UQ Usability Laboratory (UQUL)

Download the UQ Usability Laboratory Brochure and Poster!

The University of Queensland Usability Laboratory (UQUL) hosts the research of CERG but is available for use by all UQ researchers. On this page we describe the UQUL itself as well as some of the equipment we use in our research---both UQUL equipment and more specialised CERG equipment.

See photos of our first industry Short Course. We covered all aspects of user-centred design, including user testing of prototypes in the UQUL.

View from control room into the two test rooms. Test room ceilings carry dome cameras with remote pan-tilt-zoom-focus which can be positioned in any of 11 locations. Consultants can run sessions independently on each side. Alternatively, consultants can watch participants collaborate "remotely" across the two test rooms.	User testing session in progress. For commercial work a consultant-facilitator usually remains in the test room with the participant. Test rooms have been configured as office workstations, industrial control rooms, anesthesia workstations, command and control posts, and maintenance workshops, amongst other uses.

Location of the UQUL

CERG is housed in Level 1 of the McElwain Building, which is building 24A (School of Psychology) on this interactive map of the UQ St Lucia campus in Brisbane. The main office of the UQUL is MC136. For a map of where we are in the McElwain Building, see the Location page.

Description of lab and equipment

The core UQUL working area includes a usability laboratory with a control room and two test rooms; a briefing room for participant meet and greet, instructions, etc; and an AV programming and data analysis room. Offices of laboratory manager, staff, and postgraduates are immediately adjacent.

The "usability boutique" with the "flying wing" design. The UQUL layout is based on the "flying wing" design originally conceived in 1998 by Professor Sanderson and colleagues at the SCHIL Usability Laboratory at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia. The layout works well for cognitive engineering investigations in which human interaction with a work layout or with other people is required. We think of the UQUL as a "usability boutique" that supports cognitive engineering applications especially well.

Mirrored glass. The extensive mirrored glazing allows an unconstrained view from the control room of coordinated activity across the two rooms, which is valuable when running investigations that involve networked collaborations. (We calculated the observation and masking ratios provided by various grades of mirrored glass, and can provide advice to others on these matters. We acknowledge the help of Pilkington and G James Ltd.). When a view from the control room into the test rooms is not needed, concertina blinds can be pulled down over all glazed surfaces in the test rooms, creating a warmer atmosphere. AV can still be picked up in the test rooms and relayed to recording equipment in the control room.

AV fitout. We are using Panasonic dome cameras with inbuilt, remotely controlled, silent pan-tilt-zoom-focus capabilities. The three cameras assigned to each test room can be repositioned to any of 11 locations in each test room, including a centre ceiling location to capture tabletop collaborations. The cameras are also effective in extremely low-light conditions, allowing us to simulate C2 or combat centre operations (eg submarines). Audio pickup is achieved with a sensitive pressure zone microphone in each test room that is mounted high above the glass on the control room side of the room. These microphones provide excellent audio quality without requiring participants to wear lapel microphones or encounter desk-mounted microphones. Altogether, with this equipment participants report that the AV pickup in each test room is very non-intrusive.

Equipment. Our equipment supports investigations in the field as well as in the UQUL itself. Equipment for the test rooms includes PC and Mac computers. We have considerable field experience with battery-powered portable headcam data collection methods, which let us record people's activity. CERG's equipment inventory includes various head-mounted camera arrangements and a custom-built eyetracker for field research.

AV recording. In the control room, there is redundant equipment for each test room that can nonetheless be flexibly configured to collect AV from test room 1, test room 2, or both. AV input can be collected on a hard drive, DVD, miniDV, or SVHS tape. Quad, picture-in-picture, and other vision mixing options are available. Content of computer screens can be captured either via scan conversion or direct feed.

AV analysis and editing. In our AV room, we have a wide variety of playback and editing equipment and various video analysis tools. We also have a sound generation workstation with high-end reference speakers for our sonification work.

Use of the UQUL for research and evaluation

The UQUL can be used for the following general classes of investigations:

• Cognitive and physical evaluation of workstation layouts and multi-screen navigation
• Co-present collaborative work for groups up to around six people that is technology-intensive or otherwise
• Remote collaborative work in groups up to around 12 people that is technology- and network-intensive or otherwise
• Study of human interaction with portable or wearable devices
• Wide variety of usability and interaction design activities.

We invite research collaboration on topics of mutual interest and use of facilities for HCI/usability investigation by individuals, groups, and organisations from inside the University of Queensland and, where appropriate, from outside. Tours and inquiries about use of the laboratory by professional groups are handled by Professor Penelope Sanderson.

In addition, students interested in carrying out honours, Masters, or PhD projects in the UQUL with the CERG group should visit our page of Thesis projects.

Tours of the UQUL

If you would like a tour of the UQUL, please contact CERG leader Professor Penelope Sanderson so that she can set up a time that fits in with the schedule of research in the UQUL.

A UQ Usability Laboratory Open House took place on Thursday 11 November, 2004. See photos of the event.

Acknowledgments

For general information about the UQUL please contact Professor Penelope Sanderson.

UQUL architects were Phillips Smith Conwell (David Tanswell, Andrew Holmes) and engineers were Hawkins Ross Jenkins. Rexel Australia have supplied the bulk of the UQUL AV equipment.

Technical conception and development of the UQUL was managed by Rohan Clarke through 2002. Graham Weekes ran the laboratory until mid-2004 and Phil Cole ran it until mid-2007.

The development and initial resourcing of the UQUL and the CERG equipment were funded by the following entities and sources within UQ:

• ARC Key Centre for Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Psychology
• School of Psychology
• Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences
• School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
• Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences, and Architecture
• Strategic Research Initiative funding from UQ.

We are grateful to those responsible for their support in making our research possible.