Download textbook Human Computer Interaction Advanced Interaction Modalities And Techniques 16Th International Conference Hci International 2014 Heraklion Crete Greece June 22 27 2014 Proceedings Part Ii 1St Edition Ma ebook all chapter pdf
Download textbook Human Computer Interaction Advanced Interaction Modalities And Techniques 16Th International Conference Hci International 2014 Heraklion Crete Greece June 22 27 2014 Proceedings Part Ii 1St Edition Ma ebook all chapter pdf
Download textbook Human Computer Interaction Advanced Interaction Modalities And Techniques 16Th International Conference Hci International 2014 Heraklion Crete Greece June 22 27 2014 Proceedings Part Ii 1St Edition Ma ebook all chapter pdf
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interaction-in-context-masaaki-kurosu/
Masaaki Kurosu (Ed.)
Human-Computer
LNCS 8511
Interaction
Advanced Interaction Modalities and Techniques
16th International Conference, HCI International 2014
Heraklion, Crete, Greece, June 22–27, 2014
Proceedings, Part II
123
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8511
Commenced Publication in 1973
Founding and Former Series Editors:
Gerhard Goos, Juris Hartmanis, and Jan van Leeuwen
Editorial Board
David Hutchison
Lancaster University, UK
Takeo Kanade
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Josef Kittler
University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Jon M. Kleinberg
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Alfred Kobsa
University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
Friedemann Mattern
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
John C. Mitchell
Stanford University, CA, USA
Moni Naor
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Oscar Nierstrasz
University of Bern, Switzerland
C. Pandu Rangan
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
Bernhard Steffen
TU Dortmund University, Germany
Demetri Terzopoulos
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Doug Tygar
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Gerhard Weikum
Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbruecken, Germany
Masaaki Kurosu (Ed.)
Human-Computer
Interaction
Advanced Interaction Modalities and Techniques
13
Volume Editor
Masaaki Kurosu
The Open University of Japan
2-11 Wakaba, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi
Chiba 261-8586, Japan
E-mail: [email protected]
Thematic areas:
• Human–Computer Interaction
• Human Interface and the Management of Information
Affiliated conferences:
• Gesture-based interaction
• Gesture, gaze and activity recognition
VI Foreword
• Volume 16, LNCS 8525, Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: Designing
and Developing Virtual and Augmented Environments (Part I), edited by
Randall Shumaker and Stephanie Lackey
• Volume 17, LNCS 8526, Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: Applica-
tions of Virtual and Augmented Reality (Part II), edited by Randall
Shumaker and Stephanie Lackey
• Volume 18, LNCS 8527, HCI in Business, edited by Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah
• Volume 19, LNCS 8528, Cross-Cultural Design, edited by P.L. Patrick Rau
• Volume 20, LNCS 8529, Digital Human Modeling and Applications in Health,
Safety, Ergonomics and Risk Management, edited by Vincent G. Duffy
• Volume 21, LNCS 8530, Distributed, Ambient, and Pervasive Interactions,
edited by Norbert Streitz and Panos Markopoulos
• Volume 22, LNCS 8531, Social Computing and Social Media, edited by
Gabriele Meiselwitz
• Volume 23, LNAI 8532, Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics,
edited by Don Harris
• Volume 24, LNCS 8533, Human Aspects of Information Security, Privacy
and Trust, edited by Theo Tryfonas and Ioannis Askoxylakis
• Volume 25, LNAI 8534, Foundations of Augmented Cognition, edited by
Dylan D. Schmorrow and Cali M. Fidopiastis
• Volume 26, CCIS 434, HCI International 2014 Posters Proceedings (Part I),
edited by Constantine Stephanidis
• Volume 27, CCIS 435, HCI International 2014 Posters Proceedings (Part II),
edited by Constantine Stephanidis
I would like to thank the Program Chairs and the members of the Program
Boards of all affiliated conferences and thematic areas, listed below, for their
contribution to the highest scientific quality and the overall success of the HCI
International 2014 Conference.
This conference could not have been possible without the continuous support
and advice of the founding chair and conference scientific advisor, Prof. Gavriel
Salvendy, as well as the dedicated work and outstanding efforts of the commu-
nications chair and editor of HCI International News, Dr. Abbas Moallem.
