UTD Smart Home GUI Design

University of Texas at Dallas
ATEC 3363
Leslie McMillin
Smart House GUI Design
Donnie Cui, Patrick Herbert, Brentt Kasmiskie, Jason
Mericle
11/15/2011

• Project Description and Objective, Overview
• User Research and Insights
• Proposed Product Concepts
• Functional Diagrams
• Usability Test Explanation and Results
• Final Screen Designs and Descriptions
• Team Biography
• Works Cited
Objective:
To design and demonstrate a GUI for device(s) in a smart house’s media room. The de-sign
should have broad user appeal from a standpoint of usefullness, intuative operation
and compelling visuals.
Goal:
Our main goal was to simplify the interactions required in an entertainment room. Our
secondary goals were to free space in the room and make the room more flexible to
user needs. To open up the room we needed to remove clutter and objects that were not
integral to the room as a whole. To increase the flexibility of the room we wanted to add
functionality that would allow users to acomplish tasks they were already doing in enter-tainment
rooms by utilizing our system. Rather than bringing in external means of task
completion.
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Table of Contents Project Description and Objective
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Surveys
1. What are the top three things you would want in a media room?
Good sound system, comfortable seating, high-quality television/screen.
2. What is the first thing you do when you enter a media room?
Sit down.
3. What are some complaints/ issues you usually have in media rooms?
Poor lighting
4. Would you want the GUI to be wall mounted, portable, or both?
Portable
5. Would you want the interface to be stylized (iPhone) or Text and Number based (thermostat)?
Stylized
6. Would you want the GUI to have a motion sensor?
No
7. Would you want it to have Voice Interaction, Audio Feedback, Both, or Neither?
Neither
8. Would you want features to link together;
ex. when you turn the TV on using the GUI you can set it to turn other things on such as cable, or a video
game console?
No
TV, Fan, DVD/Blu-Ray player
Turn on the lights.
N/A
Both
Stylized would make it easier to use.
Yes, walking by should activate it and turn on what I programmed to come on.
I would at least want audio feedback.
ex. when you turn the TV on using the GUI you can set it to turn other things on such as cable, or a video game console?
Yes, it would be convenient if when I turn the TV on the cable or satellite box came
on, or whatever I had linked to it.
User Research and Insights
Surveys
a large tv, a comfortable seating area, surround sound
turn on the tv
too many remote controls, don't know what works what, not clear what to push to
turn things on
both
stylized
yes
neither
yes
tv, game console , audio, control/ease of use
turn on the lights
too many things to fumble with before I get things working
both
more styilized, but maybe some text
yes
maybe, as long as tv or games didn't set it off as well, the feedback would be nice
but it can't be annoying. It might be best to figure out a different way to give feed
back, like changing colors of buttons or something when they are being clicked
yes 2 User Research and Insights 3

Surveys Wants & Needs
Television, Gaming Consoles, Sound System
Turn on the light
Hassle with setting up to do sepcific things
both
stylized
yes
audio feedback
yes
My main focus in my media room is the quality and comfort in which my media is
presented. Being an audiophile I always focus on high quality sound first. Second I would
make sure that my media was displayed on and HD system whether it be by DLP projec-tor
or a large LED TV. Lastly you need comfort so I would deck my Media room out
with Lazy Boys, bean bag chairs, and a comfortable sofa.
Check the audio quality and adjust settings to get the best sound out of the system
for the type of media I will be presenting.
People tend to focus on the visual aspect and slack off in the audio area, leaving the
media experience incomplete.
Both
Stylized
No
Voice Recognition and Audio Feedback
Yes, the harmony touch screen remote would be a good example here.
Team Wants User Wants
Television
Video Game Options
Lights
A/C
Fan
Motion Sensor Activation
Audio Feedback
Preset Commands
Related Actions list
Basic Functions of regular remotes
Touch Screen
Fail Safe Button
Stand by button
Wall Mount Docking Station
Sturdy
Portable
Portable
Good Lighting
Stylized Interface
Sound Control
Link Electronic Systems
Easy to use
Motion sensor
Light controls
Heat sensor
Energy efficient
Parental Controls
User Research and Insights 4 User Research and Insights 5

