An experimental comparison of touch interaction on vertical and horizontal surfaces

TY - GEN

T1 - An experimental comparison of touch interaction on vertical and horizontal surfaces

AU - Pedersen, Esben Warming

AU - Hornbæk, Kasper

N1 - Conference code: 7

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - Touch input has been extensively studied. The influence of display orientation on users' performance and satisfaction, however, is not well understood. In an experiment, we manipulate the orientation of multi-touch surfaces to study how 16 participants tap and drag. To analyze if and when participants switch hands or interact bimanually, we track the hands of the participants. Results show that orientation impacts both performance and error rates. Tapping was performed 5% faster on the vertical surface, whereas dragging was performed 5% faster and with fewer errors on the horizontal surface. Participants used their right hand more when dragging (85% of the trials) than when tapping (63% of the trials), but rarely used bimanual interaction. The vertical surface was perceived as more physically demanding to use than the horizontal surface. We conclude by discussing some open questions in understanding the relation between display orientation and touch.

AB - Touch input has been extensively studied. The influence of display orientation on users' performance and satisfaction, however, is not well understood. In an experiment, we manipulate the orientation of multi-touch surfaces to study how 16 participants tap and drag. To analyze if and when participants switch hands or interact bimanually, we track the hands of the participants. Results show that orientation impacts both performance and error rates. Tapping was performed 5% faster on the vertical surface, whereas dragging was performed 5% faster and with fewer errors on the horizontal surface. Participants used their right hand more when dragging (85% of the trials) than when tapping (63% of the trials), but rarely used bimanual interaction. The vertical surface was perceived as more physically demanding to use than the horizontal surface. We conclude by discussing some open questions in understanding the relation between display orientation and touch.

KW - Fitts' law, bimanual input, horizontal surface, multitouch, pointing, tabletop computing, vertical surface

U2 - 10.1145/2399016.2399074

DO - 10.1145/2399016.2399074

M3 - Article in proceedings

SN - 978-1-4503-1482-4

SP - 370

EP - 379

BT - Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction:

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

T2 - 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design

Y2 - 14 October 2012 through 17 October 2012

ER -