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<Paper uid="P04-3029">
  <Title>Multimodal Database Access on Handheld Devices</Title>
  <Section position="2" start_page="0" end_page="0" type="intro">
    <SectionTitle>
1 Introduction
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> Navigation in large, complex and multidimensional information spaces is still a challenging task. The search is even more difficult in small devices such as MP3 players, which only have a reduced screen and lack of a proper keyboard. In the MIAMM project1 we have developed a multimodal dialogue system that uses speech, haptic interaction and advanced techniques for information visualization to allow a natural and fast access to music databases on small scale devices. The user can pose queries in natural language, using different dimensions, e.g. release year, genre, artist, or mood. The retrieved data are presented along this dimensions using various visualization metaphors. Haptic feedback allows the user to feel the size, density and structure of the visualized data to facilitate the navigation. All modalities are available for the user to access and navigate through the database, and to select titles to be played.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> The envisioned end-user device is a handheld Personal Digital Assistant (PDA, see figure 1) that provides an interface to a music database. The device includes a screen where data and system messages are visualized, three force-feedback buttons on the left side and one combined scroll wheel/button on the upper right side, that can be used to navigate on the visualized data, as well as to perform actions on the data items (e.g. play or select a song), a microphone to capture spoken input, and speakers to give audio output. Since we do not develop the hardware, we simulate the PDA using a 3D model on a computer screen, and the buttons  alization of the database by means of Phantom devices2 that allow the user to touch and manipulate virtual objects.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> In the rest of this paper, we will first give an overview of the visualization metaphors, the MIAMM architecture, and a short description of its interface language. Then we will demonstrate its functionality using an example dialogue. For more details on the MIAMM system and its components see (Reithinger et al., 2004).</Paragraph>
  </Section>
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