Human Computer Interaction

BSc Applied Computing

7. Input

Contents

INPUT DEVICES ................................................................................................................................... 2

KEYBOARDS ............................................................................................................................................................. 2

POINTING DEVICES................................................................................................................................................ 5

SPEECH INPUT ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

CHOOSING DEVICES............................................................................................................................................ 10

JP 11/11/2004
BSc Applied Computing Human Computer Interaction: 7.Input

Input Devices
Input is concerned with:

• recording and entering data into a computer system

• issuing instructions to the computer

An input device is

” “a device that, together with appropriate software, transforms information from the user into data
that a computer application can process”

The choice of input device for a computer system should contribute positively to the usability of
the system. In general, the most appropriate device is one which:

• Matches the users

o Physiological characteristics
o Psychological characteristics
o Training and expertise
• Is appropriate for the tasks
o e.g. continuous movement, discrete movement
• Is suitable for work environment
o e.g. speech input is not appropriate for noisy workplace
Many systems use two or more complementary input devices together, such as a keyboard and a
mouse.

There should also be appropriate system feedback to guide, reassure and, if necessary, correct
users’ errors, for example:

• On screen - text appearing, cursor moves across screen

• Auditory – alarm, sound of mouse button clicking
• Tactile – feel of button being pressed, change in pressure

Keyboards
A keyboard is:

• A group of on-off push-buttons

• A discrete entry device

Issues:

• Physical design of keys

o size
o feedback
o robustness
• Grouping and layout of keys
o QWERTY typewriter layout is most common but others are possible

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Types of keyboard
QWERTY

Standard alphanumeric keyboard designed for typewriters. The key arrangement was chosen to
reduce the incidence of keys jamming in mechanical typewriters.

Some handheld computers have very small QWERTY keyboards

Dvorak

The Dvorak keyboard is a typewriter key arrangement that was designed to be easier to learn and
use than the standard QWERTY keyboard. The Dvorak keyboard was designed from the typist's
point-of-view - with the most common consonants on one side of the middle or home row and the
vowels on the other side so that typing tends to alternate key strokes back and forth between
hands. The Dvorak approach is said to lead to faster typing. It was named after its inventor, Dr.
August Dvorak. Dr. Dvorak also invented systems for people with only one hand.

Both Windows and Macintosh operating systems provide ways for the user to tell the system that
they are using a Dvorak keyboard. Although the QWERTY system seems too entrenched to be
replaced by the Dvorak system, some keyboard users will prefer the more ergonomic
arrangement of the Dvorak system.

Dvorak and single-handed keyboards

Chord Keyboards

Chord keyboards are smaller and have fewer keys, typically one for each finger and possibly the
thumbs. Instead of the usual sequential, one-at-a-time key presses, chording requires
simultaneous key presses for each character typed, similar to playing a musical chord on a
piano.

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The primary advantage of the chording keyboard is that it requires far fewer keys than a
conventional keyboard. For example, with five keys there are 31 chord combinations that may
represent letters, numbers, words, commands, or other strings. With fewer keys, finger travel is
minimized because the fingers always remain on the same keys. In addition, the user is free to
place the keyboard wherever it is convenient and may avoid the unnatural keying posture
associated with a conventional keyboard.

The most significant disadvantage of the chording keyboard is that it cannot be used by an
untrained person. At least 15 hours of training and practice are necessary to learn the chord
patterns that represent individual letters and numbers. A second disadvantage of the chording
keyboard is that data entry rates (characters per unit of time) are actually slower than data entry
rates for conventional keyboards. Due to the increased learning time and slower performance,
chording keyboards have not become commercially viable except for specialized applications.

The Twiddler and The Bat

Dedicated buttons

Some computer systems have custom-designed interfaces with dedicated keys or buttons for
specific tasks. These can be useful when there is a very limited range of possible inputs to the
system and where the environment is not suitable for an ordinary keyboard. In-car satellite
navigation systems and gamepads for computer games are good examples.

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Pointing Devices
• These can be used to specify a point or a path.
• Pointing devices are usual y continuous entry devices.

Cursor controls
Two dimensional devices which can move a cursor and drag objects on the screen.

Mice

Can move around on a flat surface. Mice are not convenient in limited spaces.

Presentation mice

Handheld devices, usually wireless, do same job as an ordinary mouse but do not need a
surface.

Trackballs

Ball rotates in fixed socket. Some people find this easier to use than a mouse.

Touchpads

Usually found on laptop computers, but can also be used as separate devices. Work like
trackballs but without moving parts.

Joysticks

Used when user needs to input direction and speed. Other devices are used to indicate
position. To see the difference, consider playing a flight simulation game with a mouse as your
input device. Why would this be difficult?

Cursor Keys

Cursor keys can be used to move a cursor, but it is difficult to accomplish dragging. Using keys
can provide precise control of movement by moving in discrete steps, for example when moving a
selected object in a drawing program. Some handheld computers have a single cursor button
which can be pressed in any of four directions.

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Touch screens
Touch displays allow the user to input information into the computer simply by touching an
appropriate part of the screen. This kind of screen is bi-directional – it both receives input and it
outputs information.

