Anant Kartik Mithal

The ergonomics of computer pointing devices

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Differences in movement microstructure of the mouse and the finger-controlled isometric joystick

This paper describes a study comparing the movement characteristics of the mouse and the velocity-control isometric joystick. These characteristics are called the microstructure of movement. The comparison found random variations in the velocity of the isometric joystick that make it hard to control. The study shows that the microstructure of movement can explain differences in performance among devices.

Human Motor Performance

Many physical skills require a person to rapidly change the position of a limb from one location to another. These skills are used in tasks such as reaching for a pen or an elevator button, hitting the reset button on a computer, using a mouse to select a screen icon, and fitting a bolt into its hole. These actions are examples that can be collected under the category of rapid aimed movement.

A Survey of Ergonomic Studies

The following chapter is offered as a brief overview of the empirical studies that have been conducted on different devices and on the general issue of comparing performance between devices. In the first part of the chapter these studies will be presented by general categories of pointing devices: mouse; joystick; trackball; touch tablet and screen; lightpen and lightgun; head, hand and eye trackers, and datagloves; leg and foot controls.

Using the Microstructure of Movement to Understand Device Performance

Our study of the key joystick described in the previous chapter gave rise to as many questions as answers. We found that both the isometric joystick and the mouse were Fitts’ law devices, but mean performance with the joystick1 was substantially slower and had more errors than the mouse, for practiced pointing and dragging. We also found that users of the joystick found it difficult to learn, and we were struck by the fact that a number of participants complained that the joystick was hard to control. Finally, there was a sharp split in opinion among our participants: some liked the joystick, others did not.

Challenges of the Present and Future

It is difficult to imagine ergonomics research on pointing devices becoming more challenging, or essential, than it is at the present time. The graphical user interface with integrated pointing is now widely available for home, play and work environments — almost 30 years after the invention of the mouse. Furthermore, advances in hardware and software technology are moving interactive systems into 3D and virtual reality, and distributed real-time interaction such as computer-mediated conferencing and tele-operation. These demands and innovations will provide the incentive for the invention of novel pointing devices and the improvement of existing ones.

Evaluating New Devices: A Case Study

In the previous chapters we surveyed the extensive psychological and HCI literature that forms the basis for empirical studies of human performance with computer pointing devices. As we have seen, human performance results from the interrelationships between many complex factors: fundamental psychomotor behavior, the user’s experience level, the characteristics of the device, the limb used, and the type of task. Deciding whether one device is better than another must take these issues into account. In addition, the notion of better’ must be defined in terms of one or a set of particular performance variables, that is, learning time, practiced performance time, error rates, user-preferred device, etc. There is no context-free notion of the best device for pointing. For these reasons, we have advocated an experimental approach to evaluation of a device and comparing it to the performance of another type of device.

Factors in Applying Psychomotor Studies to Pointing Devices

In the previous chapter we briefly surveyed the extensive psychological literature that provides a background for understanding basic elements in human manual pointing, primarily as rapid aimed movement. In this chapter we turn to computer-mediated pointing and its ergonomics.