Ethnography: Jason Mericle
Background
My girlfriend Kelly came down on a Friday afternoon and was here till Tuesday morning. In this time I
noticed a few things about the way she interacted with my entertainment area.
Objects
In my entertainment area I have a Television, a Cable Box, and a PlayStation 3. The room is right next
to my kitchen and study area where my computer is set up. I also have a cabinet full of dvd’s, and video
games that she interacted with.
Lights
One thing I noticed was that when we would come back to my apartment from going to the store or to see
a movie we would open the door. Then be cautious because I have a cat and it is pitch black in the room.
Whoever entered first would try to reach around the corner to hit the light switch while the other person
tried to shut the door before my cat ran out or got stepped on. If the lights would have just come on when
she or I entered the room we wouldn’t have to stumble for five minutes.
The immediate goal was trying to see without injuring herself. The long term goal was trying to get to a
point of relaxation. The actions taken were her using the key to open my door, then cautiously stepping
inside, followed by stumbling around the corner to find a light switch.
Food, Bathroom, Pausing
Another thing I noticed was that unlike in a movie theater where if you need to go to the bathroom you
can’t pause the movie in the theater, you can in a house. Instead of pausing the show or movie she was
watching she would just get up and go do it. Then when she got back she would ask me to rewind it.
That could have been because I was there and she expected me to pause it, but it needs to be more intui-tive.
It needs to almost seem as if the GUI knows you left the area.
The immediate goal was to do something other than using the entertainment system. The long term goal
was to be able to continue watching it without missing anything. The actions were getting up from chair,
walking to kitchen, bathroom, computer, etc. Then coming back to entertainment area and asking to
rewind it or why I didn’t pause it.
Remotes
Every time my girlfriend wanted to turn on the Television and Cable Box, there was always an ordeal
over what buttons to press in what order. She would often just hit power on my cable remote but it isn’t
set to turn on the TV too or she would hit the buttons but in the wrong order not turning it on. It is con-fusing
to everyone when there are three remotes; one that does everything, one that does some things,
and one that is useless. The GUI should help narrow it down to the one that does everything remote.
The immediate goal was to turn on the TV and Cable Box. The long term goal was to actually watch TV.
The actions taken were sitting down, picking up the remotes, pushing TV, then power, then cable, then
power.
Sleeping
Another thing I noticed was that I would be on the computer; which is probably about 6 feet away from
my futon, but facing away from it, and I would turn around and she would by lying there. So I would
get up and walk over and she would be asleep. However, the Television would still be loud, or at least as
loud as it should be if someone was actually watching it. So the GUI should have some way of detecting
if people are asleep or actually using the media devices.
The immediate goal was resting, checking on someone. The long term goal was falling asleep, turning
down Television. The action steps were laying down and passing out. Also looking behind myself, get-ting
up, looking to check on girlfriend, turning down TV.

Ethnography: Brentt Kasmiskie
Through my ethnographic research three main themes came up that played a major role in shaping this
project stroage, clutter, remotes and installation.
Storage Problems:
In my house’s entertainment room there is a massive
storage problem. There is an entertainment console
and a large 9 foot cubed storage table that is full of
unused movies and whatever else might be hiding
in there.
Clutter:
There is also a problem of unused or unwanted things
taking up space which could be used for something
else. This includes a number of remotes and is in some
ways related to the storage problems found in the room.
Remotes and installation:
One of the big problems is the remote crisis. The room
has three remotes that all do much the same thing.
One for the television and only used to change source
input. One for our older audio system, and one for
cable. There is also an installation problem that arises
when a new device needs to be added to the system.
Cables from different devices chain the once modular
cabinets together and are at risk of breaking when
anything is moved.
Major Problems:
• Lack of storage and too much to store
• Useless objects everywhere
• Too many remotes
• Difficulty installing new devices
Ethnography: Donnie Cui
Audio & Video Selector
There are too many media players and game players in
my media room, it is very cumbersome to conversion.
If my family member wants to use a media player or
video game, they only use the “Audio and video selector”
to transform between media player and video game.
The Audio and video selector has five buttons to
onnect with each media device, although it is easy to
use audio and video selector, it can be hard to
remember each button. If you want use some
media player, you must try each button until you find
the right one.

