Image presentation in space and time: errors, preferences and eye-gaze activity

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) is a technique that allows images to be presented sequentially in the time-domain, thereby offering an alternative to the conventional concurrent display of images in the space domain. Such an alternative offers potential advantages where display area is at a premium. However, notwithstanding the flexibility to employ either or both domains for presentation purposes, little is known about the alternatives suited to specific tasks undertaken by a user. As a consequence there is a pressing need to provide guidance for the interaction designer faced with these alternatives.We investigated the task of identifying the presence or absence of a previously viewed image within a collection of images, a requirement of many real activities. In experiments with subjects, the collection of images was presented in three modes (1) 'slide show' RSVP mode; (2) concurrently and statically -- 'static mode'; and (3) a 'mixed' mode. Each mode employed the same display area and the same total presentation time, together regarded as primary resources available to the interaction designer. For each presentation mode, the outcome identified error profiles and subject preferences. Eye-gaze studies detected distinctive differences between the three presentation modes.