Anders Markussen Mikkel Rønne Jakobsen Kasper Hornbæk
amark@diku.dk mikkelrj@diku.dk kash@diku.dk
Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen
Njalsgade 128, Building 24, 5th floor, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark
Summary
Word-gesture keyboards enable fast text entry by letting users draw the shape of a word on the input surface. Such keyboards have been used extensively for touch devices, but not in mid-air. The paper present vulture, a word-gesture keyboard for mid-air operation.
Vulture is a text entry method using word-gestures in mid-air: By moving the hand, the user places the cursor over the first letter of the word and (1) makes a pinch gesture with thumb and index finger, (2) then traces the word in the air—the trace is shown on the screen. (3) Upon releasing the pinch, the five words that best match the gesture are proposed; the top match is pre-selected.
1. The empirical results from two studies show clear usability benefits compared to existing mid-air text-entry methods;
2. The key issue in designing for mid-air interaction is that input space and output space are separated, which seems to make interaction more mentally demanding.
3. Participants’ gesture movements in mid-air text entry were slower, but with same accuracy as in touch-based text entry.
4. Visual feedback is important but also limits performance.
Discussion:
- Do you think mid-air word-gesture keyboards are practical?
- Do you think it will replace touch keyboard?
- If you are designing the mid-air word-gesture keyboard, how would you design it? Can you think about any more effective way to design this?
Few questions has been raised from the class discussion. People think mid-air gesture keyboards are not practical due to they might not comfortable with moving their hands in mid-air and also consider about the hand fatigue. The paper also suggested a number of scenarios such as work in sterile conditions (e.g., operating theatres), in augmented reality (e.g., with Google Glass), and when writing on public displays. According to the feedback from the class, it would be better to use voice control rather than mid-air WGK in sterile conditions. Furthermore, the correctness of WGK also would be the barrier for people to use, because it cannot be used for typing other language except English. And sometimes, the similarity of word shapes will effect its ability to recognize.
Link to presentation slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YbFT5WbqEpUcfkZ-5tMdKbGcXg7PmGL76bHtJf7xkJg/edit#slide=id.p
Sorry guys again, here is the link to my presentation slides:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YbFT5WbqEpUcfkZ-5tMdKbGcXg7PmGL76bHtJf7xkJg/edit#slide=id.p
I've read through this paper and became familiar with it for my Annotated Bibliography. I believe that mid-air word gesture keyboards are impractical for the following reasons:
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to differentiate between when a user is typing and when they are flailing around
The size of the keyboard is dependent on the person and the situation, so this needs to be accounted for.
Lastly the lack of a tangible input medium removes the ability to provide helpful physical feedback, such as vibrations.
The researchers were aware of this after their study was completed and I believe they made notes similar to these in their conclusion. But this brings me to my discussion point:
I believe that gesture inputs are becoming obsolete just as quickly as they became popular. Devices that use gesture inputs are beginning to move away from them for a more traditional, tactile input (Xbox Kinect or Gesture enabled Smart TVs). It would appear that gesture inputs are merely a 'fad' and that's what I believe. What do you think?
Hi Andrew,
DeleteI agree with you, and they also tested the correctness of the mid-air WGK. The similarity of shapes and gestures are also the limitation for the mid-air WGK. But I do believe there still has the potential to apply the keyboards (not only for the WGK) in mid-air. I was also quite interested with the text-entry in mid-air, and there are some researches has already been done about it. Apart from Vulture, mid-air text-entry do has its benefits in large displays or long distance based text-entry. Thank you for your reply. ;)