Integrated CAD development for building services engineering

The potential benefits of CAD in building design are well established. In reality most production CAD systems are developed in response to the particular requirements of users who are architects or building engineers. These requirements are often fragmented. They relate to different aspects of the complete building engineering design cycle and are often specified by different users at different moments in time. The role of the CAD systems developer is to design a coherent software system and to establish a consistent set of user interface conventions with which an integrated solution of these different requirements can be provided. This paper describes how this methodology has been successfully applied to an important aspect of CAD relating to building services engineering.     

Improving accessibility with user-tailored interfaces

The first stage in the design of a user interface is the quest for its ‘typical user’, an abstract generalization of each user of the application. However, in web systems and other scenarios where the application can be used by dozens of different kinds of users, the identification of this ‘typical user’ is quite difficult, if not impossible. Our proposal is to avoid the construction of interactive dialogs during the design stage, building them dynamically once the specific cognitive, perceptual and motor requirements of the current user are known: that is, during the execution stage. This is the approach used by GADEA, an intelligent user interface management system (UIMS) able to separate the functionality of an application from its interface in real time. The system adapts the components of the interface depending on the information stored in a user model which is continuously updated by a small army of data-gathering agents.     

浅谈统一用户管理系统的建设方案

随着信息技术的迅猛发展,企业用户在日常办公中使用的应用系统越来越多,由于受建设年代、开发技术、设计方法等因素的制约,应用系统之间往往互相孤立,各自形成了独立的用户信息库和用户认证体系,包括组织机构、角色定义、身份认证等等互相独立,信息不一致。如此不仅使用户在使用应用系统时需要记录多个密码,增加了出错的可能性,而且由于不同系统间用户认证的安全性不一,安全风险非常突出。针对这种情况,建立一套统一用户管理系统成为企业用户的选择．而这个系统为企业统一的工作流管理、统一数据交换、统一信息等功能提供的基础的服务。     

A Java™ universal vehicle router for routing unmanned aerial vehicles

We consider vehicle routing problems in the context of the Air Force operational problem of routing unmanned aerial vehicles from base locations to various reconnaissance sites. The unmanned aerial vehicle routing problem requires consideration of heterogeneous vehicles, vehicle endurance limits, time windows, and time walls for some of the sites requiring coverage, site priorities, and asymmetric travel distances. We propose a general architecture for operational research problems, specified for vehicle routing problems, that encourages object‐oriented programming and code reuse. We create an instance of this architecture for the unmanned aerial vehicle routing problem and describe the components of this architecture to include the general user interface created for the operational users of the system. We employ route building heuristics and tabu search in a symbiotic fashion to provide a user‐defined level‐of‐effort solver interface. Empirical tests of solution algorithms parameterized for solution speed reveal reasonable solution quality is attained.     

Enabling situated knowledge management for complex instruments by real-time reconstruction of surface coordinate system on a mobile device

We have developed an approach to implementing a system for managing situated knowledge for complex instruments. Our aim is to develop a system that guides a user through the steps for operating complex scientific instruments. A user manual is often inadequate support for a community of users, so direct communication with an expert is often required. One reason for this is that not all of the author’s expert knowledge was included in the manual, thus limiting the contents to explicit knowledge. This is a main concern of modern knowledge management practitioners who are attempting to design systems that consider both explicit and tacit knowledge. The key is to distribute explicit knowledge through interaction with the real world so that users can develop tacit knowledge as well as acquire explicit knowledge. We describe technical difficulties related to referencing the real world, which is required for interaction, and describe a novel approach to building a low-cost three-dimensional pointer for obtaining the required knowledge, which constitutes our preliminary result.     

面向真实构建的徽州建筑快速建模方法

快速建筑建模研究领域追求的目标包括模型的高精度、构建的高效率,以及对用户领域知识要求低、交互简单,而这往往互相矛盾.为解决这些问题,提出了一种基于组件的多层参数建模方法,使用概率网络描述建筑和组件的高层参数,作为友好的用户交互接口;使用规则库描述组件低层参数,指导高层参数生成低层参数;最后使用构建模板描述建筑构建过程.基于此,实现了徽派建筑自动营造系统,能较好的完成具有真实构建流程、高精度徽派建筑快速建模.实验结果证明了所提方法的实用性和有效性,且系统具有友好简单的交互方式,扩展性好,用户无论是否具备领域知识都能获得良好的用户体验.     

