Agenda

Département
Langue
Date
Thématique
2025

March

  • 14:00
    17:00

    This thesis explores the potential of tangible interfaces (TIs) and tangible actuated objects to improve collaboration and decision-making in railway control centers. Despite the increasing integration of digital tools in these centers, the role of operators remains crucial, especially in times of crisis, when effective collaboration is essential for making critical decisions. This research begins with an analysis of rail control centers
    and shows the potential of IT for interacting with digital information. Based on this analysis, I developed an IT prototype demonstrating how tangible interactions can improve understanding of the network and decision-making during an incident. I then extended this concept by designing a second prototype that incorporates tangible interactions actuated to respond to more complex challenges, notably by enhancing collaboration and efficiency in crisis situations. Together, these prototypes explore the potential of IT to transform rail control center operations. This thesis also examines the use of actuated tangible objects as feedback for remote collaboration. Two studies have been carried out: the first explores the detectability of tangible actuated objects compared to visual feedback alone during a demanding task.
    The results suggest improved object perceptibility. The second study assesses whether tangible feedback enables users to better perceive their partner's actions and position, without sustained attention, compared with visual feedback alone. The results suggest that actuated tangible objects offer a more embodied and effective approach to maintaining awareness of collaborative activities at a distance. This thesis work highlights the values of tangible interfaces and actuated tangible interfaces for sharing information, helping operators to visualize, compare and resolve incidents collaboratively while understanding the consequences of decisions.

     

    Salle Ada Lovelace (Inria)