfaces

Zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) have received a significant amount of attention in the 18 years since they were introduced. They have enjoyed some success, and elements of ZUIs are widely used in computers today, although the grand vision of a zoomable desktop has not materialised. This paper describes the premise and promise of ZUIs along with their challenges. It describes design guidelines, and offers a cautionary tale about research and innovation.

The effects of zoomable user interfaces and user age in searching for a target with a mouse on a two-dimensional information space

A zoomable user interface (ZUI) is a useful function to help users deal with large information spaces displayed within a screen. Although used in many applications, ZUIs have not been sufficiently studied in terms of usability. Usability problems may be more crucial for older people than younger ones. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of a combination of two zoom factors (three zoom focus methods: original-center, re-center, and aiming-point; and two zoom scales: +100% and +400%) for two age groups (younger and older adults) on mouse-based information searching tasks in a map-type two-dimensional information space. Twenty four volunteers (twelve users per age group) participated in the experiments by answering a pair of questions about fifty movie information topics. Task completion time, number of operations, and number of errors were selected as performance measures, and a subjective assessment of satisfaction was collected. Older adults used the tested ZUIs less efficiently and precisely than younger adults. The effects of zoom focus methods vary with zoom scale levels regardless of the age groups. The participants also preferred using the aiming-point focus regardless of zoom scale and using the re-center focus with the +400% scale. We discuss potential implications of the age-related performance differences and the effects of ZUI functions, and suggest some ZUI design guidelines in conclusion. We expect that the findings can be used as basic resources in designing various web services and applications for older computer users. Relevance to industry Given that a zoomable user interface is widely used in basic geographic information systems, web services, and various applications, using a selective-focus method such as the aiming-point focus can improve computer users’ usability; in particular, the zooming functions will greatly help older people to explore large information spaces quickly and easily.

Effects of User Age and Zoomable User Interfaces on Information Searching Tasks in a Map-Type Space

A zoomable user interface (ZUI) is a useful function to help users deal with large information spaces displayed within a screen. However, ZUI usability has not been sufficiently studied. Its problems may be more crucial for older users than younger ones. This study examined the effects of three zoom foci (original-center, re-center and dynamic) and two zoom scales (100% and 400%) for the younger and older adults on mouse-based information searching tasks in a map-type space. Twenty four subjects participated in the experiments by answering a pair of questions. Task completion time, number of operations and number of errors were measured, and a satisfaction rate was collected. Older adults used the ZUIs less efficiently than younger ones. The effects of zoom focus methods varied with the zoom scales regardless of the age groups. The participants preferred using the dynamic focus regardless of zoom scale and using the re-center focus with the 400% scale. We discuss potential implications of the age-related performance differences and the effects of ZUI functions, and suggest some ZUI design guidelines in conclusion.

Genome Projector: zoomable genome map with multiple views

BackgroundMolecular biology data exist on diverse scales, from the level of molecules to -omics. At the same time, the data at each scale can be categorised into multiple layers, such as the genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and biochemical pathways. Due to the highly multi-layer and multi-dimensional nature of biological information, software interfaces for database browsing should provide an intuitive interface that allows for rapid migration across different views and scales. The Zoomable User Interface (ZUI) and tabbed browsing have proven successful for this purpose in other areas, especially to navigate the vast information in the World Wide Web.ResultsThis paper presents Genome Projector, a Web-based gateway for genomics information with a zoomable user interface using Google Maps API, equipped with four seamlessly accessible and searchable views: a circular genome map, a traditional genome map, a biochemical pathways map, and a DNA walk map. The Web application for 320 bacterial genomes is available at . All data and software including the source code, documentations, and development API are freely available under the GNU General Public License. Zoomable maps can be easily created from any image file using the development API, and an online data mapping service for Genome Projector is also available at our Web site.ConclusionGenome Projector is an intuitive Web application for browsing genomics information, implemented with a zoomable user interface and tabbed browsing utilising Google Maps API and Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) technology.

Internet Protocol TV 환경에서 효율적인 웹 탐색기법의 사용성에 대한 비교 연구

Recently, Internet Protocol TV technology has a latent power for searching information by using internet-connected interactive TV media. It is hard to browse and search web site conveniently since the visual and input devices are not sufficient for navigating through the websites. Zoomable user interface is a possible solution that may reduce users' task load and improve their performance. In this paper, we made three types of web browsers as scroll, physical zooming and semantic zooming type. Fifteen participants asked to do searching tasks and their task time, accuracy and subjective responses are recorded. In the result, though scroll type is evaluated more efficient than other types in task time and accuracy since participants are familiar with scroll type interface, semantic zooming type is highly rated in subjective responses such as perceived searching efficiency, satisfaction and joyfulness. This result implied semantic zooming is a possible solution which is improving user experience of searching websites using Internet Protocol TV.

