Appropriateness of foot interaction for non-accurate spatial tasks

ABSTRACT

This paper describes alternative methods for manipulating graphical user interfaces with a foot. Feet are used in many real world tasks together with the rest of the body, but in computer environments they are almost completely put aside as an interaction possibility. One of the major problems in choosing input methods for different tasks in user interfaces is determining what kind of method is appropriate for a certain task. Feet could easily be used as a supportive input method in interaction with computers together with the traditional mouse. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of using foot input in different non-accurate spatial tasks, and the efficiency and usability experience the users have of foot interaction compared with a traditional hand-based interface with the same input device. The aim is to find out how well foot interaction suits for non-accurate spatial tasks.

REFERENCES

• 1: W. Buxton , B. Myers, A study in two-handed input, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.321-326, April 13-17, 1986, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• 2: Eyesenck, Michael W. and Keane, Mark T. Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook, 3rd edition, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (1995), 107--116.
• 3: Hoffmann, Errol R. A Comparison of Hand and Foot Movement Times. Ergonomics 34, 4 (1991), 397--416.
• 4: Joseph J. LaViola, Jr. , Daniel Acevedo Feliz , Daniel F. Keefe , Robert C. Zeleznik, Hands-free multi-scale navigation in virtual environments, Proceedings of the 2001 symposium on Interactive 3D graphics, p.9-15, March 2001 [doi>10.1145/364338.364339]
• 5: MacKenzie, I. Scott. Fitts' Law as a Research and Design Tool in Human-Computer Interaction. Human-Computer Interaction 7 (1992), 91--139.
• 6: G. Pearson , M. Weiser, Of moles and men: the design of foot controls for workstations, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.333-339, April 13-17, 1986, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• 7: G. Pearson , M. Weiser, Exploratory evaluation of a planar foot-operated cursor-positioning device, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.13-18, May 15-19, 1988, Washington, D.C., United States [doi>10.1145/57167.57169]

INDEX TERMS

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: Evaluation/methodology

  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.3 COMPUTER GRAPHICS
      I.3.6 Methodology and Techniques
          Subjects: Interaction techniques

General Terms:
Experimentation, Human Factors, Measurement

Keywords:
input, interaction, multimodality, usability