Table of Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Principles, Issues and Viewpoints of Traveler Information in a Multimodal Context

1.1. Introduction

1.2. A complexity that must be mastered

1.3. Multimodal information

1.4. The viatic concept: accompany the traveler

1.5. Other traveler information-based representative research projects in a multimodal context

1.6. Viewpoints

1.7. Bibliography

Chapter 2. User Needs Analysis Methodology for the Design of Traveler Information Systems

2.1.Introduction

2.2. Traveler information: a pluridisciplinary matter

2.3. The example of the P@ss-ITS project

2.4. RAMSES methodology for the collection, analysis and modeling of user needs

2.5. RAMSES in the context of the P@ss-ITS project

2.6. Conclusion

2.7. Bibliography

Chapter 3. A Generic Method for Personalizing Interactive Systems: Application to Traveler Information

3.1.Introduction

3.2. Personalization in HCI: examples of existing approaches, at the origin of the approach proposed

3.3. PerMet: method for the development of personalized information systems

3.4. PerSyst: personalization system supporting the PerMet method

3.5. Application to the public transport of people: itinerary search

3.6. Discussion about the possibility of generalization relative to personalization

3.7. Conclusion

3.8. Bibliography

Chapter 4. A Formal Framework for Design and Validation of Multimodal Interactive Systems in Transport Domain

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Concepts of multimodality

4.3. Formal design

4.4. Use of formal methods for input multimodality

4.5. Use of formal methods for output multimodality

4.6. Conclusion

4.7. Bibliography

Chapter 5. From Human-machine Interaction to Cooperation: Towards the Integrated Copilot

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Copiloting and human-machine cooperation: context and stakes for the automobile

5.3. Three realizations of cooperative devices for the purposes of automobile copiloting

5.4. Discussion: towards an “intelligent” and “integrated” copilot

5.5. Conclusion

5.6. Acknowledgements

5.7. Bibliography

Chapter 6. ICT and New Human-machine Interactions for Trucks and Buses of the Future: e-Truck and e-Bus Perspectives

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Trucks in the context of ICT

6.3. Informational context of the truck

6.4. Bus in the context of ICT

6.5. Principles of IMERA and HMTD

6.6. RAE (real augmented environment) for e-Trucks and e-Buses

6.7. HMI (Human-Machine Interface) needs for the e-Truck and e-Bus

6.8. Mobile Learning from e-Truck and e-Bus perspectives

6.9. ICT in city delivery

6.10. ICT in the dynamic management of road networks

6.11. Examples of initiatives and projects in direct or indirect link with the e-Truck and e-Bus concepts

6.12. Conclusion

6.13. Bibliography

Chapter 7. User-centered Approach to Design an Adaptive Truck Driving Assistance: Detection of Vulnerable Users in Urban Areas

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Methodological principles for an anthropocentric design

7.3. Contextual analyses in natural situations

7.4. Specification of the assistance

7.5. Development and integration of assistance solutions on a driving simulator

7.6. Evaluation of solutions on a driving simulator

7.7. Conclusions and viewpoints

7.8. Bibliography

Chapter 8. Menu Sonification in an Automotive Media Center: Design and Evaluation

8.1. General context

8.2. Specifications of the problem: identification of functions

8.3. State of the art

8.4. Method of sound design: hybrid model for the sonification of a hierarchical menu

8.5. Evaluation protocols: general evaluation methods

8.6. Methodology adopted for evaluation of the system and initial results

8.7. Discussion and perspectives

8.8. Bibliography

Chapter 9. Consideration of the Travel Time Experience in the Conceptual Models of Personalized Interactive Applications

9.1. Transport: a field with particular needs in terms of personalization of information

9.2. The modeling of applications and consideration of the needs of users in the context of personalizing interactive applications

9.3. Specificities in the field of transport in the framework of a method of modeling personalized interactive applications