I would also like to thank for their contribution towards the smooth organi-
zation of the HCI International 2014 Conference the members of the Human–
Computer Interaction Laboratory of ICS-FORTH, and in particular
George Paparoulis, Maria Pitsoulaki, Maria Bouhli, and George Kapnas.
Human–Computer Interaction
Program Chair: Masaaki Kurosu, Japan
Cross-Cultural Design
Program Chair: P.L. Patrick Rau, P.R. China
Augmented Cognition
Program Chairs: Dylan D. Schmorrow, USA, and Cali M. Fidopiastis,
USA
HCI in Business
Program Chair: Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, USA
External Reviewers
General Chair
Professor Constantine Stephanidis
University of Crete and ICS-FORTH
Heraklion, Crete, Greece
E-mail: [email protected]
Table of Contents – Part II
Gesture-Based Interaction
RemoteHand: A Wireless Myoelectric Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Andreas Attenberger and Klaus Buchenrieder
What You Draw Is What You Search: The Analog Gesture . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Benoit Rouxel, Franck Poirier, Jean-Yves Antoine, and
Gilles Coppin
Body Image and Body Schema: Interaction Design for and through
Embodied Cognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
Ozgun Eylul Iscen, Diane Gromala, and Maryam Mobini
Human-Robot Interaction
Backchannel Head Nods in Danish First Meeting Encounters with a
Humanoid Robot: The Role of Physical Embodiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
Anders Krogsager, Nicolaj Segato, and Matthias Rehm
Emotions Recognition
Design of an Emotion Elicitation Framework for Arabic Speakers . . . . . . 717
Sharifa Alghowinem, Sarah Alghuwinem, Majdah Alshehri,
Areej Al-Wabil, Roland Goecke, and Michael Wagner
Abstract. While myoeletric signals (MES) have long been employed for
actuating hand prostheses, their potential as novel input for the inter-
action with computer systems has received little attention up until now.
In this contribution, we present RemoteHand, a system that fosters re-
mote device control through the transmission of myoelectric data over
WLAN. This allows to manipulate objects through the user’s muscle
activity regardless of their physical location. In our setup, a mechanical
hand is controlled through electromyographic (EMG) sensors placed over
the user’s forearm muscles. This approach is compared to a conventional
remote device control exercised by a tablet touchpad. The results of our
user study show that wireless interaction through myoelectric signals is
a valid approach. Study participants achieved interaction speeds equal
to those of a standard input method. Users especially value myoelectric
input with regard to novelty and stimulation.
1 Introduction
Baseline work on employing myoelectric data for controlling upper limb prosthe-
ses dates back to 1948 [1]. Extensive research on MES processing has advanced
since, mostly with a focus on prosthesis control [2]. In this contribution, we
disclose a system for remote device interaction profiting from forearm muscle
activity. While an actual prosthetic hand serves as the device to be actuated
in immediate user-vicinity, our MES-based console opens new venues to inter-
act with computer systems. This aspect of EMG signal acquisition has only
received limited attention. Existing wireless EMG solutions are solely employed
for gathering the signal data on a computer for further analysis or do not focus
on MES exclusively. Our contribution presents a working, myoelectric control
system with data transmitted through a WLAN connection, thus removing lo-
cation constraints. With RemoteHand users are given the ability to remotely
control a mechanical hand, making it possible to utilize their muscle activity
for manipulating remote objects. Our user study shows, that wireless myoelec-
tric sensing presents an invaluable amelioration in human computer interaction.
On average, the participants achieved interaction speeds similar to or exceed-
ing an established touch interface. RemoteHand also received high user-ratings
regarding stimulating aspects and the novelty of the approach.
M. Kurosu (Ed.): Human-Computer Interaction, Part II, HCII 2014, LNCS 8511, pp. 3–11, 2014.
c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
4 A. Attenberger and K. Buchenrieder
2 Related Work
In this contribution, we focus on surface EMG electrode systems rather than
invasive subcutaneous, implanted sensors. Wireless EMG solutions applying sur-
face electrodes are commercially available from companies like BTS1 or DelSys2 .
However, such system solutions focus on the analysis of EMG data with respect
to medical aspects. These products generally use a proprietary protocol for signal
transmission, excluding the disclosure of the measured data for another purpose
or subsequent processing with custom computer systems. Generally, such sys-
tems merely serve as preprocessing blocks and no control information is derived
from the myoeletric signal.
