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UI and taken care of by a middleware? Or is it a hybrid configuration that inter-
operates internal and external parts?
Third, does the generated UI instantiate classical
widgets
provided by the usual
toolboxes (e.g. Swing) or does it resort to specialized
widgets
for plasticity (e.g.
COMET [DEM 07])? It is worth noting that the software components of larger grain
size can also be dynamically recruited to serve as a basis for the composition of UIs
[BAL 08].
Finally, from a technological point of view, are the technological spaces
conserved? Intra means that the pre- and post-adaptation UIs are implemented
within the same technological spaces (e.g. HTML). Inter refers to a change in
technological spaces (e.g. from HTML to OpenGL). Mixed would denote a
combination of technological spaces.
11.6. Conclusion and perspectives
In the rich, complex domain of interactive systems, UI plasticity is a particularly
promising and challenging research area. This chapter has given a representative
overview of UI plasticity while showing that transport is a fertile ground for its
application. The chapter opened with the evolution of HCI in relation to the
diversity and dynamicity of interaction resources, including their control by humans.
Where possible, these different aspects have been illustrated with transport
applications, and more generally with users' mobility.
The concept of UI plasticity was defined from the perspectives of the user and
the system. Two voluntarily restricted, but representative, scenarios related to
transport have been explored to illustrate the potentials of UI plasticity. Both show
the central role of context.
A problem space was outlined to provide designers, developers and evaluators
with an overview of aspects of UI plasticity that should be considered and combined
for the development of future interactive systems.
Numerous research issues have been identified. UI composition by end-users is
one of the foremost challenges. If keeping the user in the loop seems reasonable
from the point of view of human factors, the approach seems equally reasonable
from the point of view of engineering. The automation of evaluation of the quality
of a UI requires the formalization of ergonomic criteria, the definition of metrics
and the implementation of evaluation functions. These challenges are at the
foreground of plasticity, but more generally are also at the cutting edge of academic
teachings as well as industrial practice in HCI. Indeed, [SER 10] shows that