9.4. Application of the method

9.5. Conclusion

9.6. Bibliography

Chapter 10. Towards New Interactive Displays in Stations and Airports

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Related work

10.3. Targeted characteristics of the system

10.4. The KUP model

10.5. Agent architecture

10.6. Allocation and instantiation in KUP

10.7. Implementation

10.8. Experiments

10.9. Conclusions and perspectives

10.10. Bibliography

Chapter 11. Transport: a Fertile Ground for the Plasticity of User Interfaces

11.1. Introduction

11.2. Evolution of human-computer interaction

11.3. User interface plasticity: user viewpoint

11.4. User interface plasticity: system viewpoint

11.5. Towards a problem space for the implementation of plastic user interfaces

11.6. Conclusion and perspectives

11.7. Acknowledgements

11.8. Bibliography

List of Authors

Index

First published 2011 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:

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The rights of Christophe Kolski to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Human-Computer interactions in transport / edited by Christophe Kolski.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84821-279-4
1. Transportation--Automation. 2. Human-machine systems. 3. Transportation--Equipment and
supplies--Design and construction. I. Kolski, Christophe.
TA1230.H86 2011
629.04--dc23

2011020212

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-84821-279-4

Introduction ¹

Interactive systems are increasingly present all around us. They are found in companies, public places, training venues, at home and also in the context of leisure activities. They are more or less accessible, useful and usable. Many questions, both practical and theoretical can be asked concerning the analysis, design, realization and evaluation of such systems [SEA 08], [SHN 09], [SEF 09].

Regarding this subject, human-computer interaction (HCI) has been a particularly active area of research in its own right since the 1970s¹. It is defined as “the discipline dedicated to the design, the implementation and the evaluation of interactive computing systems destined for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them” [HEW 96]. This area is pluridisciplinary by nature, bringing together people particularly from an industrial and academic background, from both the engineering sciences as well as cognitive sciences, related to users with very varied characteristics [ROB 03].

The field of human-computer interactions is vast and constantly evolving; books, guides, theses, conferences and journals have regularly been dedicated to it for a number of years. This book on human-computer interaction reviews a set of principles, knowledge, methods and models, all the while focusing on a single field — that of transport.

The field of transport itself being extremely rich and complex, the central idea of this book is to look at the transport user becoming a user of an interactive system(s) during the preparation of the trip, or during it, in the context of mobility. He² or she then needs information which is qualified as traveler information, in the broad sense, and for this enters into interaction with various systems (information systems, assistance systems, etc.) based on different devices, either personal or not. Moreover, in order to offer the user information which is adapted to his or her needs and preferences at all times, all the while taking into consideration the context, it can be necessary to orient oneself towards approaches based on principles of adaptation and of personalization (Figure 1). Finally, whatever the targeted information system, the focus is to always place the user at the center of its design.

Figure 1. The traveler as a user of interactive system(s)

This book on human-computer interactions, the fruit of a common labor, is by no means trying to be exhaustive. Our desire is to above all make available to readers from universities, industry, students or engineers, a summary of available results, of the short-term or long-term ongoing works, in the field of human-computer interaction with transport applications according to approaches centered on their users.

The first chapter was written by Guillaume Uster. It is worth noting that the term multimodal, often used in the literature relating to human-machine interfaces (also called human-computer interfaces or user interfaces in this book) from the point of view of human-machine interaction modes, characterizes in this chapter the use of several means or modes of transport to get from one place to another, which is a source of complexity for the user. He or she must therefore have relevant information made available to him or her according to different forms, interaction modes (thus rejoining the concept of multimodal user interface in HCI) and on different media, either interactive or not, as much during the preparation of the journey as during the journey itself, in a situation of mobility. Guillaume Uster defines multimodal information, in order to then put forward the Viatic concept, from the Latin viaticum “provisions for the journey”, which consists in accompanying the mobility of the traveler each day, from the point of view of innovative information and services. A group of representative research projects, focused on traveler information in a multimodal context are then reviewed by the author, to lead to the concept of reasoned mobility.