ON-LINE AUTOMATIC HELP GENERATION SYSTEMS

The design of good user interfaces enhances the acceptance and use of computers, basically in environments in which their users are not familiar with computers. In this paper we concentrate on the design and development of intelligent interaction systems that provide active context-sensitive assistance to the user. We seek a compromise solution between development simplicity and power. To reach this objective, we propose the application of techniques from knowledge engineering to the development of active on-line assistance systems, establishing total independence between the knowledge on the interaction domain, the data, and the control of the communication acts.     

Modeling by Drawing with Shadow Guidance

Modeling 3D objects is difficult, especially for the user who lacks the knowledge on 3D geometry or even on 2D sketching. In this paper, we present a novel sketch‐based modeling system which allows novice users to create 3D custom models by assembling parts based on a database of pre‐segmented 3D models. Different from previous systems, our system supports the user with visualized and meaningful shadow guidance under his strokes dynamically to guide the user to convey his design concept easily and quickly. Our system interprets the user's strokes as similarity queries into database to generate the shadow image for guiding the user's further drawing and returns the 3D candidate parts for modeling simultaneously. Moreover, our system preserves the high‐level structure in generated models based on prior knowledge pre‐analyzed from the database, and allows the user to create custom parts with geometric variations. We demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of our modeling system with human subjects and present various models designed using our system.     

一种基于主动网络结构的管理模型研究

主动网络是一种新型的网络结构,它为用户提供了可编程的接口,用户可通过网络中的节点动态地注入所需的服务.讨论了传统网络管理(NM)中存在的问题,分析了主动网络管理(ANM)体系结构与管理机制.重点讨论了一种基于节点的主动网络分层管理模型,并分析了该模型的结构、管理机制、设计要点和各层关系,说明了此模型能够很好地适用于主动网络的特点和管理的需求.     

创造产品的闪光点——从用户需求到产品设计

产品设计的目的是为了满足用户真正的需求,从用户需求到产品设计的过程是发现问题解决问题的过程。本文通过分析产品设计目标用户(人)的多种需求及吸引用户的产品闪光点,探讨了设计师创造吸引用户的产品闪光点的具体方法,同时指出设计中运用设计方法的方法是在用户具体的需求情境中解决设计问题。     

From user interface design to the support of intelligent and adaptive interfaces: an overhaul of user interface software infrastracture

Research on adaptive interfaces in the past has lacked support from user interface tools which allow interfaces to be easily created and modified. Also, current user interface tools provide no support for user models which can collect task-oriented information about users. Developing an adaptive interface requires a user model and an adaptation strategy. It also, however, requires a user interface which can be adapted. The latter task is often time-consuming, especially in relation to more sophisticated user interfaces.

The paper presents a user interface design environment, UIDE, which has a different software infrastracture. Designers use high-level specifications to create a model of an application and links from the application to various interface components. The model is the heart of all the design and run-time support in UIDE, including automatic dialog sequencing and help generation. UIDE provides automatic support for collecting task-oriented information about users, by the use of its high-level specifications in its application model as a basic construct for a user model. Some examples of adaptive interfaces and adaptive help are presented that use the information that is collectable in UIDE.     

A home-page overhaul using other Web sites

The best prototype for designing a new user interface is your old user interface. The second best prototype is a competing product. Your competitors have invested significant resources in designing and implementing what they believe to be good user interfaces. You can glean much of what you need to create a new interface by examining products designed to solve similar problems. As with your own old user interface, you can analyze competing interfaces to see what works and what doesn't. You can also watch how users interact with competing products, and thus learn how they approach tasks. This, in essence, is competitive usability analysis. I recommend performing it very early in the usability engineering life-cycle-after you have visited the customer, gathered requirements, and defined the product vision, but before you design and prototype your new user interface     

面向多认证系统的在线用户统一管控平台设计与实现

在校园网中同时部署多套上网认证系统并使用统一的账号密码是常见的上网认证部署方案。多套上网认证系统并存时如何对在线用户进行统一管控、用户上线轨迹追踪和分析,以及如何对多套上网认证系统进行统一监控管理是当前校园网管理面临的共同问题。对此设计和实现了一种面向多认证系统的统一在线用户管控平台,并在真实校园网环境中测试使用,测试结果验证了平台的有效性。     

基于多重识别的网络型门禁系统设计

针对目前门禁行业的实际需求,为提高门禁系统的网络通信水平和安全性,设计了一种新型的多重识别网络型门禁系统。该系统采用RFID卡和指纹识别相结合的技术进行身份识别,通过以太网组成的小型局域网进行通信,同时采用了网页和GSM网络对系统进行实时控制。控制器采用嵌入式设计,以三星S3C6410为核心处理器,以嵌入式Linux为开发环境,使用QT设计用户界面(UI)。经实际操作测试表明,系统性能稳定可靠,人机界面良好,操作方便,通信方式灵活,安全性高,可很好地满足用户实际需求。     