While mainstream research in EMG control targets the advancement of pros-
thetic devices, we explicitly consider EMG sensor data as a novel means for
human computer interaction. Augmenting interaction capabilites through my-
oelectric sensing was notably introduced by the artist Stelarc with an EMG-
controlled third hand in 1980 [3]. Research on EMG input for human computer
interaction has since only been deducted sparingly. Saponas et al. investigated
the overall feasibility of myo-induced interaction solely focusing on gesture recog-
nition [4]. They used eight sensors and only measured signals, not including an
interaction component for the user. In a subsequent publication, the authors
extend their approach to interactive systems and reveal a wireless EMG device
prototype [5]. The proposition for a wearable EMG forearm band has recently
resurfaced with the MYO band 3 , which will additionally include accelerometers
as integral components [6]. It was announced to be released to the market at
the end of 2013, however shipping of final units is now planned for mid-20144 .
Dubost and Tanaka employ EMG signals for interaction in musical performance
[7]. Other systems include myoelectric sensing as an additional input method [8]
or solely as a means to enhance interaction with an existing system [9] [10].
The RemoteHand prototype presented in this contribution enables wireless
network transmission of EMG control information, so that the object or device
to be interacted with can be physically distant from the user. Only standard
hardware components are employed in our setup. Furthermore, in contrast to
other approaches, our setup requires only two EMG sensors, reducing the amount
of time spent on sensor positioning. Finally, as in traditional prosthesis control,
we solely rely only on signal thresholding to derive control information without
the need for a system training phase.
3 Prototype
A typical forearm EMG signal of a wrist flexion is shown in Figure 2. The average
signal strength, as denoted by the RMS values, rises during muscle contraction
1
http://www.btsbioengineering.com/products/surface-emg/bts-freeemg/
2
http://www.delsys.com/Products/Wireless.html
3
https://www.thalmic.com/myo/
4
https://www.thalmic.com/en/myo/faq/
RemoteHand 5
Fig. 1. The prototype setup with Arduino-Boards, EMG-Amplifier, i-Pad and the
TM
Michelangelo Hand by Otto Bock HealthCare
1.5
1
Voltage (V)
0.5
−0.5
−1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Time (s)
0.3
Voltage (V)
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Time (s)
Fig. 2. The EMG signal and derived RMS values for the hand extensor muscles during
wrist extension
gesture yielding a medium signal level on both sensors. Each of the first two
gestures activates a different hand movement or grip, starting from the resting
position. The hand remains in the selected grip or movement as long as the
signal exceeds the threshold. The third gesture, with medium signal levels on
both sensors, selects one of three modes, that can be accessed in the following
order:
– Hand: In this mode, the hand is open as long as both sensor signals are below
the threshold level. When exceeding the threshold, the hand closes either to
a pinch (sensor 1) or a lateral grip (sensor 2).
– Pronation/Supination: When the threshold is exceeded for sensor 1, the hand
is pronated, for sensor 2 the hand is supinated.
– Flexion/Extension: As soon as the threshold level for sensor 1 is reached,
the hand is flexed at the wrist. In case of level saturation for sensor 2, the
hand is extended at the wrist.
The iPad is also equipped with an app for touchpad interaction with the
TM
Michelangelo Hand , serving as our baseline app for comparison with the my-
oelectric control. The corresponding control window is shown in Figure 4. The
application allows the same movements as the myoelectric app. When a hand
movement is activated and a movement speed is set with the slider, a corre-
sponding control command for the hand is generated and can be transmitted
RemoteHand 7
Fig. 3. iOS app displaying the myoelectric sensor data sampled by the Arduino
with the send button. The commands are again first received by the Arduino
WiFi shield and then transmitted to the hand through the Bluetooth shield.
4 User Study
To determine how users perceive EMG data for remote device control, we asked
a group of 10 able-bodied participants to perform a number of tasks with the fol-
lowing interaction options: a) using myoelectric data from the forearm, visualized
on an iPad and b) solving the task by employing only the iPad’s touch interface
without myoelectric sensing. The participants aged 21-37 were recruited among
students and research staff. Most of them studying or working in the field of com-
puter science. None of the probands had previous experience with myoelectric
device control. After a short introduction to the app and threshold adjustment,
the following tasks were assigned amid the study:
– Task 1 (Hand Close & Open): Starting from the open position, the hand was
to be closed and opened.
