Ye Kyaw Thu

Positional gesture for advanced smart terminals: Simple gesture text input for syllabic scripts like Myanmar, Khmer and Bangla

In the next generation network (NGN), various kinds of advanced smart mobile terminals will be used for various communication services. We believe that text typing on small mobile devices will become more popular than it is today and also necessary for developing countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Bangladesh etc. In these countries, however, there is no proper or easy text input method for mobile devices yet. Positional gesture text input is a novel concept of text input for syllabic scripts like Myanmar, Khmer and Bangla languages. Text input of syllabic scripts poses a unique challenge because many syllabic characters are formed by combinations of consonants, dependent vowel signs, tones and subscript consonants etc. And thus, text input for syllabic scripts is still difficult even with PC keyboards. In this paper, we propose very simple gesture recognition for syllabic scripts text input based on their writing natures. It is accessible even for first time users and applicable for many mobile computing devices such as tablet PCs, mobile phones, PDAs and portable game players etc.

The design of Khmer word-based predictive non-QWERTY soft keyboard for stylus-based devices

We introduce a first ever soft keyboard for stylus-based devices such as personal digital assistant (PDA) for Khmer, official language of Cambodia. The contribution of this study is twofold - a key layout arrangement and a word-based predictive text entry method. First, we design a non-QWERTY key layout in which consonants and vowels are grouped phonetically and orthographically, respectively. As a result, the number of soft keys is much less than that of Khmer character sets. Second, we present a word-based predictive text entry method based on the careful analysis of the structure of Khmer word composition. In spite of the word-based predictive mechanism, this soft keyboard provides as well the ability to input unknown words without swapping to other modes. A prototype has been developed and preliminary experiment shows that the proposed soft keyboard is user-friendly easy to use with little training. In addition to the application to stylus-based devices, it can also be extended to be a soft keyboard for conventional desktop.

Positional mapping multi-tap for myanmar language

This paper is an attempt to enable a practical and efficient composing of message text with Myanmar language on a mobile phone. In this paper, we propose a new idea of key mapping (Positional Mapping) for Myanmar language. Positional Mapping is the key mapping idea for mobile phones based on Myanmar language characters writing positions. We compared our new mapping idea with our proposed Multi-tap keypad layout in terms of key strokes and users tapping speed. Although key strokes requirement for typing Myanmar consonants in Positional Mapping is higher, average tapping speed is 22.5% faster than Multi-tap model. And we can also prove that our Positional Mapping idea is simple and easier to memorize for users from the user studies. Our Positional Mapping idea can be applied not only to Myanmar language but also to other similar phonetic based languages such as Khamer, Thai, Hindi and Bangla etc.

Positional mapping Myanmar text input scheme for mobile devices

Current Myanmar PC keyboards or key mappings are very difficult to learn for novice users, and there is no efficient key mapping for mobile device keypads. In this paper, we introduce a new idea of key mapping (Positional Mapping) for phonetic scripts such as Myanmar language. Positional Mapping is a key mapping idea, based on Myanmar language characters writing positions, for small computing devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and electronic dictionaries etc. Our approach has made key mapping for Myanmar language very simple and easier to memorize. The results of first evaluation show that first time users have no problem with this key mapping and they can type Myanmar text with appropriate typing speed. Positional Mapping can be extended to other phonetic scripts such as Khmer, Thai, Indic and Lao etc.

Frequency Based Two-Layer Multitap Bangla Input method for Mobile phones

The interface of mobile phone in Bangladesh is mostly in English. Few mobile operators introduced Short Messaging Services in Bangla. Text entry in Bangla in mobile phone is not simple due to the structure and large number of characters in this script. The objective of this paper is to propose an easy and faster mobile input method. We proposed frequency based two-layer multitap (FBTLM) Bangla input method for mobile phones. The evaluation was done by keystroke comparison and user experiments by text entry. According to the result, we found our proposed FBTLM takes 42% less keystrokes than existing one layer multitap (OLM) and 17% less keystrokes than two layer multitap (TLM). Moreover, our proposed FBTLM method takes 42% less tapping time than OLM and 26% less tapping time than TLM.

A word-based predictive text entry method for Khmer language

This paper begins with a discussion on the difficulties in applying word-based text entry method for Khmer, official language of Cambodia. Then, we propose a word-based predictive method based on careful analysis on the structure of current Khmer typing system. To evaluate the proposed text entry, we designed and implemented two interface prototypes; the 12-key mobile phone interface and the stylus-based device interface such as Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Results show that compared to the existing methods our model provides better keystrokes and speed.

A comparison of Myanmar PC keyboard layouts

Many PC keyboard layouts have been developed for Myanmar language (Burmese), but there is no standard keyboard layout yet. This paper reports a comparison of well-known Myanmar keyboard layouts such as CE, Win Myanmar, Zawgyi Myanmar, MyaZedi, and Myanmar3. The primary research focuses on examination of keyboard mapping, Keystrokes per Character (KSPC) and Characters per Minute (CPM). Its result shows that all of the mappings of current Myanmar PC keyboards are similar and based on the old Myanmar typewriter keyboard layout. Another interesting point is that KSPC value depends on key assignments of various signs, dependent consonant signs and subscript characters.