Multiple haptic targets for motion-impaired computer users

F Hwang, S Keates, P Langdon… - Proceedings of the SIGCHI …, 2003 - dl.acm.org
Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, 2003dl.acm.org
Although a number of studies have reported that force feedback gravity wells can improve
performance in" point-and-click" tasks, there have been few studies addressing issues
surrounding the use of gravity wells for multiple on-screen targets. This paper investigates
the performance of users, both with and without motion-impairments, in a" point-and-click"
task when an undesired haptic distractor is present. The importance of distractor location is
studied explicitly. Results showed that gravity wells can still improve times and error rates …
Although a number of studies have reported that force feedback gravity wells can improve performance in "point-and-click" tasks, there have been few studies addressing issues surrounding the use of gravity wells for multiple on-screen targets. This paper investigates the performance of users, both with and without motion-impairments, in a "point-and-click" task when an undesired haptic distractor is present. The importance of distractor location is studied explicitly. Results showed that gravity wells can still improve times and error rates, even on occasions when the cursor is pulled into a distractor. The greatest improvement is seen for the most impaired users. In addition to traditional measures such as time and errors, performance is studied in terms of measures of cursor movement along a path. Two cursor measures, angular distribution and temporal components, are proposed and their ability to explain performance differences is explored.
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