Ethnography: Patrick Herbert
Numerous Remotes
While one remote can sometimes be confusing enough
as it is, when people have multiple electrnics they also tend
to have a lot more remotes. This can cause some confusion
when it comes to finding the remote needed to accomplish
your task. This is expecially so when you have more than
one remote that has channel or volume controls, such as
when you have a cable box or even dvd control.
Multi Tasking
I noticed that unless they sat down to watch a movie,
people would multitask and do a number of different
activities. People would watch tv, read a book, check their
email, socialize, and even try to get some work done.
While these tasks wouldn’t directly interfere with
eachother, it was inconveniant to get up and find the
laptop or go to the filing cainet to get the paperwork.
Thermostat
There were also a few instance where there was a
need to change the temperature. Unfortunalye the
thermostat was a considerable distance away, making
any atmoshperic control a chore.
Technologies: Logitech Remote
One-touch activity controls
Say good-bye to cheat sheets. Everyone in the
family can select what they want to do—such as
“Watch TV”—and your Harmony remote does
the rest.Learn more about one-touch activity-based
controls.
Works with 225,000+ devices
Support for 5000+ brands and 225,000+ devices, so you
know it will work with what you have today and what
you’ll add tomorrow.See how your home-entertainment
setup would work with Harmony.
RF wireless capability
You can control devices you can’t see—like a
stereo in a closed cabinet.when you add a Logi-tech
® Harmony RF Extender (sold separately).
Replaces up to 15 remotes
You can control your home-entertainment devices with
one remote—reducing clutter and complexity in your liv-ing
room.

Technologies: KP-4000
KP-4000 Network Keypad Features and Benefits
2-Way Modules for Networked Multi-Zone Receivers
2-Way control of all the custom-friendly brands of multi-zone receivers.
2-Way IP Control of Media on PCs and iPods
User Configurable Internet RSS feeds for News, Sports, Stocks and Weather
User-selected Scenes for URC Lighting via RFTX-1
Local Control via RFTX-1 & MRF Base Station
Via an optional RFTX-1 transmitter, low cost wireless control of a local stack of components can be
done via astandard MSC-400, MRF-350 or MRF-260.
Create and Store Playlists for Future Use
The My Music module allows end-users to create reusable playlists on PCs connected to the system.
Stream Music from a Mac, Windows PC or Apple TV
Via AirPort Express and URC’s Streaming Music Module, an existing iTunes client device can be
connectedwirelessly to a home theater system in a distant room.
Energy Management and Energy Monitoring
Control Proliphix® IP thermostats and watch energy usage via TED® (The Energy Detective).
Volume Display for Every Zone
When your clients adjust volume on a KP-4000, they’ll always see a pop up appear on the screen,
labeled forthe zone they are adjusting. If you program it to control several zones, they’ll always know
which one they are
adjusting.
Technologies: Touchlight
Touchlight is new interactive display technology developed by researcher Andy Wilson from Microsoft
Research. The Touchlight technology was presented at the SIGGRAPH 2005 Emerging Technologies
venue and focuses on using different surfaces as alternative computer interfaces.
The technical implementation of Touchlight consists of combining a translucent holographic film projec-tion
material and computer vision techniques. Two infrared video cameras, one still camera, and an in-frared
illuminator are mounted behind the projection material. Alignment of the output images of the two
video cameras combined with image processing techniques enables the user to interact with the screen.
The image becomes bright where the user’s hands are touching or nearly touching the screen, thereby
enabling the user to draw light across the surface of the screen with his hands.
The characteristics of the projection material that constitutes the screen make it possible to project onto
the material and see through it at the same time. Because of the transparency of the screen, it is possible
to use the digital still camera behind the screen to capture a high resolution picture of an object placed
on the surface. Optical flow techniques are then used to enable the user to interact with the picture in a
natural and fluid way, e.g. rotate and scale the picture by merely touching and pulling the image.
Touchlight enables you to draw light across the surface of the screen with your hands. Optical flow tech-niques
make it possible to rotate and scale the high resolution picture by merely touching and pulling the
image.