The second chapter, written by Pierre Morizet-Mahoudeaux, Annette Valentin and Assia Mouloudi, deals with the integration of the real needs of users in the design of traveler information systems, seen as interactive systems. This approach bases itself on the hypothesis that to be successful in the integration of usage data generated by methods of analysis of the activity, these must be represented in a formalism which is as close as possible to the language of development. The RAMSES approach comes from an experiment on a project of multimodal traveler information system design and has given rise to the design of an aid tool for the specification to be used by designers.

In Chapter 3, Mourad Abed, Abdouroihamane Anli, Christophe Kolski and Emmanuelle Grislin put forward a method called PerMet (PERsonalization METhodology) for the analysis, design and modeling of personalized interactive systems. It aims to enable both the implementation of a new personalized interactive system and the personalization of an already existing interactive system. PerMet proposes an iterative, incremental development model and enables a parallel realization, of on the one hand the specific phases linked to the development of services offered by the target system, and on the other hand the specific phases linked to personalization. The chapter also describes a generic personalization system, called PerSyst (PERsonalization SYSTem), which can be used conjointly with PerMet for the development of an interactive personalization system. PerSyst is built from an architecture based on agents at the service of the users, which gives it an increased flexibility thanks to the characteristics of adaptability, autonomy, reproducibility and mobility of software agents, among others. A real-world example is presented implementing both the contributions of PerMet and PerSyst for the development of a personalized transport information system.

Multimodal human-computer interfaces enable several media or channels of communication to cooperate on a semantic level (in input and/or in output) in order to increase the communicative abilities of the machine. The objective of the fourth chapter, written by Linda Mohand Oussaïd, Nadjet Kamel, Idir Aït Sadoune, Yamine Ait Ameur and Mohamed Ahmed Nacer, is to present the techniques that currently exist for the modeling and formal verification of multimodal interactive systems; these techniques enable the safe development of the multimodal HCI, conforming to specifications, as well as the verification of the properties of usability of the interface. The authors distinguish, throughout the chapter, between the input and output multimodality and for each of them present the existing works, the formal model proposed, as well as an application of the model to a multimodal HCI used in the field of transport.

The fundamental question raised by Thierry Bellet, Jean-Michel Hoc, Serge Boverie and Guy Boy in Chapter 5 deals with the respective role of the human and technology in the control of the vehicle: must we seek to deliberately be within a substitutive logic (replace the human driver as soon as it is technically possible) or, conversely, must we rather look to focus on the complementarities of the human-machine couple, only assisting the driver when he or she expresses the need and/or when he or she is not able to correctly face the situation ? The co-piloting approach such as it is dealt with here is strictly within this second viewpoint and questions the integrative aspect of an automobile co-pilot in view of guaranteeing a centralized management of the human-machine cooperation.

Bertrand David, René Chalon and Bernard Favre, authors of Chapter 6, present a series of studies dealing with the proper operation of the trucks and buses of the future. This is the vision of ICT (Information Communication Technology) use, and more particularly of their HCI, which is the central point of this presentation, that shows how trucks and buses, placed in appropriate informational contexts such as those put forward by mobile computing, which is pervasive and omnipresent, can offer more efficiency and effectiveness in their use and operation, as well as numerous annex services both to the users and the transport operators. According to the authors, it is thanks to the conjunction between embedded computing, wearable computing and fixed computing connected via a computing network that this result can be obtained.

The seventh chapter, written by Annick Maincent, Hélène Tattegrain, Marie-Pierre Bruyas and Arnaud Bonnard, presents the user-centered design approach used to design a truck driving assistance system for reducing accidents with vulnerable users and developed through the VIVRE2 (Industrial Vehicles and Vulnerable Road Users) project. Authors describe the steps applied, from the specification of assistance strategies and human-machine interfaces, based on contextual analysis, to the implementation of technical systems and their assessment using a truck-driving simulator. The specific aspect of this approach was to deal, from a systemic point of view, not only with the actual activity of truck drivers, but also with the vulnerable users’ behaviors around delivery trucks. Designed for reducing accidents between vulnerable users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists) and industrial vehicles in urban areas, the adaptive assistance is based on dynamic strategies according to drivers’ and vulnerable user(s)’ behaviors for given situations.

