Metawidgets in the multimodal interface
Meera M. Blattner, Ephraim P. Glinert, Joaquim Armando Jorge, G.R. Ormsby · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 1991
We analyze two intertwined and fundamental issues concerning computer-to-human communication in the multimodal interfaces: the interplay between sound and graphics, and the role of object persistence. Our observations lead us to introduce metawidgets as abstract entities capable of manifesting themselves to users as image, as sound, or as various combinations and/or sequences of the two media. We show examples of metawidgets in action, and discuss mechanisms for choosing among alternative media for metawidget instantiation. Finally, we describe a couple of experimental microworlds we have implemented to test out some of our ideas. 17 refs., 7 figs.