– Task 2 (Pronation & Supination): The hand was first to be rotated in one
and then in the opposite direction. The order of the pronation and supination
movements were not predetermined.
Each participant solved the tasks with both interaction options within a 30
minute time slot. The study was conducted with a 2x2 repeated-measures design.
All sessions were recorded on video for further reference and future enhancement
of the system. After completion of all tasks, the participants were asked to
fill the abbreviated version of the standardized User Experience Questionnaire
(UEQ)6 for both interaction types (touchpad and myoelectric). One open ended
item was added to the questionnaires prompting the participants to give further
impressions, comments or suggestions with regard to the interaction method.
5 Discussion
The study revealed, that it was a major challenge to find an appropriate thresh-
old when fitting the myoeletric control to the individual participant. Once the
sensors were in place, participants were able to quickly solve both assigned tasks.
As the second task required a mode change for the myoelectric control, it proved
more challgenging and error-prone. Three participants needed a second attempt
to carry out a positive change in mode. Two other participants experienced an
unwanted mode change on the first task. Only one error occured during the
use of the touchpad interface. The median task completion times with median
absolute deviation (MAD) are displayed in Figure 5. One outlier was removed
from task 1 with myoelectric control due to a value greater than three times
the standard deviation and one user was not able to complete task 2 with the
myoelectric control. Despite these errors, task completion times were similar for
6
http://www.ueq-online.org/
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camels, they cannot get on. Zeïn left yesterday for Akka to bring his
people here to accompany me, if possible, as it is now settled that I
am not to go to the tents at all, but make direct for the Sahrá, and
proceed to Tumbuktú without seeing even a tent or a single person.
We have just finished a consultation, when it was determined to start
on Thursday night. The journey will be accomplished in a very short
time, as the camels are to drink only six times. How we are to
manage I know not, as we can carry but little of any thing, and from
all appearances I fear there will be no káfilah this year. All are in
great alarm. Mohammed El Abd has learned that people are on the
look-out at the tents for my arrival, and it has been told them that I
am coming for certain with the káfilah; which is accordingly to be
delayed here for three or four days, so that we shall be a good week
on the road before it is known that we have got off. I am happy to
say that I have picked up amazingly, and have now no fears about
my health. I should have liked your glass of wine, but it did not reach
me. Hájí Abíb will bring back the horse and my gun, of which the
latter is to be sent to England; but unless you can do it easily, not till
you hear from me at Tumbuktú. Mohammed El Abd says he wants to
go to Suweïrah, and shall carry my letter to you himself and say,
there is the letter from Yel Yayha: the Taghakánths have kept their
word; God grant that he may.
“Evening. The people have returned. One man was killed, and
another shot through the arm on the road we passed on Friday.
“Wednesday, 16.—The answer from the Woobed Allah, which was
expected this morning, has not arrived. Mohammed El Abd says,
that if they do not come here as written for, he will start to-morrow
night or Friday morning without them. They were intended to form an
escort for the three first days. The attention and civilities of my host
continue unabated. I suspect, however, that the Taghakánths live so
poorly in their own quarters, that they are loath to leave any place
where there is good food and no paying for it. By our present
arrangements we shall save nearly six days, as the tents are not in
the direct route. It is, however, impossible to get any certain answers
or information to be depended upon. Changes take place every hour
not only in places, but in persons; and the man, who at one time was
as true as the sun, and to be trusted with any thing, is at another a
thief and haràmi.”
“P.M.—The son of the Marabout Sheïkh has arrived with a party of
horse, who are to escort us across the Wad Draha, and one day
beyond.