Zoom interaction design for pen-operated portable devices

Maps are currently the most common application domain for zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs). Standard techniques for controlling such interfaces on pen-operated devices usually rely on sequential interaction, i.e. the users can either zoom or pan. A more advanced technique is speed-dependent automatic zooming (SDAZ), which combines rate-based panning and zooming into a single operation and thus enables concurrent interaction. Yet another navigation strategy is to allow for concurrent, but separate, zooming and panning. However, due to the limitations of stylus input, this feature requires the pen-operated device to be enhanced with additional input dimensions. We propose one unimanual approach based on pen pressure, and one bimanual approach in which users pan the view with the pen while manipulating the scale by tilting the device. In total, we developed four interfaces (standard, SDAZ, pressure, and tilting) and compared them in a usability study with 32 participants. The results show that SDAZ performed well for both simple speed tasks and more complex navigation scenarios, but that the coupled interaction led to much user frustration. In a preference vote, the participants strongly rejected the interface and stated that they found it difficult and irksome to control. This result enhances previous research, which in most cases found a high user preference for SDAZ, but focused solely on simple speed tasks. In contrast, the pressure and tilt interfaces were much appreciated, which, considering the novelty of these approaches, is highly encouraging. However, in solving the test tasks the participants took hardly any advantage of parallel interaction. For a map view of 600 × 600 pixels, this resulted in task-completion times comparable to those for the standard interface. For a smaller 300 × 300 pixels view, the standard interface was actually significantly faster than the two novel techniques. This ratio is also reflected in the preference votes. While for the larger 600 × 600 pixels view the tilt interface was the most popular, the standard interface was rated highest for the 300 × 300 pixels view. Hence, on a smaller display, precise interaction may have an increased impact on the interface usability. Overall, we believe that the alternative interaction techniques show great potential for further development. In particular, a redesign should encourage parallel interaction more strongly and also provide improved support for precise navigation.

DEVELOPING A ZOOMABLE IRREGULAR MESH EDITOR FOR FLOODING SIMULATION

A zoomable irregular mesh editor is developed which is capable of constructing irregular mesh networks for flooding simulations. The software is written in a computer programming language, Java. This means that it is independent of computer platforms and does not need proprietary (commercial) software. The software provides a graphical mouse-driven mesh editing environment with a zoomable user interface, in which the user can smoothly zoom in, to get more detailed information, and zoom out for an overview. The software also allows the user to suspend and resume the operation, by saving and reading text files which describe the network structure.

Browsing Zoomable Treemaps: Structure-Aware Multi-Scale Navigation Techniques

Treemaps provide an interesting solution for representing hierarchical data. However, most studies have mainly focused on layout algorithms and paid limited attention to the interaction with treemaps. This makes it difficult to explore large data sets and to get access to details, especially to those related to the leaves of the trees. We propose the notion of zoomable treemaps (ZTMs), an hybridization between treemaps and zoomable user interfaces that facilitates the navigation in large hierarchical data sets. By providing a consistent set of interaction techniques, ZTMs make it possible for users to browse through very large data sets (e.g., 700,000 nodes dispatched amongst 13 levels). These techniques use the structure of the displayed data to guide the interaction and provide a way to improve interactive navigation in treemaps.

New video-based assistive technologies for low vision

Over the past decade, electro-optical technology has evolved as an important platform for the development of contemporary assistive devices for people with low vision. Video-based devices are now commercially available in iterations corresponding to all commonly differentiated categories of optical low vision aids — hand held, stand mounted, face worn, and head borne magnifiers and telemicroscopes. With several notable exceptions, these developments are manifestations of “technology push” initiatives aimed at replicating the established functionality of conventional CCTV systems within smaller, more portable embodiments by utilizing recent innovations in sensor, display, and lighting technologies. Most of these compact video magnifiers incorporate a variable, but modest, range of magnifications combined with several contrast enhancement selections. Their major weaknesses include over-magnification, mediocre colour rendering, reduced display contrast, narrow viewing angles, aspect ration distortions, non-intuitive camera/display juxtapositions, and modestly limited fields of view. Nonetheless, these devices have been well-received by many low visioned users because they offer several unique advantages over optical magnifiers for some applications. Video devices with distance viewing capabilities are somewhat more ubiquitous. Clinical experience with these multifaceted systems provides greater insight into the full potential of video technology for low vision applications. Their theoretical potential derives from the fundamental posits of contemporary clinical analysis. “Low vision” commonly describes any untreatable condition of diminished vision that interferes with an individual's ability to perform common visual tasks such as reading. Underpinning these functional seeing disabilities is a unique assortment of measurable deficits in tested visual function. These elemental impairments often include visual acuity reductions, contrast sensitivity deficits, glare sensitivity, visual field defects, diminished scotopic or photopic function, and photo-recovery deficiencies. Optical devices invariably produce fixed levels of magnification that provide effective solutions for people with relatively specific impairments performing fairly specific seeing tasks. This approach is somewhat one-dimensional since it invokes a visual acuity solution for all impairment presentations. Video-based technology allows developers to incorporate a much broader range of enhancement options in a single low vision device. These devices produce a video-mediated reality that can be selectively tuned to redress the multifaceted visual deficiencies of most users with respect to most seeing tasks. Our experience with video telescope users reveals the utility of several novel viewing strategies that are exclusive to video device use, including innovative orientation and localization strategies that are potentiated by their zoomable user interface. Another significant performance feature of video devices is their intrinsic capacity to create readily discernable images within a wide range of hostile viewing environments. The increased availability of new video-based low vision devices poses a significant challenge for contemporary vision rehabilitation service providers, who must now resolve their integration into well-established low vision assessment protocols. The growing range and versatility of video devices establishes a viable alternative for most optical sight enhancement systems that is best evaluated using organized assessment protocols that allow assessors and users to directly compare the two intervention options.