Technologies: Smart Dust
“Smart Dust” is an emerging technology made up from tiny, wireless sensors or “motes.”
Eventually, these devices will be smart enough to talk with other sensors yet small enough to fit on the
head of a pin. Each mote is a tiny computer with a power supply, one or more sensors, and a communi-cation
system.
Smart dust motes are typically outfitted with environmental sensors which can monitor things like tem-perature,
humidity, lighting, position, and acceleration. And one vendor, SkyeTek, sells a sensor that can
read RFID tags.
motes could be supplemented by solar cells or even be powered by “vibrations in the wall – a bit like a
self winding wristwatch” (Manjoo 2001).
User Research and Insights 15
Technologies: Directional Speakers
Summary of diagram showing how ultrasonic directional loudspeakers work
1. The piezoelectric transducers (grey circles) in the directional speaker produce two ultrasonic waves
(red and blue), both of which are at frequencies way too high to hear). The transducers pump out the
waves in a focused column (like the light in a flashlight beam). The waves are actually modulated (like
radio waves) and travel as one wave, but it's simplest to imagine them as two quite separate waves.
2. When the two waves hit something (or someone), they slow down and demodulate, producing a
new wave (green) whose frequency is much lower—equal to the difference in frequencies between the
two original waves. This is a wave you can hear.
3. When there's no-one standing in the beam, the waves keep on travelling without producing an au-dible
sound wave—so if there's no-one standing in front of the speaker, there's nothing you can hear.
4. People standing outside the beam can't hear anything because (unlike with a conventional loud-speaker)
the sound waves are not diverging from the source of sound to reach their ears.

AEIOU’s
Activities- Turn on lights, Watch TV, Play Video Games, Control Fan, Watch Movie. Hassling
with the many controls.
Environment – Does not need line of sight, Close proximity to entrance to motion activate.
Wall Mount button to locate GUI.
Interactions – Fumble for light switch. New users have to figure out remotes. Picking up more
than one remote to watch movie or play video game. Change Channel, Volume.
Objects – Electronic TV, Video Game Console, DVD/ BluRay player, Seating, Table, Lights, Fan,
A/C, Automated Window Shade.
Users – People socialize before and after movies, and during video games. During social events
people may get rowdy.
Action Steps
1. Forming the Goal- Watch a digitally stored movie.
2. Forming the Intention – Walking into media room; to see if movie is digitally stored to watch.
3. Specifying an Action – Entering the room, sitting in front of interface.Then activating interface,
finding movie, watching movie.
4. Executing the Action – Walking into the room the wall mounted GUI’s motion sen-sor
detects the person as they walk pass; turning the lights in the room on dim, and activating the Wall
Mounted and Table Surface GUI. You sit down in the chair or couch in front of Table Surface Inter-face.
You identify the activity icon for watching a movie (a movie reel) and touch it with your finger
or hand. It responds with a change in color as you touch it and audio feedback (a beep). Then the
interface will switch to the movie screen. It also turns on Television and Sound System to appropri-ate
settings. The Movie screen will have different movie categories. You touch the category you want
and then locate the movie (they are in alphabetical order). When you find the movie you want you will
touch it. The GUI screen will change to basic playback functions and volume control. The movie will
begin on Television when you touch play.
5. Perceiving the State of the World – When you touch an option the interface
changing color and beeps to show it is responding. The glowing when you activate motion sensor
shows that it is aware of your presence. Depending on device chosen it will change room atmosphere.
6. Interpreting the State of the World – The movie you choose plays on the Televi-sion.
7. Evaluating the Outcome – The movie begins playing, the lights turn off and the GUI
goes blank (to sleep).