The topic of Chapter 8 is the use of the auditory modality in the context of HCI and more precisely the role that sound can play in the interaction process between a user and a system. This question is addressed within the particular framework of menu sonification in an automotive media center, a system that is becoming more and more common in current cars and that essentially allows the driver to manage information of different kinds about the vehicle or the status of various embedded systems (GPS, radio, etc.). In fact, this information is usually given to the driver via visual representations. But, considering that eyes should essentially remain on the road, it can be relevant to consider that ears may constitute a complementary channel for delivering targeted and efficient elements of information. Stakes of this approach are then, first, to secure the driving activity by preventing the driver from looking away too often from the road, and second, to take up ergonomic and qualitative challenges by delivering information through sound. For that purpose, specific studies in the auditory display community are reviewed in the first part of the chapter in order to lead to the definition of an original model for sonification of the aimed application (media center hierarchical menu). Two different implementations of this generic model are then exposed and an experimental procedure for perceptually evaluating these solutions is detailed. Finally, the results obtained are presented, discussed with regards to the preliminary hypothesis and put into perspective for future directions of the work.

The generalization of nomadic tools now enables us to consult a lot of information at any moment and anywhere; the difficulty is then to access relevant information. This is all the more true in the field of transport where, for the duration of the journey, the user must be able to access information regarding his trip, but also services which are adapted to his expectations and needs. However, these are different for each traveler and evolve throughout the trip via a specific experience of the travel time for each individual. Chapter 9, written by Arnaud Brossard, Mourad Abed, Christophe Kolski and Guillaume Uster, proposes, based on a model-driven method for interactive application design, to take into account, in the applications, the notion of travel time experience of users on public transport. The method is illustrated with several examples in this field, paving the way for numerous research perspectives.

Chapter 10, written by Christophe Jacquet, Yacine Bellik and Yolaine Bourda, is based on the following observation: most of the architecture models for the human-machine interaction do not have an explicit representation for the user. This is a problem in the world of public transport, as we are dealing with mobile users with heterogeneous characteristics: it becomes necessary to take into account both the location and the possible particularities of each user. The authors therefore introduce an architecture model adapted to mobility environments, which explicitly represents information, the presentation devices and the users, the latter occupying a central place. This model was implemented in experiments of providing multimodal information in station- or airport-type environments. These experiments, related in detail in this chapter, demonstrate the benefit of dynamic information presentations, which adapt to users who are present, and offer perspectives on the matter.

Finally, in the last chapter, Gaëlle Calvary, Audrey Serna, Christophe Kolski and Joëlle Coutaz explore the world of transport and access to traveler information in the broad sense, from the point of view of the plasticity of user interfaces in ambient intelligence. Plasticity denotes the adaptation ability of interfaces to their context of use with respect to properties based on the user. An analysis of the evolution of the human-computer interaction in ambient intelligence leaves room for potential adaptations. According to two perspectives, user and system, the principles of plasticity are envisaged and illustrated in the world of transport. A space problem for the implementation of the plasticity of user interfaces is proposed at the end of this chapter; this space is intended for designers to help them come up with innovative solutions and to ask the right questions regarding their engineering.

Bibliography

[HEW 96] HEWETT T.T., BAECKER R., CARD S., CAREY T., GASEN I., MANTEI M., PERLMAN G., STRONG G., VERPLANK W., ACM SIGCHI Curricula for Human-Computer Interaction, ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction Curriculum Development Group, 1996, available at: http://old.sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html.

[ROB 03] ROBERT J.M., “Que faut-il savoir sur les utilisateurs pour réaliser des interfaces de qualité ?”, in BOY G. (ed.), Ingénierie cognitive: IHM et cognition, p. 249–283, Hermès, Paris, 2003.