Toolkit design for interactive structured graphics

Here, we analyze toolkit designs for building graphical applications with rich user interfaces, comparing polylithic and monolithic toolkit-based solutions. Polylithic toolkits encourage extension by composition and follow a design philosophy similar to 3D scene graphs supported by toolkits including JavaSD and Openlnventor. Monolithic toolkits, on the other hand, encourage extension by inheritance, and are more akin to 2D graphical user interface toolkits such as Swing or MFC. We describe Jazz (a polylithic toolkit) and Piccolo (a monolithic toolkit), each of which we built to support interactive 2D structured graphics applications in general, and zoomable user interface applications in particular. We examine the trade offs of each approach in terms of performance, memory requirements, and programmability. We conclude that a polylithic approach is most suitable for toolkit builders, visual design software where code is automatically generated, and application builders where there is much customization of the toolkit. Correspondingly, we find that monolithic approaches appear to be best for application builders where there is not much customization of the toolkit.

From Voting Machines to "Scary": HCIL Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

includes children. The audience was wowed with two reports on the International Children’s Digital Library ‐ a five-year project to develop and test the best way of using technology to provide online access to children’s books in a format designed to mimic the thought processes of a child rather than an adult. The actual software technologies are based on previous NSF-funded research conducted between 1999 and 2002 by HCIL to develop an interface to support 7-9-year-olds in querying, browsing and organizing multimedia information. Two search methods are available and both are highly visual using zoom to move between the specific and the general. The first method shows a globe. The child clicks on a region and books from or about that region are displayed. The other method searches through 13 categories in a way that matches how a child would look for a book if actually present in a library. Working with children during the design, it was decided that books should be searchable by the color and shape of their covers as well as how they make children feel ‐ e.g., whether it is a “scary” book or a “happy” book. Other categories include subject, type of characters and “true” or “make-believe.” Although the interface is particularly usable and flexible, its downside is its requirement that the PC be a minimum of a 700 MHz Pentium III, 256 MB RAM, operate with a Java Virtual Machine plug-in and have broadband access. Identifying this as a significant limitation, HCIL just announced the launch of an HTML-only version that will work over dial-up. The other report related to the Children’s Library was on an effort funded by a threeyear NSF grant to analyze and expand functionality to meet the needs of children aged 10-13 years. The older kids rejected the “cute” design of the interface considering it too childish. They were interested in a “cool” interface, but there was a diversity of ideas as to what represented “cool.” The solution was to provide a way for the older kids to customize the “skin” of the interface. Younger children use the library for read

Navigation patterns & usability of zoomable user interfaces

The following abstracts are from recent issues and the forthcoming issue of ACM's Transactions of Computer Human Interaction (ToCHI). They are included here to alert interactions' readers to what research is being done in the field of Computer Human Interaction. The complete papers, when published, can be found in ACM's Digital Library at www.acm.org/pubs/contents/journals/tochi/

Navigation patterns and usability of zoomable user interfaces with and without an overview

The literature on information visualization establishes the usability of interfaces with an overview of the information space, but for zoomable user interfaces, results are mixed. We compare zoomable user interfaces with and without an overview to understand the navigation patterns and usability of these interfaces. Thirty-two subjects solved navigation and browsing tasks on two maps. We found no difference between interfaces in subjects' ability to solve tasks correctly. Eighty percent of the subjects preferred the interface with an overview, stating that it supported navigation and helped keep track of their position on the map. However, subjects were faster with the interface without an overview when using one of the two maps. We conjecture that this difference was due to the organization of that map in multiple levels, which rendered the overview unnecessary by providing richer navigation cues through semantic zooming. The combination of that map and the interface without an overview also improved subjects' recall of objects on the map. Subjects who switched between the overview and the detail windows used more time, suggesting that integration of overview and detail windows adds complexity and requires additional mental and motor effort.