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Ian Ginn
The Mediator prototype which is demonstrated is the result of exploratory
research into domestic online entertainment services. Mediators are anthropomorphic
guides who aid users in selection and navigation to content in interactive
television services. The project goals include developing prototype services
and navigation tools and carrying out extensive user tests. The main focus
of the work is to develop models of interaction, functionality and system
behaviour.
Interactive television, service creation, consumer systems, anthropomorphism,
social interaction, navigation, interface agents, adaptivity.
© 1997 Copyright on this material is held by the authors.
The vastly extended offering of broad- and narrowcast media generally
estimated to be available via television in the near future is expected
to bring severe problems of navigation and selection for the general public.
We are exploring future Interactive Television (ITV) service concepts with a multidisciplinary team, integrating knowledge of TV design and production, Computer Human Interaction issues, service provision models, platform architecture and digital media authoring, producing realistic server/set-top box applications.
Questions central to our research include:
Current interfaces for ITV trials and prototypes provide little support for models of use based on present television, but instead opt for solutions including linear video sequences with predetermined branching points (3-D fly throughs, carousels) or very computer-like (menu based), direct manipulation interfaces. In other solutions functions are mapped directly onto buttons on the remote control. None of these approaches show the mix of engagement and interactivity that we regard as essential for online entertainment services. We have formulated three problems with respect to interfaces for ITV services:
We propose a set of solutions for the problems formulated above:
Figure 1. Mediators guide users through services
The first two proposed solutions will be directly obvious in the design
of the interface. Some brief discussion is required on the last two solutions
regarding filtering and anthropomorphism. These issues are also addressed
by Kiesler, Nass, and Schneiderman in a panel of CHI '95 [1].
Our prototype models a future system in which prefiltering is used to
reduce the overall offering resulting in a choice more relevant to the
user. Issues included in this model include a redefining of system success
from one in which ease of use is measured by efficiency and productivity,
to one which includes notions of optimal choice and user satisfaction.
Issues such as emotion displayed in the interface become central.
Laurel [2] discusses related issues such as the need to match physical
traits with expressions, thoughts and actions, as well as [3] the way in
which dramatised characters make better interface agents than do fully
developed human personalities. We referred extensively to these ideas while
developing scripts, characters, and environments. Both literature from
a social psychology and a filmic background suggest that there is a critical
match between the user/viewer and the personality of the character [4].
We see human-like characters as a means of tuning in to specific audiences,
and as a strong branding tool for services.
We chose for live-action (video) to create the Mediators. In this way we leverage the expectation that test subjects have of anthropomorphic interfaces and remove the problem that those (non-expert) subjects have been found to have in responding to very early results of research into synthetic characters. An additional benefit to this approach was that live actors could match the syntax and grammar of current television styling, accurately adding the prompts indicating interactive possibilities.
The user has continuous cursor control through a remote control. When
entering the top level of the Mediators world, a few services are each
represented by Mediators with different characters. These Mediators direct
their communication to the user in order to gain his/her attention and
trust - each Mediator shares the goal of becoming the user's guide while
navigating to content. When exploring the screen, all active zones in the
video show a subtly animated highlight in order not to distract the user
from the video.
Currently three services are available: a Kids' service, a Games service
and a Movies service. In the demo we focus on the Kids' Service which contains
interactive games as well as animations and other episodic series. The
presenter of this service is named Jinn, a character borrowed from Arab
fairy tales. Jinn guides you through several signposts in a fantasy landscape
to ancient buildings with previews of games and films shining through the
windows (see figure 1). The interaction with Jinn is not focused on direct
dialogue, his role is rather to stimulate the user and give contextual
information. We experimented with methods to acquire data on users' preferences
and intentions using social interaction principles, attaching emotional
values to interface elements.
At the moment of writing we are conducting user evaluations with children
and their parents. At the CHI '97 demos we would be able to show recordings
of end users in action and present some data.
Initial Conclusions:
[1] CHI 95 panel Wednesday, May 10 9:00 am to 10:30 am Interface Styles: Direct Manipulation Versus Social Interactions
[2] Computers as Theatre, Brenda Laurel, Addison Wesley 1991/93. p. 149
[3] Computers as Theatre, Brenda Laurel, Addison Wesley 1991/93. p. 145
[4] When the Interface is a Face, Lee Sproul, Sara Kiesler,
Janet Walker et al, Human Computer Interaction, 1996 (In Press)
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