Overview
We will be utilizing key features of the different technologies we researched. The Idea originally
was to do something very much like the logitech remote, just more streamlined. Eventually however the
ideas grew into something that a simple remote could not handle. Touchlight is a very interesting
technology and the backbone to the Mass system. By using it we have designed a GUI that is very
accurate in it’s gesture based interactions; because the Touchlight is both a touch screen and a camera.
We will have every wall using this technology making it easy to pin point gestures by seeing not only
what they are doing; but the angle, direction, and intensity at which users will gesture. It will also play
a big role in allowing mulitple users to use the system simultaneously; since it can see who is using the
system and where they are using it on the walls.
Although we moved away from the remote aspect of devices like the Logitech Remote and
others we will still be using certain aspects of said devices. The Mass systems main purpose is still to
streamline activites in a media room, and by taking what the Logitech Remote does and improving it
with gestures and multiple user functionallity we are taking the media room to a whole new level.
Unidirectional Speakers will also be a key component in making the Mass system multiple user
functional. By putting the speakers above the ceiling Touchlight screen and allowing them to move, it
will allow users to do different things and not have sound overlap. The speakers will move above
whomever is using a certain interface. If two people are watching a movie while someone is playing a
video game; those users will only hear the movie while the other user will only hear his or her video
game.
Smart Dust will be implanted in the floor and walls and used to supplement our information
gathering systems for the Mass system. The dust will collect data on several differnt key areas including
how many people are in the room if any, the locations of those people, environmental conditions, and
activities in the room. By gathering this information the Smart Dust will increase the system’s ability
to adapt to the needs of the user. When the dust determines that no one is in a room it will send a signal
to the system to turn off the power and any air conditioning or heating taking place in the room, thus
making the Mass system more environmentally friendly and easier to use by not forcing the user to turn
things off manually. But Smart Dust does another important job in the Mass syatem. As devices become
more and more reliant on each other for information they place more and more stress on the network
they operate upon; causeing everything to slow down. Utilizing Smart Dust’s unique ability to group
itself into its own network allows us to completely remove the vast majority of stress this system would
place on the house’s main network. All information that travels between devices in the room would be
passed along the dust network instead of over the main network. The only time the Mass system would
access the main network is to access the Mass Market and download media from it.
Day In A Life Scenario I
Joe Bob, a 28 year old African American male, arrived home from his executive job at the glue fac-tory.
His wife was arriving at the same time from her job, somewhere. They greeted each other. They
entered their house and opened the door to the media room. As Joe stepped into the room, the MASS
device detected his presence and dimmed on the room lights. He then grabbed the MASS device and
slid it up and out of the wall mount. He walked 3 feet to his couch and sat down.
He lightly pressed the movie icon with his index finger. It responded with a jaunty tune to sig-nify
the selection. After it switches to the movie screen he selects the search option and inputs “TOP”.
As he typed “TOP” the device listed the titles starting with “TOP” including “Top Gun” and “Top
Gear”. Seeing “Top Gun” he immediately turned to his wife. Their eyes met and he said “I feel the
need…” His wife joined in as they both finished with “… the need for speed.” Then he selected “Top
Gun” because they were both obviously in the mood for some Cruise. The MASS device connects to
the base system and uploads the movie to the Television. As this happens the MASS device activates
the Television and Sound System to his preset movie watching settings. The movie main menu is then
displayed on the screen.
Joe decides that he wants popcorn and a drink before he begins viewing his movie. He gets up and
asks her if she would like anything from the kitchen one of the other groups is designing. He leaves
the room placing the MASS device on the chair before leaving. He returned a few minutes later with
snacks. After placing them in an accessible location he sits down and picked up the MASS device and
gently touched the play icon. The room lights dimmed off as the movie began playing on their televi-sion.
When the movie ended the lights dimmed up until they were at a comfortable half power. The
MASS device then celebrated their completion of the movie and commented on their loving and suc-cessful
marriage.
19 Proposed Product Concepts

Day In A Life Scenario II
Abraham Jones, a 38 year old African-American executive at the local glue factory enters his
media room after a very long and tedious day at work. As he enters the room he pulls out his smart
phone with the specialized MASS system app on it. He selects the MASS system application with his
index finger and it pulls up a new screen featuring simple controls for the GUI. Abraham touches the
table option and uses his index finger to slide the lights to a mid level setting.
The table surface GUI begins to rise out of the floor as Abraham walks around to the
wall left of his chair. He places his index and middle finger on the wall and draws a circle. This brings
up options he has set to this shape including a clock and weather. He chooses the clock option and an
analog clock he downloaded from the MASS market appears on the wall.
On the same wall he draws an arc with is index and middle finger, which brings up a list
of the environments he has downloaded. Abraham chooses his sky environment, because before he got
home from work he decided to watch Top Gun. The walls and ceiling of the room display a beautiful
panoramic sky scene, complete with moving clouds.
By this time the Table Surface GUI has fully risen out of the floor, displaying the
MASS media GUI. Mary T. Jones, a self empowered and independent Samoan woman from the Bronx,
just got home from her job as a Crossing Guard. She lovingly greets Abraham, walks over to the wall
and draws a circle on the wall and chooses the calendar option. After satisfying her need for an orga-nized
schedule she draws an X with her index and middle finger over the calendar to close it out. She
looked around the room and noticed Abraham set the sky scenery and instantly looked over at him. “I
feel the need…” she started. “…the need for speed” they both finished in unison. They both sit on the
couch and Abraham uses his index finger to choose the movie option. After picking the movie option
a new screen appears displaying a Movie and TV Show category; it also shows a search bar. Already
having decided what he will watch he pulls up the touch keyboard by touching the tab at the bottom
of the screen. He begins typing “TOP” and the GUI displays a list of possible choices. Abraham sees
“Top Gun” as the fifth option down and touches it with his index finger.
A new screen appears showing simple playback features including; play, pause, rewind,
fast forward, and stop. It also shows master volume controls and light controls. A similar display also
appears on his phone application. A section of the sky scenery disappears making way for a screen,
which the movie to be displayed on. He touches the play option which starts the movie on the screen
across from him. He uses the Light slider to dim the lights and finally touches the table option to lower
the table GUI into the floor.
Day In A Life Script
1.1: Abraham takes phone out of pocket.
1.2: Abraham selects the MASS system app with his index finger.
1.3: A new screen appears and he touches the table option, after he uses his finger to slide the lights to
a mid level setting. The table begins to rise to the appropriate height.
1.4: He walks to the wall left of his couch and traces a circle on it with his finger.
1.5: The wall displays his options for the shape. He chooses the clock option; a clock appears where he
drew the circle.
1.6: On the same wall he draws an arc with his finger which brings up his environment options. Abra-ham
chooses his sky environment. And the Walls display a panoramic sky environment.
2.1: On the wall Mary T. draws a circle with her fingers.
2.2: The wall displays a number of options for that shape and she chooses the calendar.
2.3: When she is done using the calendar she draws an X over if with her fingers to close it.
1.7: He sits down on his couch and looks at the display on his risen table GUI. He touches the Video
option with his finger.
1.8: It brings up a new screen with two categories; Movie and TV Show. He uses his finger to touch
the Movie option and chooses a movie.
1.9: A new screen appears with the basic playback features: play, stop, pause, fast forward, rewind,
skip, and menu. It also shows the cover of what he has chosen to watch. He slides the light control
down that has also appeared on the screen. A section of the wall is cleared of the environment for
movie viewing.
1.10: He then selects play and the movie appears on the recently formed screen across from him.
1.11: On the Table GUI he touches the table option which lowers the table back into the floor.

