Manager, Interaction Science

Research on the frontiers of Human-Computer Interaction.

Jeffrey Nichols
Jeffrey Pierce
Patrick Shih (Now a grad student a UCI)
Min Yin
Shumin Zhai
Tom Zimmerman
Keng-hao Chang, Summer Intern from UC Berkeley
Claire Lee, Summer Intern from Georgia Tech
Zhigang Hua, Summer Intern from Georgia Tech
David Dearman, Summer Intern from U. Toronto

My Research Work

Ubicomp Systems

Finding the Right Nails: Scenarios for Evaluating Pervasive Systems

John Barton and Jeff Pierce

Effective evaluation aids research progress. Effective evaluation of user-facing computing systems requires metrics determined by analysis of scenarios of use. Therefore our position is that the critical metrics for evaluating pervasive systems research should be selected from scenarios based on real problems.

Accepted as a position paper for Common Models and Patterns for Pervasive Computing Workshop (at Pervasive 2007) [ Preprint PDF]

Quantifying Magic In Ubicomp Systems Scenarios

John Barton and Jeff Pierce

A ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) system that successfully realizes an impractical scenario is technically interesting but functionally useless. Therefore, an evaluation of a ubicomp system should consider both the system itself and the broader scenario that motivates and shapes it. Our vocabulary for describing and evaluating the suitability of scenarios is, however, very limited. We believe that a useful first step toward improving that vocabulary is to assemble a set of guidelines for considering the type and amount of ``magic'' in scenarios.

Accepted as a position paper for UbiSys 2006 Workshop [Preprint PDF | Presented Slides PDF]

Mobile Phones Will Become The Primary Personal Computing Devices

John J. Barton Shumin Zhai Steven Cousins

A merger of the lowly USB memory stick and the mobile telephone provide a new platform for
information solutions. Microscopic portable memory with capacity similar to today's PC disk
drives will spark a transformation which will then be driven by new use models for mobile phones
and a new class of ``computer user'', one that has no ``personal computer'' at all. Since more people
carry phones than laptops the PC will fade into a role similar to today's view of the once mighty
mainframe. Laptop-loving dinosaurs at the workshop will protest that phones will never replace
their favorite machines, in much same way the mainframe developers scoffed at PCs throughout the
1980s. We still have mainframe developers, but the PC created new categories of computer use. We
need to understand what new uses will emerge with the computer-phone.

Accepted as position paper to WMCSA 2006 6 pages [Preprint PDF]

SIP-based Opportunistic Augmentation

Dialing for Displays: Session Initiation Protocol for Opportunistic Augmentation

John J. Barton, Stina Nylander, Fopefolu Folowosele, Beverly Harrison

Opportunistic augmentation denotes connecting a personal mobile device to another device to gain a transient advantage for the user. For example, a mobile phone user might borrow a large display and keyboard from a desktop personal computer. This uniquely ubiquitous computing activity requires effective device and service discovery as well as appropriate media usable across two or more devices. In this paper we show how Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), the call signaling protocol for Voice over IP, effectively separates discovery from media-rendering selection in opportunistic augmentation. This separation improves system flexibility while allowing users or system administrators to choose the most appropriate discovery technologies for the environment. We also describe two phone-centric discovery mechanisms and demonstrate the practicality of the system by implementation and use in a test environment.

Accepted as a short paper for PERCOM 2006 [Preprint PDF]

Connection Time for Strange Devices

John J. Barton Fopefolu Folowosele Stina Nylander Mave Houston Shumin Zhai

Abstract: Connecting small, mobile computers to other computers, especially when these connections are not preconfigured, is a critical element in the user experience of multi-device applications. We empirically studied the user performance and experience of such connections using WiFi phones with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth radio, and wired connections in a docking cradle. Results show that the gain of easier information access by connecting phones to larger displays and keyboards could outweigh the cost of making the connection for text entry with as few as a dozen characters.

Accepted WMCSA 2006 6 Pages [Preprint PDF]

Javascript Development

Fireclipse Open Source project
Debugging Dynamically Created (eval()) Javascript in Firefox.
Test cases

For infomation on my previous work please see my personal home page.