Prototyping of User Interfaces for Mobile Applications by Benjamin Bähr

Author:Benjamin Bähr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

In this section, selected design decisions in the implementation of the Blended Prototyping system are explained. The description is separated for the system models. First design decisions in the design tool are explained, followed by that, aspects of the creation tool, and finally specifics of the testing tool are highlighted.

4.3.1 Implementation of the Design Tool

(1) Hardware Setup of the Tabletop-Computing Environment

The tabletop-computing environment used for the Blended Prototyping design tool uses the following hardware components: an EPSON THW-5200 video projector, a Canon E650 DSLR photo camera, a Logitech HD Pro C920 Webcam, different Android tablet devices (Nexus 7 and Samsung Note 10.1), a regular desktop computer running the tabletop control software, and a Cisco LinkSys E4200 WLAN Router to establish a high speed connection with the mobile devices used in the tabletop context. Beside these electronic components the design tool uses a big tripod that is able to host projector and cameras above the table surface, a regular table as a working space, and paper and pens that are used to create the user interface sketches.

All of the used hardware components are mid-performance off-the-shelf solutions that are available for very reasonable prices. The employed video projector supplies full-HD resolution at a good brightness level (1800 ANSI), its market price as for the end of 2015 is about 1000 €. The Canon DSLR is a standard-consumer camera with an image resolution of 18 megapixels. The standard 18–55 mm f/3.6-5.6 zoom lenses are used that came in the camera kit package. Currently, the camera price ranges at about 350 €. The employed desktop computer is a standard machine with no distinguished performance capabilities in any respect. The employed webcam is a full-HD standard webcam for about 70 € and the other hardware used does not need to reach any significant performance either. In sum of approximately 2000 € should be sufficient to reproduce the setup.

Both cameras and the video projector are assembled on a tripod in a way that their lenses are targeted at the table surface. That way, the video projector supplies an output channel, the cameras an input channel to the user. The Android tablets are connected to the computer system via a shared WLAN and can be used as one of different alternatives to control the application. The provided smartphone can be used to test prototypes created in the test sessions immediately.

The supplied paper sheets come with a printed marker, which can be recognized by the system in the images produced by the system’s cameras. The pens used in the sketching process should create a clear stroke, which does not necessarily needs to be very thick. The highlighting pens, used for the marking of user controls, should have strong colors that are well distinguishable from another.(2) Software Implementation of the Design Tool

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