Storyboard
These storyboards demonstrate the main interactions required by the user. From top left to bottom right
we have a visualization of the room. Then a person standing in the room with their arm out and their
hand in a fist. The next slide shows the fist opening, this action causes the system to start. Then the
person is standing in the room with an open hand in front of them. They next slide shows the person
waving thier hand back and forth, gently to move one page and a faster waving motion to rapidly scroll
the screens. Then they have a finger or two extended from a fist and are picking items from the screen.
In the bottom left the person is drawing a circle in the air which corresponds to a shape in the system
that has things set for it (like a clock). This can be done with other shapes as well. Then the person is
closing screen by drawing an ‘X’ in the air. And the last screen shows a person stopping the scrolling by
putting thier hand up in a halt position.
Sketch Prototypes

Inspiration
Inspiration

Inspiration
Jason Mericle Prototype’s

Brentt Kasmiskie’s Prototypes
Patrick Herbert’s Prototypes

Donnie Cui’s Prototypes
Final Prototype Design
Our original design for the GUI revolved around a coffee table. All of these screens were to be
part of an interactive table that would allow the user to customize the room and control every-thing
to their liking, but we realized that people would be less inclined to lean over a table to
control something than we had originally thought. The interface would have changed position
on the table to better suit the user’s needs. The wall was also going to be used, but as more of a
side note than it is now.

Final Prototype Design
Gestures
Open fist = Turn on GUI/ doing it on another user’s screen gives you control.
Point = Select
Point & Drag = Move Slider (volume,lights,etc.)
Draw X on top of = Turn off
Grab & Drag = Move whole screen or object.
Tapping Thumb to Index Finger = Channel Up
Tapping Thumb to Middle Finger = Channel Down
Swiping Hand Gently = Turns on page (for browsing).
Swiping Hand Forcefully = Cycles through pages (for browsing).
Draw Circle, Triangle, Square, Arc = Wall Features
Speakers move to person when they start GUI.
Whichever screen you are looking at is the audio you get.
TABLE
Point At Table & Move Up = Raises Table
Point At Table & Move Down = Lowers Table
Saying Table = Raises and Lowers Table

Wireframe Version I
34 Functional Diagrams 35 Functional Diagrams

Functional Diagrams36 Functional Diagrams37

Functional Diagrams38
Final Wireframe
Mass Device
Setup
1st Setup
Screen
Find Devices Manual
Setup
List of Found
Devices
Serial Code
Input Screen
Devices
Configured
Screen
Home Screen
Shape
Menus
Circle
Square
Triangle
Ect.
39 Functional Diagrams

