Contours and borders in animated mimic displays

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that ambiguities in apparent motion (e.g., direction, rate) can result when color table techniques are used to produce animation in mimic displays. Two experiments were conducted to investigate alternative display designs in which contours (angled vs. straight) and borders (explicit vs. implicit) were varied. In Experiment 1, contours, borders, and temporal frequency interacted. At 5 Hz angled contours improved accuracy significantly. At 10 Hz explicit borders improved accuracy significantly with angled contours but degraded accuracy significantly with straight contours. In Experiment 2, the design of the angled contours was changed to convey less information and an additional border condition was added. Once again, borders and contours interacted: The widest explicit border degraded accuracy with straight contours. Angled contours also improved latency performance. The results suggest that angled contours can reduce ambiguity and improve the effectiveness of animated mimic displays by providing a redundant encoding of rate information. However, this benefit must be weighed against the associated computational costs. A secondary finding was that when contours are straight the borders should be implicit, not explicit. Alternative design solutions for animated mimic displays are also discussed.

Evaluation of Alternative Waveforms for Animated Mimic Displays

“…In summary, the results indicate that waveform is a powerful factor in the design of animated mimic displays and that the sinusoidal waveform is a viable design option. These results extend and complement the findings of a research program designed to investigate factors in the design of animated mimic displays (Bennett, 1993;Bennett & Madigan, 1994;Bennett & Nagy, 1996). The findings of this research program are summarized to provide guidance in the design of animated mimic displays that use the color-table animation technique.…”

“…For example, a lack of flow was represented by the vertical contours of the graphical elements (squares, as in the present experiment) whereas higher rates of flow were represented by an increased angling of the contours (the graphical elements changed from squares to chevron-shaped polygons). Bennett and Madigan (1994) found this technique to improve rate-matching performance. However, it requires that the physical connections between system components be redrawn each time the rate of flow changes in excess of a predetermined set point.…”

“…Finally, the color table animation technique described in the present study is contrasted with several alternatives. Bennett & Madigan (1994) investigated a variation that incorporated a redundant emergent feature: graphical elements that changed the shape of their contours as a function of flow rate. For example, a lack of flow was represented by the vertical contours of the graphical elements (squares, as in the present experiment) whereas higher rates of flow were represented by an increased angling of the contours (the graphical elements changed from squares to chevron-shaped polygons).…”

“…A research program was initiated to identify the factors that are critical for the accurate perception of apparent motion in animated mimic displays (Bennett, 1993;Bennett & Madigan, 1994;Bennett & Nagy, 1996). We began our investigations with a display configuration based on the design illustrated in the STEAM-ER publications (Hollan et al, 1984(Hollan et al, , 1987.…”