Save the Date! - GI Brown Bag Series - Dr. Adrian Reetz

The Games Institute presents the next of a series of "Brown Bag Seminars" on April 19^th, 2017. The GI is located in EC-1, and these events are open to all members of the University of Waterloo. 

Presenter: Dr. Adrian Reetz

Abstract: In many scenarios, people want to interact with digital systems without touching or holding any additional input devices. Picture, for example, a surgeon who is expected to interact with digital imagery displayed on a large screen within the operating theatre; or imagine a gamer who wants to adjust the volume on her television set during an intense virtual fire fight. The predominant solution today is using mid-air gestures as input technique. There are, however, several problems with the way of how we design these gestures, which result in people having difficulties memorizing and remembering them. As a result, we might not use gestural input to its full potential when interacting with digital systems, most notably smart environments and video games.

In my presentation, I will discuss a novel implementation of gestural input for smart and UbIComp environments, mixed realities, and video game systems. While most current systems rely on emblem-type gestures, my implementation is built upon deictic illustrators instead. In a comparative study I demonstrated that this change of underlying gesture type allows people to perform selections faster and more accurately.

In addition, I will discuss some of the theoretical background that supports my findings, such as the differences between human memory systems and how they influence people's learning capabilities. I will close with an outlook on how designers of mixed-reality systems, video games, and gamified systems could use a wider variety of gestures and sensor input to create more engaging experiences for their users.

Date: April 19th, 2017

Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm
Where: The Games Institute, EC1, Room 1331

Agenda:

11:00 - 11:45am – Speaker's Presentation
11:45am - 12:00pm – Questions and Discussion

Biography of the Guest Speaker:

After being granted a Diploma in Informatics at Darmstadt University of Technology in Darmstadt / Germany, Dr. Adrian Reetz completed his Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan under the supervision of Dr. Carl Gutwin. In his dissertation, Dr. Reetz researched how differences in gesture types can influence people's selection performance and workplace awareness when collaborating in co-located environments. Dr. Reetz is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at the Games Institute at the University of Waterloo, where he is researching gamification and video game mechanics for mood-management.

More information HERE.