Cable
Volume
control
Channel
Control
DVR
Control
Light
Control
Guide
Music Video Games Pictures
Favorites
Volume
control
Light
Control
Resume
Play
Downloads
Music
Library
Genres
Search
Volume
control
Light
Control
Resume
Play
Downloads
Audio
Controls
Genres
Search
Video
Controls
Movies/
TV Shows
Volume
control
Light
Control
Albums
Download
Market Settings
Top
Downloads
Owned
Content
Downloads
Currently
Downloading
Download
Qeue
Categories
Movies
T.V. Shows
Music
Environments
Wall
Applications
Device
Scanner
Device
Setup
Manual
Preset
Self
Learning
GUI
Settings
Brightness
Contrast
Theme
Volume
Sensitivity
Time &
Date

Test Script
Hi, ___________. My name is ___________, and I’m going to be walking you through this
session today.
Before we begin, I have some information for you, and I’m going to read it to make sure
that I cover everything.
You probably already have a good idea of why we asked you here, but let me go over it
again briefly. We’re asking people to try using a smart house media room we’re working on
so we can see whether it works as intended. The session shouldn’t take too long.
The first thing I want to make clear right away is that we’re testing the room, not you. You
can’t do anything wrong here. In fact, this is probably the one place today where you don’t
have to worry about making mistakes.
As you use the site, I’m going to ask you as much as possible to try to think out loud:
to say what you’re looking at, what you’re trying to do, and what you’re thinking. This
will be a big help to us.
Also, please don’t worry that you’re going to hurt our feelings. We’re doing this to im-prove
the room, so we need to hear your honest reactions.
If you have any questions as we go along, just ask them. I may not be able to answer
them right away, since we’re interested in how people do when they don’t have some-one
sitting next to them to help. But if you still have any questions when we’re done I’ll
try to answer them then. And if you need to take a break at any point, just let me know.
43 Usability Test Explanations and Results

Test Script
Do you have any questions so far?
OK. Before we look at the room, I’d like to ask you just a few quick questions.
First, what’s your occupation? What do you do all day?
Now, roughly how many hours a week altogether—just a ballpark estimate— would
you say you spend using a media room?
And what’s the split between television shows and movies generally?
OK, great. We’re done with the questions, and we can start looking at things.
Thanks, that was great. Now I’m going to ask the observers if they have any questions.
Do you have any questions for me, now that we’re done?
This form was taken and edited from
http://www.sensible.com/rocketsurgery/index.html
And inspiration was taken from Steve Krug’s demo usability test which can be found at
http://www.peachpit.com/promotions/promotion.aspx?promo=137602
Tasks
Task 1:
It is your first day in your new home and you want to use your entertainment room. But to use the room you must
first set up the MASS system.
Task 2:
You have a guest over and he wishes to watch the news in your amazing media room. Find a channel with
news playing on it.
Task 3:
After a long day sitting behind a desk you want to sit somewhere else. You want to watch your
favorite movie, Top Gun.
Task 4:
You have seen the most traumatizing thing that can possibly be seen. You went to a doctor and
they recommended clearing your mind and finding your center. In order to achieve these calm
states of mind you must find a calming environment. Download one from the MASS Market.
Task 5:
You have come back from yet another frustrating day and need to relax. Set your Media room
to display your favorite environment.
Task 6:
You enter the media and have no idea what time it is. You look around and notice that the clock
is no longer on the wall. Put a new clock on the wall.

Customer # Problem Found Proposed Solution
1
Wanted to change channels and see every chan-nel,
not using the guide
Tried to draw the current time to get a clock
Change downloads menu name to market, possible icon
change
They have to learn it, but we can make it easier by mak-ing
an instant environment button after downloading
Results
2
Wanted to change channels and see every chan-nel,
not using the guide
Tried to draw the current time to get a clock
Put the option to do that in with a gesture
Have the system input the drawn figures and then
figure out what they are by matching them up to
things it knows and eventually figure out time and
suggest the correct shape
3
Thought icons were confusing
Thought that no one would use a table or lean
over to change things from a seated position
Interface and technology wasn’t advanced or
futuristic enough
Label and change icons
Change the interface to a wall and use gesture and voice
based commands
Change technology
4
Had a hard time figuring out the gestures
Wished they could actually do stuff on a surface
versus gesturing
Gestures have to be learned
Giving the option for surface interaction
5
Didn’t understand what the social section was
and once we explained it they didn’t see a need
for it or a reason they would use it.
Was confused about the downloads section
We don’t expect everyone to use every feature (80:20
rule)
Change the icon possibly the name as well
Final Design Version I
The base for this menu is a simple navigation bar.
Using this you can get to any page at a any time
with minimal actions. The five navigation pages
encompass all the major activites that can be done
with this system.
The communication section allows for easy ac-cess
to various forms of communication including
email, video calls, conferance calls, internet, as
well as others. One of the goals here was to allow
people in a call to view things while talking or
even share things with eachother.
47 Final Screen Designs and Descriptions