“You must, my kind friend, excuse me for again adverting to one
of my former letters. But the great interest you have taken in the
success of my enterprise, and the immense trouble you have had,
demands every possible return on my part. I am still in the district of
Wád Nún, where I can assure Sheïkh Berúk is scouted and laughed
at by all. Every body thinks with me, that he is worth nothing: that he
is speculating with the property of others; his whole tribe, excepting
Hájí Abíb, are bad, low and disreputable. Do not let him overdraw
too much, or you will be a loser. His life is not a good one, and as to
his sons they are the greatest rips I ever saw. Every step we have
taken from his cursed place, we have found the people improved, far
more liberal and hospitable, and although they are rather savage,
they exhibit a nobleness of character, of which there is not a particle
in the family of Berúk. If I mistake not, Seyd Boazer will open your
eyes as to this crew.
“Night.—All is at length settled, and we start to-morrow morning at
the break of day. I believe the káfilah will be allowed to proceed,
although one mithcal a head is to be paid, and we have fifty persons
and one hundred camels. I am unable to tell you for certain the route
we are to take, as it will depend upon circumstances. Only two
persons beside Mohammed El Abd accompany us, so that after all
the talk at Wád Nún, I shall go in my original party of five, including
Abú and myself. I fear there is much suffering before us, as no
preparation has been made for any kind of food by the Taghakánths.
Berúk put up for us one canter of rice, and one of barley; but El Abd
can eat about six pounds a day. There are no milk camels here; and
as we do not go to the tents, I fear I shall be deprived of this luxury. It
is said, however, that one has been sent for, and is to meet us, I
hope in good time. I knew from the first my route was the most
difficult and dangerous; but it has far exceeded my expectations.”
In a postscript Mr. D. adds—“All are in bustle and all in fear, but
Abú and myself;” and yet in a letter dated Wád Nún, October 7th
1836, he says—“My mind is made up to the certainty that I shall
leave my bones in Sudán.” Still with all these misgivings his zeal in
the cause of science never abated one jot. “Before this reaches you,”
he says, “I shall be wending my way over Africa’s burning sands to a
sort of fame, or the sad ‘bourne from which no traveller returns;’ if to
the former, truly happy shall I be to renew your valued friendship; but
if to the latter, think sometimes of the poor lost wanderer.”
The laurel of fame to which Mr. D. aspired, was he feared
reserved for a more successful adventurer in the person of Monsr.
Antoine D’Abbadie, who said in the rooms of the Royal Society, that
he should give Mr. D. the go-by in Sudán, that he had been ten years
preparing himself for the trip, and had come to London to get an
English passport, as he intended to travel à l’Anglaise, for the French
were in bad odour amongst the natives of Africa, in consequence of
their forcible occupation of the country. “He was,” says Mr. D. “a
good naturalist, and astronomer, and had ample means at his
command, insomuch that he purposed, like Monsr. le Baron Taylor,
to travel en Prince with his servants in hose and doublet, &c. But
think you that I who wear the sword-belt of his Britannic Majesty’s
Agent and Consul General, high and exalted in fame and dignity, will
allow myself to be beaten by a Frenchman! If I do I’ll— No, I never
swear. Abú shall make kuskasu of me first.” To the preceding
specimen of the liveliness of Mr. D.’s mind, may be added the
following. “Your Excellency’s writing and mine remind me of the old
proverb—‘Tel Padron, tel Secretoire.’ I will, however, back yours to
be the most difficult. This is as it should be. The disciple must not be
above his master. You will say I write hard scratches. I know it—I
have only steel pens.” So too when speaking of some extract of
camomile sent from Gibraltar, he remarks that “the druggist ought to
present it to the Society of Antiquarians, and accompany it with a
paper to prove that it was some of the veritable remains of the
medicine chest, that Noah carried with him into the Ark. Its antiquity
would give a fair colour for the assertion.”
Mr. D., however, could at times act the philosopher as well as the
punster. At the conclusion of the account of his trip to Wád Draha, he
says,—“I am in better health than ever, and never was in better
condition. The Sheïkh backs me to win. I worked harder than any
man, and never once touched meat; out-walked all, out-rode some,
slept less than any, and never but once lost my temper. The people
in this district are between the Moors and the Arabs, and the hardest
to manage. I cannot tell half the pleasure and profit I have derived
from this excursion. I have visited a large track of country, quite
unknown to Europeans, and have seen much of Arab life; heard their
discussions on politics, and the stories of their bards, who are wont
to beguile away an hour or two of the night together, with a history of
the migrations of the various tribes. I can now compare the Western
Arab with his brother of the East. I have for some time made up my
mind that happiness is ideal; that to too many of us it is ‘the gay to-
morrow of the mind, which never comes.’ If any people, however,
can be justly called happy, the Arabs on the borders of the Sahara
are so. Confident in the power of their religion to gain them Paradise;
creating for themselves no artificial wants, and perfectly satisfied
with what nature provides for them, they calmly resign themselves to
the will of Providence, and are strangers to all care. I am neither a
missionary nor a cobler, and have nothing to do with the care of
souls or soles; but I really feel that any attempt to alter the course of
these people’s lives might be fairly met with the observation of the
Satirist, who knew human nature so well.
