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The NightWatch Usability
Cam
Posted September
6, 2002
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The NightWatch
Usability Cam
By Kevin Frye |
A few months ago I was presented with a challenge
at work that X10 technology helped me to meet. I was asked to facilitate a
usability test of some software at a remote location. I have a fully equipped
usability lab in my home city but it would be impractical to take all that
equipment with me on the road. I had to be able to fit everything I needed in a
"carry on" sized bag.
The technology that I have in my lab allows me to
observe evaluators while they work with software so that I can note and
document where the "rough spots" are in the user interface. I needed to be able
to sit in a nearby room and observe what they were doing, hear what they were
saying, and see their facial expressions. A laptop computer, some freeware, and
a wireless X10 camera helped me meet my goals.
 The hardware I used was:
The software(freeware) I used was:
Evaluator setup:
In the room where the usability evaluators sat I
installed and ran VNC on their PC. I also set up the X10 camera next to their
monitor and attached it to the X10 wireless transmitter. The VNC software
allowed me to see the evaluator’s screen contents over the network. The
X10 camera with the transmitter sent the evaluators voice and facial
expressions to the receiver in the observation room. I chose the NightWatch
camera because of its low light capabilities and the 60’ cord that gave me
a "hard-wired" option if I was close enough to the evaluator to use it.
Observer setup:
In the observation room I attached the audio output
from the receiver to the laptop microphone jack and plugged the USB video
adapter into a USB port. I attached the video output from the receiver to the
USB video adapter. I ran the VNCviewer program so that I could see the live
contents of the evaluator’s screen and ran Netmeeting so that I could
create a small "picture-in-picture" window containing a live video image of the
evaluator’s face. I could hear the evaluator’s voice through the
laptop speakers. All of my observation goals were met. I could see exactly what
was happening on the evaluator’s screen, I could hear the evaluator’s
voice, and I could see the evaluator’s facial expressions. I also attached
a TV to the TV/coaxial output of the wireless receiver and an external monitor
to the laptop so that others could easily observe the tests with me.
Summary:
The use of wireless X10 camera technology allowed
me to create a very portable usability observation system that can easily fit
into a "carry on" sized bag. I also was able to facilitate a successful offsite
usability test.
Sincerely,
Kevin Frye
Lyman, Maine
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Editor's note: Just released! The NightWatch2
Camera is a new and improved version of our original best-selling NightWatch
camera! See in low-light conditions!
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intro pricing!
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