The music interface is meant to resemble other
music interfaces. It works just like music interfac-es
to on web pages, an ipod, or even your phone.
Ideally you could sync this up with your mp3
player in order to easily manage your music.
Watching video like movies or television is meant
to be very adjustable. You can easily resize the tv
screen and change it’s placement. It also utilizes
standard video controls.
48
The download or market section has a featured
downloads box. The download qeue is movable
and can persist across screens so that users can
always be aware of their download progress,
The picture viewer allows for easy management of
images. Photos can be arranged into albums and
multiple pictures can be shared at once.
49 Final Screen Designs and Descriptions Final Screen Designs and Descriptions

Functions and applications are categorized into different shapes. This can be done auto-maticly
based on certain criteria or user user customized.
51
Using shape gestures, users can easily access a
multitude of wall based functions with ease. Users
create a mental map of the shapes and associated
functions when downloading and setting them up.
Users can set default options for functions or
choose to go further and browse other options.
50 Final Screen Designs and Descriptions Final Screen Designs and Descriptions

http://www.animationmeat.com/templates_downloads/tv_storyboard_template.pdf
http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/10392/128/blue_calculator_icon
http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/1409/128/kwrite_notepad_icon
http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/17465/80/chart_graph_ranking_stocks_icon
http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/6443/128/news_newspaper_the_daily_news_icon
http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/45352/128/bank_money_piggy_savings_icon
http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/24675/128/art_brush_color_drawing_paint_palette_icon
http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s2650top.html
http://www.mauvaislangue.com/tron-legacy/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/
http://ramenoodles.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/star-wars-a-new-hope-1977/
http://celebritysurgery.net/gary-busey-eyelid-surgery-facelifts-veneers/
http://www.beedogs.com/index_files/page0001.htm
http://psd.tu-torial.com/photoshop-tutorials/iron-man-view-interface-effect-in-photoshop/
http://www.benarent.co.uk/bog/category/interface/
http://geekswithblogs.net/felipe/archive/2007/05/24/112720.aspx
http://www.cellphonehits.net/microsoft-surface-at-five-att-stores/
http://sites.google.com/site/deardiarythisishermes/chapter-1-the-beginning
http://tormesser.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/the-truth-assassins-creed-1-and-2/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9R8wwYAJF0&playnext=1&list=PLA9AC6D66A1C46677&index=22
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/fast-fresh/weeknight-favorites-00400000012605/
http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/02/07/capello-the-mafia-and-england/
http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/40abcj07.htm
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/wallpaper/blue-polar-bear-hopkins.html
http://www.yfao.gov.cn/Enshow2.aspx?id=161
http://skvots.net/holiday-rome-italy.html
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2007/05/exporting_law_s.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic_(color)
http://www.uhisrc.com/FTB/Smart%20Dust/Smart%20Dust.pdf
http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~pister/SmartDust/
http://digitalexperience.cavi.dk/?p=26
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/remotes/universal-remotes/devices/4708
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/directional-loudspeakers.html
53
The Team Works Cited
Jason - Is a student at The University of Texas at Dallas studying
Emergning Media and Communications. He likes comics and music.
He doesn’t like people knowing about himself so he is done typing,
thank you, goodbye.
Brentt - Is a student at The University of Texas at Dallas studying
Arts and Technology. He loves shirts, games and is trying to kick
his addiction to cheez-its. He has a strange dislike of umbrellas and
chip-clips.
Patrick - Has been employed as a photogpraher, web designer,
fondue server, and has contracted for a football combine. Hosts and
maintains websites on the side. Can always be found eating.
Donnie - Is a student at The University of Texas at Dallas studying
Arts and Technology. He likes online game and 3D maya.
Nova - Is the brains behind the operation and a constant source of
insperation.
52 Team Biography

UTD Smart Home GUI Design

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