The influence of a knowledge-based system on designers' cognitive activities: a study involving professional web designers

Over the last few decades, several usability knowledge-based systems have been developed to provide user interface designers with usability knowledge (e.g. heuristics, usability guidelines, standards). Such systems are intended to assist designers during the design process, and to improve the usability of the user interface being designed. However, the assumption that such systems actually improve the usability of the resulting user interface remains to be demonstrated: virtually no systems have been empirically tested by designers who create products. In order to confirm this assumption, we conducted an experimental study in which professional web designers had to create webpages, either using a knowledge-based system – MetroWeb – or without it. This study was intended to determine the influence of MetroWeb on the professional web designers' cognitive activity, and to find out whether MetroWeb actually assists them to develop a user-centred design. The results show that the web designers did not very often use MetroWeb while designing webpages; however, rather surprisingly, the designers who did use MetroWeb more often exhibited a user-centred activity than those working without MetroWeb. We conclude this paper by discussing these findings, and suggesting future possible ways of research intended to assist designers to adopt a user-centred approach to their activity.     

Communication with users: insights from second language acquisition

The paper addresses the question of how an English language user interface will be understood by users from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and provides some answers from the study of second language acquisition and the practice of language teaching and learning. It is accepted that for a number of reasons, translation of an English interface into other languages is not always feasible or appropriate. Existing knowledge of language learning problems and solutions can be applied to the design of English language interfaces so that they are more accessible to non-native speakers. The present article categorises language-related problems, gives examples in each category, and provides a set of guidelines. The conclusion reached is that making word collocations and co-occurrences visible and available is the key to building in sufficient verbal context for understanding—a measure which will also be helpful to native speakers of English.     

Patterns of Mobile Interaction

The design of systems for mobile scenarios covers a wide range of issues, ranging from mobile networking to user interface design for mobile devices. Mobile applications often run distributed on several connected devices, used by many users simultaneously. Considering all issues related to mobile scenarios, a designer might be overwhelmed. As a solution, we propose a specific kind of design patterns which we call mobility patterns, derived from successful mobile applications. They allow a designer to re-use design elements as building blocks in their own designs. After describing the idea of mobility patterns, we give a brief overview of patterns we have identified so far. Two patterns are described in more detail with the help of our research platforms QuickStep and Pocket DreamTeam.     

Prototype evaluation and redesign: structuring the design space through contextual techniques

This paper addresses the problems involved in the progress through evaluation and redesign from one interface prototype to the next stage of development. An approach is proposed based on situated action techniques for the early identification of user interface issues and their translation into design factors that lead to design improvements. The approach can be used within parallel prototyping or iterative development. Situated action is increasingly popular for the participative identification of user requirements for information systems and is usually implemented at an early stage in systems development. In contrast the most frequently used method for user participation within detailed interface design is within iterative user-based evaluation which is often performed relatively late in the development. The method described involves linking developer–user contextual evaluation sessions, where developers observe user's responses to an interactive prototype, and team evidence analysis sessions, where a group of designers work together to derive design decisions with the evidence collected from the users. The proposed method is tested in an experimental design. The proposed techniques provide a rich source of user evidence that can be brought to bear on the enhancement of prototype user interfaces. The study also showed how team working within a group of developers is important to effective design.     

An Intelligent Human-Computer Interface for Provision of On-Line Help

Some user interfaces, such as that of Unix, aredifficult for novices to use, and this paper suggestsa possible solution to such problems. The results ofa study of Unix users enabled the development of ataxonomy of error types so that users' errors can beclassified. This information is encapsulated asproduction rules within a knowledge base and forms thebasis for the design and development of an intelligentinterface to Unix. The prototype makes inferencesabout users' mental models and uses these to selectappropriate tutorial advice. Performance of users ofthe prototype intelligent interface was compared withthat of users of the usual Unix interface. Theprototype users were found to make fewer errors,exhibit fewer misconceptions and take less time tocomplete a standard set of tasks.     

智能建筑中空调监控系统的交互界面设计

智能建筑是根据用户需求将建筑物的结构、设备、服务和管理进行最优组合以提供高效、舒适、便利的人性化建筑环境。文章以交互界面为切入点,用户需求为核心,对某智能建筑中空调监控系统的交互界面设计进行了探讨,以期为其它工业控制系统的交互界面设计提供参考。