| Auditory interfaces commonly use synthetic speech for conveying information. In many instances the information being conveyed is hierarchically structured, such as menus. However, using the auditory channel the structure of the information is not "visible". In particular, the hierarchical nature of auditory interfaces is not revealed explicitly to users. As a result, navigation can be complex and it is considered to be one of the critical issues in auditory interfaces. In an effort to address the issue of navigation in auditory interfaces, two solutions were suggested and investigated in this thesis.; The first solution utilizes a hierarchy re-structuring approach. It aims at reducing the navigation time in auditory interfaces by allowing users to customize/personalize their favorite menus in the interface. The system developed allows users to bookmark any given node in the menu-based system.; The second solution described in this thesis focuses on reducing the error rates in auditory interfaces by providing navigation cues to the users, using multiple synthetic voices. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