[SEA 08] SEARS A., JACKO J.A., The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies (2nd Ed.), CRC Press, New York, United States 2008.

[SEF 09] SEFFAH A., VANDERDONCKT J., DESMARAIS M.C., Human-Centered Software Engineering: Software Engineering Models, Patterns and Architectures for HCI, Springer, 2009.

[SHN 09] SHNEIDERMAN B., PLAISANT C., Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction (5th Ed.), Addison Wesley, 2009.

1 Introduction written by Christophe KOLSKI, with the help of the authors.

1 The interested reader can consult: (1) the Website of the Special Interest Group on Human-Computer Interaction (SIGCHI, www.acm.org/sigchi/) of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), and (2) the Website of the HCIBIB (HCI Bibliography: Human-Computer Interaction Resources; http://hcibib.org/). For French speakers, see also the Website of the Association francophone d’interaction homme-machine (AFIHM): www.afihm.org/.

² Throughout the book, for ease of use, we shall refer to the user simply as “he”.

Acknowledgements

The Editor would like to warmly thank the authors of the different chapters of this book for having contributed to it and for their comments, which were always relevant and constructive. He also thanks all his contacts at ISTE Ltd and Hermès Science Publishing.

Most of the works described in this book were supported by the National Center for Scientific Research and/or the National Research Agency, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Transport Ministry, the PREDIT, the European Community, the International Campus on Security and Intermodality in Transport, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, and the Regional Delegation for Research and Technology. A big thank you to all of these institutions, to the organizers of the “IT in Transport” Forum (IFSTTAR, GL Journal), to the establishments to which all the authors belong as well as the industrial partners concerned.

The Editor also thanks his wife Jutta, his daughter Joanna, his family and his family-in-law for many kind little reasons.

Chapter 1

Principles, Issues and Viewpoints of Traveler Information in a Multimodal Context ¹

1.1. Introduction

Traveler information in a multimodal context covers all of the information necessary for the preparation and realization of a journey that uses several means of transport. The term multimodal, often used in literature related to human-computer interaction (HCI) (or more generally human-machine interaction), must be interpreted in the sense of mobility here, that is to say the use of several means or modes of transport. It is rare that a journey is monomodal (only one mode being involved). As an example, the use of an automobile requires the “walking” mode to access or leave the vehicle. In this field, when asked “what is traveler information?” it is customary to answer: “information is what reduces the traveler’s uncertainty”.

This rough definition allows two main points to be put forward: that it is centered on the traveler, the receiver of information; it highlights the fact that the value of information is measured in the reduction of the resulting uncertainty: any message that does not lead to a reduction in uncertainty must be considered noise.

Surveys [GIL 97] have shown that the traveler awaits “hot” signals from dynamic information, such as information about the arrival of the next metro or bus for example. The main objective of information is therefore to reduce the traveler’s uncertainty. The information must be clear, precise and meet the needs of the person and his context of mobility; for example, by giving him the quickest multimodal itinerary or the delay for his connecting train. It is worth noting that, from a terminological point of view, traveler information is more closely related to the world of public transportation, whereas in English-speaking literature the term traveler information is dedicated to information for road users and essentially concerns road traffic and guidance. The term ATIS (advanced traveler information systems) is more generic and is currently eliciting numerous scientific publications, both in engineering sciences and social sciences [LYO 07].

In this chapter, we will present the different aspects of traveler information and show its complexity, depending on the receivers, places and diffusion media. We will then define the multimodal information system enabling a database that classifies all the information relative to the offer of mobility to be constructed, such as train, bus and tram times, the subway train frequency, etc., enabling the traveler to plan his journey and guide him when he carries it out. The viatic research concept, the aim of which is to try to bring added value to the only information linked to mobility by agreement services during the journey and by simplified payment, will be described. We will then present PREDIT (the national program for experimentation and innovation research in terrestrial transport; see www.predit.prd.fr) research projects linked to traveler information. In terms of viewpoints, information becomes increasingly personalized and thus requires highly refined human-machine interfaces.

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