The following extracts are given with the view of explaining some
allusions made in the Journal.
In a letter to Mr. G. D———d, Mr. Davidson says, “after
endeavouring to enter Africa in forma pauperis, I tried another tack,
and got up a staff of six officers in field-day regimentals, and
embarking in a brig of war the ‘Jasséen,’ landed at Tangier under a
salute of eleven guns. This stamped me at once as a great man; and
though I have been somewhat accustomed to such kind of
greatness, I find it not very pleasant here, for I have Messúd, my
Jewish interpreter, and Ben Hayed, my Moorish interpreter, and I can
hardly stir without both being on the alert, the one watching my
mouth, the other my eye.”
Speaking of the feelings of the natives towards a foreigner he
says, “the people here are worse than any I have yet seen; they hate
me because I am a Christian, although they are ready to praise me
for my kindness to Abú, who is half-anxious and half afraid to
proceed. His health is bad and spirits worse, and his powers quite
unequal to what we shall have to go through. We certainly run some
risk: I am very careful what he eats, and much fear that the threats
thrown out against his getting back will prove too true. As for myself,
I pass the time in riding with the Taurick, chatting with the Jews, and
taking snuff with the Moors.”
Speaking of the Mona he observes, “I had to pay for a sheep,
fowls, eggs, bread, and preserves, but being neither butcher,
poulterer, baker or confectioner, the things were of little use to me.
They call the present Mona, which may mean Manna; and as these
vagabonds call themselves the image of God upon earth, they think
it enough if they give only food.”
In allusion to the Lob el Barool he says, “It is literally ‘the game of
smoke,’ and played by soldiers on horseback, who fire off their guns
with only blank cartridges; but sometimes they put in a ball, which is
sure to strike, of course by mere accident, a Christian.”
With regard to the ruins near the outset, Mr. D. seems to think
they are Druidical, and he compares them with the remains of
Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
Speaking of his medical life in Africa, he says, “all whom I cure
come to be paid for allowing me to improve myself in my profession,
and demand a piece of coin for every dose they have been taking;
while those I fail to cure abuse me for want of skill, and threaten to
shorten my life for not prolonging theirs.”
The allusion to the electrical horse will be best explained by the
following letter, written by Mr. D. to Professor Faraday, and by whom
it was read at the Royal Institution.
“The great interest you take in all matters relating to electricity,
and the great advantages which have resulted from your researches
in that science, induce me to call your attention to a circumstance,
perhaps not new to you, but which has recently fallen under my own
observation. I received from the Sultan of Marocco the present of a
horse of a peculiar breed, and as every person in this country is his
own groom, I observed a peculiar tingling sensation in the hand on
dressing the neck of the animal; this I attributed at first to the dirt and
vermin with which the poor animals here are infested, and then
thought no more of it. On leaving Marocco I proceeded towards the
Atlas; and whenever I had occasion to consult my compass I found it
extremely difficult, nay, impossible to keep it steady. I supposed this
was owing to my sword and pistol; but as I wore these, when
walking, without observing the same deflection, I dismounted, and
holding the compass, I still perceived the same effect as long as I
held it near the horse’s head; but when I left the animal, and put the
instrument on the ground, the needle settled to its point. After a little
reflection, the effect produced on my hand by rubbing the horse’s
neck on the near side occurred to me; when repeating the
experiment, I could perceive several distinct intimations of the same
tingling sensation. We proceeded to our halt; and as soon as the
party had sat down to their evening meal, I began to examine into
the matter more closely. It was now dusk; on passing my hand down
the neck, not only could I hear distinctly the electrical detonation, but
perceive a quantity of sparks; both were such as would be produced