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MULTI-TOUCH FOR GENERAL-PURPOSE COMPUTING: AN EXAMINATION OF TEXT ENTRY

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Date Issued:
2011
Abstract/Description:
In recent years, multi-touch has been heralded as a revolution in human-computer interaction. Multi-touch provides features such as gestural interaction, tangible interfaces, pen-based computing, and interface customization – features embraced by an increasingly tech-savvy public. However, multi-touch platforms have not been adopted as "everyday" computer interaction devices; that is, multi-touch has not been applied to general-purpose computing. The questions this thesis seeks to address are: Will the general public adopt these systems as their chief interaction paradigm? Can multi-touch provide such a compelling platform that it displaces the desktop mouse and keyboard? Is multi-touch truly the next revolution in human-computer interaction? As a first step toward answering these questions, we observe that general-purpose computing relies on text input, and ask: "Can multi-touch, without a text entry peripheral, provide a platform for efficient text entry? And, by extension, is such a platform viable for general-purpose computing?" We investigate these questions through four user studies that collected objective and subjective data for text entry and word processing tasks. The first of these studies establishes a benchmark for text entry performance on a multi-touch platform, across a variety of input modes. The second study attempts to improve this performance by examining an alternate input technique. The third and fourth studies include mouse-style interaction for formatting rich-text on a multi-touch platform, in the context of a word processing task. These studies establish a foundation for future efforts in general-purpose computing on a multi-touch platform. Furthermore, this work details deficiencies in tactile feedback with modern multi-touch platforms, and describes an exploration of audible feedback. Finally, the thesis conveys a vision for a general-purpose multi-touch platform, its design and rationale.
Title: MULTI-TOUCH FOR GENERAL-PURPOSE COMPUTING: AN EXAMINATION OF TEXT ENTRY.
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Name(s): Varcholik, Paul, Author
Hughes, Charles, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2011
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: In recent years, multi-touch has been heralded as a revolution in human-computer interaction. Multi-touch provides features such as gestural interaction, tangible interfaces, pen-based computing, and interface customization – features embraced by an increasingly tech-savvy public. However, multi-touch platforms have not been adopted as "everyday" computer interaction devices; that is, multi-touch has not been applied to general-purpose computing. The questions this thesis seeks to address are: Will the general public adopt these systems as their chief interaction paradigm? Can multi-touch provide such a compelling platform that it displaces the desktop mouse and keyboard? Is multi-touch truly the next revolution in human-computer interaction? As a first step toward answering these questions, we observe that general-purpose computing relies on text input, and ask: "Can multi-touch, without a text entry peripheral, provide a platform for efficient text entry? And, by extension, is such a platform viable for general-purpose computing?" We investigate these questions through four user studies that collected objective and subjective data for text entry and word processing tasks. The first of these studies establishes a benchmark for text entry performance on a multi-touch platform, across a variety of input modes. The second study attempts to improve this performance by examining an alternate input technique. The third and fourth studies include mouse-style interaction for formatting rich-text on a multi-touch platform, in the context of a word processing task. These studies establish a foundation for future efforts in general-purpose computing on a multi-touch platform. Furthermore, this work details deficiencies in tactile feedback with modern multi-touch platforms, and describes an exploration of audible feedback. Finally, the thesis conveys a vision for a general-purpose multi-touch platform, its design and rationale.
Identifier: CFE0003711 (IID), ucf:48798 (fedora)
Note(s): 2011-05-01
Ph.D.
Engineering and Computer Science, Other
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Multi-Touch
HCI
Human-Computer Interaction
Text Entry
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003711
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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