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Experience Lab User Manual
This wiki provides all the information on software and hardware available at Experience Lab. A number of guides on how to conduct a successful study will be added shortly.
Information on booking of Experience Lab and terms of use is available at the Experience Lab main website.
More general information on the research facility can be read at the Experience Lab main website as well.
When facing technical difficulties at Experience Lab please refer to this wiki first. If you need further assistance feel free to contact us.
Contents |
Facilities
Test room
The test room contains a unit for testing different kinds of computer usage.The TestPC is connected to an eye tracker, a KVM switch and a keypad.
The test room also has a television unit aiming at entertainment-related research. A television and two gaming consoles are available.
A number of cameras and microphones are available for documenting the research.
Observation room
In the observation room the researcher has the possibility of observing the test room through a one way mirror.
ObserverPC1 and ObserverPC3 are places in the observation room and can be used for gathering video and audio streams as well as keylogging from the test room.
It's possible to control the TestPC in the test room from the observation room using the KVM switch.
It's possible to speak to the test room from the observation room via the table microphone.
Hardware
Cameras
Experience Lab has two remote controlled wall mounted cameras and two portable cameras.
Furthermore a webcam is available.
The output from the four main cameras can be viewed on the monitor in the middle of the observation room desk or recorded directly on ObserverPC1.
Microphones
Experience Lab has two microphones to be used in the test room.
A microphone is also placed in the control room allowing the researcher to speak to people in the test room.
Eye tracker
The eye tracker is a stand-alone unit that makes it possible to record in what way a test user views a website, a video, or a piece of software.
Using Tobii Studio on the TestPC a video file is saved locally and can be merged with other video sources later on (on ObserverPC3 for instance).
KVM switch
The KVM switch makes it possible to control the TestPC remotely from the observation room.
Keypad
The keypad is a small device with three buttons with individual LED displays. This can be used to launch different pieces of software or to conduct studies where the user has to chose between three options ("yes/no/neutral" etc.).
Computers
In the test room you will find the TestPC where users can perform different tasks as a part of a study.
Please notice: The signal from TestPC is not sent directly to the TestPC screens but are routed through the DVI switch first.
The ObserverPC1 and ObserverPC3 are placed in the observation room and are used to record the study in progress.
Experience Lab has two laptops that can be borrowed to work on the analysis after the tests have been performed. Contact the staff if you wish to make use of the laptops.
For backup-purposes there's also a disk server located in the observation room.
Please read the file location convention before using the computers at Experience Lab.
Entertainment unit
In the test room a wide screen television is available. A PlayStation3 and an Xbox360 are available as well. Thus it is possible to make studies on video gaming, television watching and the like.
Please notice: The signals from the gaming consols are not sent directly to the television screen but are routed through the DVI switch first.
DVI switch
The DVI switch is found in the observation room and gathers video and audio signals from the two gaming consoles and the TestPC and depending on the user configuration outputs those signals to the television, the TestPC screens, and/or the frame grabber.
The frame grabber makes it possible to save the video and audio signals on ObserverPC3.
Miscellaneous
Lighting
To manipulate the light blackout curtains and a spot light are available in the test room.
Please note that the observation room has to be very dark in order to make the one way mirror work properly.
Telephone
If the phone displays the message, 'Bruger ikke logget på' (en: 'User not logged on'), enter user-id: 21385 and password 21385, both sequences followed by pushing the button with the speaker-icon on it.
To dial out of the house, dial '0' followed by the phone number you wish to dial.
Software
Guides and tips
The following articles will be added to the wiki:
Study-specification Statement of consent for test-subjects How to conduct a study How to make observations A-Z guide (Det gode forløb)
Other
LAN File location convention (usage guide) Passwords (usage guide)
