SmartKey: a multi purpose target expansion based virtual keyboard

ABSTRACT

SmartKey is a new virtual keyboard animation for handheld devices designed to make key selection easier for people with situational and motor impairments. The nearest key to cursor expands in four directions using the available space of nearby keys. Target expansion is accomplished with an occlusion factor of 0% and without any sideways motion. The two studies conducted with able-bodied and motor-impaired users showed that subjects performed better with SmartKey than with traditional virtual keyboard.

REFERENCES

• 1: Lin, L., Goldman, R., Price, K.J., Seras, A., Jacko, J. 2007. How do people tap when walking? An empirical investigation of nomadic data entry. Journal of Human-Computer Studies 65. 759--769.
• 2: MacKenzie, I.S. and Soukoreff, R.W. 2003. Phrase set for evaluating text entry techniques. CHI '03. ACM Press, New York, NY, 754--755.
• 3: McGuffin, M. and Balakrishnan, R. 2002. Acquisition of expanding targets. CHI '02. ACM Press, New York, 57--64.
• 4: Soukoreff, R.W. and MacKenzie, I.S. 2003. Metrics for text entry research: an evaluation of MSD and KSPC, and a new unified error metric. CHI '03. ACM Press, New York, NY, 113--120.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Input devices and strategies (e.g., mouse, touchscreen)

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
accessibility, handheld devices, target expansion, text input