Advantages:
• Easy to learn – ideal for an environment where use by a particular user may only occur
once or twice
• Require no extra workspace
• No moving parts (durable)
• Provide very direct interaction

Disadvantages:
• Lack of precision
• Higherror rates
• Arm fatigue
• Screensmudging

Touch screens are used mainly for:

• Kiosk devices in public places, for example for tourist information

• Handheldcomputers

Pen Input

Touchscreens designed to work with pen devices rather than fingers have become very common
in recent years. Pen input allows more precise control, and, with handwriting recognition
software, also allows text to be input. Handwriting recognition can work with ordinary handwriting
or with purpose designed alphabets such as Graffiti.

Pen input is used in handheld computers (PDAs) and specialised devices, and more recently in
tablet PCs, which are similar to notebook computers, running a full version of the Windows
operating system, but with a pen-sensitive screen and with operating system and applications
modified to take advantage of the pen input.

Pen input is also used in graphics tablets, which are designed to provide precise control for
computer artists and graphic designers.

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A Palm PDA and the Graffiti alphabet

A tablet PC

Using a graphics tablet

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3D input devices
All the pointing devices described above allow input and manipulation in two dimensions. Some
applications require input in three dimensions, and specialised input devices have been
developed for these.

3D trackers

3D trackers are often used to interact with Virtual Reality environments.

• Stationary Controllers (Small range of motion)

o Best for precise 3D element manipulation
• Motion Trackers (Large range of motion)
o Best for 3D region pointing or head tracking
• Virtual RealityGloves(Datagloves)
o Hand gestures
• Head Mounted Displays - HMDs (Tracker+Displays)
o Best for 3D scene navigation/exploration

HMD and dataglove

3D mice

These allow movement in more than two dimensions, and are often used together with an
ordinary mouse. For example, this allows a designer to simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate 3D
models or scenes with the controller in one hand while the other hand selects, inspects or edits
with the mouse.

The Spacemouse

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Speech input

Speech or voice recognition is the ability of a machine or program to recognize and carry out
voice commands or take dictation. In general, speech recognition involves the ability to match a
voice pattern against a provided or acquired vocabulary. Usually, a limited vocabulary is provided
with a product and the user can record additional words. More sophisticated software has the
ability to accept natural speech (meaning speech as we usually speak it rather than carefully-
spoken speech).

There are three basis uses of Speech Recognition:

• Command & Control

o give commands to the system that it will then execute (e.g., "exit application" or
"take airplane 1000 feet higher")
o usually speaker independent
• Dictation
o dictate to a system, which will transcribe your speech into written text
o usually speaker-dependent
• Speaker Verification
o your voice can be used as a biometric (i.e., to identify you uniquely)
Speech input is useful in applications where the use of hands is difficult, either due to the
environment or to a user’s disability. It is not appropriate in environments where noise is an issue.

Much progress has been made, but we are still a long way from the image we see in science
fiction of humans conversing naturally with computers.

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Choosing Devices
The preceding pages have described a wide range of input devices. We will now look briefly at
some examples which illustrate the issues which need to be taken into account when selecting
devices for a system: matching devices with:

• thework
• the users
• the environment

Matching devices with work

Example: Application – panning a small window over a large graphical surface (such as a layout
diagram of a processor chip) which is too large to be viewed in detail as a whole. The choice of
device is between a trackball and a joystick.

This scenario was suggested by Buxton (1986).

Task 1. Panning and zooming

Trackball is better suited as motion of ball is mapped directly to motion over surface, while
motion of joystick is mapped to speed of motion over surface.
No obvious advantage to either device for zooming.

Task 2. Panning and zooming simultaneously

Zooming and panning is possible with joystick (just displace and twist) but virtually impossible
with trackball, so the joystick is better suited.

Task 3. Locating object by panning and then manipulating by twisting, without letting the position
drift.
Difficult to locate accurately and keep stationary with joystick, but could be done with trackball.
When trackball is stopped then motion is stopped, and bezel around ball can be rotated.
Trackball is therefore better suited.

Note that although these three tasks are similar, the precise nature of the task can have a
large influence on the best choice of device.

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Matching Devices with Users

Example: Eye control for users with severe disabilities

Most input devices rely on hand movements. When a user is unable to use hands at al for input,
then eye-controlled systems provide an alternative. For example, the Iriscom system moves the
mouse pointer by tracking a person's eye movement and mouse clicks are performed by blinking.
It also has an on-screen keyboard so users can input text. It can be used by anyone who has
control of one eye, including people wearing glasses or contact lenses.

A camera takes the place of the touchpad

Matching devices with the environment

Example: The BMW i-drive control

The systems in expensive cars are becoming increasingly computer-controlled. Functions which
were previously provided by separate devices with their own controls are often now controlled by
a single computer interface. An in-car computer system is in a very different environment from a
desktop PC or even a laptop. The driver of the car needs to use its functions (entertainment,
climate, navigation, etc) while driving. This requires an interface which allows the driver to
operate it with one hand, with the input device close to hand. The output must be clearly visible in
a position which minimises the time the driver must spend looking away from the road ahead.

BMW’s solution to this problem is the i-drive, which consists of a multifunction control which is
situated where a gearlever would usually found. This control allows the driver to select options
displayed on a screen mounted high in the dashboard. The I-drive has been controversial, and it
is likely that there will be many further developments in the devices used to interact with
computers in the driving environment.

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