Abstract
Multi-touch input on interactive surfaces has matured as a device for bimanual interaction and invoked widespread research interest. We contribute empirical work on direct versus indirect use multi-touch input, comparing direct input on a tabletop display with an indirect condition where the table is used as input surface to a separate, vertically arranged display surface. Users perform significantly better in the direct condition; however our experiments show that this is primarily the case for pointing with comparatively little difference for dragging tasks. We observe that an indirect input arrangement impacts strongly on the users’ fluidity and comfort of ‘hovering’ movement over the surface, and suggest investigation of techniques that allow users to rest their hands on the surface as default position for interaction.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balakrishnan, R.: The Role of Kinesthetic Reference Frames in Two-Handed Input Performance. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 171–178 (1999)
Barnert, W.C.: A Comparison of One-Handed and Two-Handed Direct and Indirect Computer Interaction. Technical report, Tufts University (2005)
Benko, H., Wilson, A.D., Baudisch, P.: Precise Selection Techniques for Multi-Touch Screens. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 1263–1272 (2006)
Buxton, W.: A Three-State Model of Graphical Input. In: Proc. INTERACT, pp. 449–456 (1990)
Buxton, W., Myers, B.: A Study in Two-Handed Input. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 321–326 (1986)
Cao, X., Wilson, A.D., Balakrishnan, R., Hinckley, K., Hudson, S.E.: ShapeTouch: Leveraging Contact Shape on Interactive Surfaces. In: Proc. TABLETOP (2008)
Dietz, P., Leigh, D.: DiamondTouch: A Multi-User Touch Technology. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 219–226 (2001)
Forlines, C., Balakrishnan, R.: Evaluating Tactile Feedback and Direct vs. Indirect Stylus Input in Pointing and Crossing Selection Tasks. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 1563–1572 (2008)
Forlines, C., Wigdor, D., Shen, C., Balakrishnan, R.: Direct-Touch vs. Mouse Input for Tabletop Displays. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 647–656 (2007)
Han, J.Y.: Low-Cost Multi-Touch Sensing Through Frustrated Total Internal Reflection. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 115–118 (2005)
Hart, S.G., Stavelan, L.E.: Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index): Results of Empirical and Theoretical Research. Human Mental Workload (1988)
Krueger, M.W., Gionfriddo, T., Hinrichsen, K.: VIDEOPLACE - An Artificial Reality. SIGCHI Bull. 16(4), 35–40 (1985)
Kurtenbach, G., Fitzmaurice, G., Baudel, T., Buxton, W.: The Design of a GUI Paradigm Based on Tablets, Two-Hands, and Transparency. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 35–42 (1997)
Lee, S.K., Buxton, W., Smith, K.C.: A Multi-Touch Three Dimensional Touch- Sensitive Tablet. SIGCHI Bull. 16(4), 21–25 (1985)
Leganchuk, A., Zhai, S., Buxton, W.: Manual and Cognitive Benefits of Two-Handed Input: An Experimental Study. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 5(4), 326–359 (1998)
Lewis, J.R.: IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaires: Psychometric Evaluation and Instructions for Use. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 7(1), 57–78 (1995)
MacKenzie, I.S., Oniszczak, A.: A Comparison of Three Selection Techniques for Touchpads. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 336–343 (1998)
MacKenzie, I.S., Sellen, A., Buxton, W.: A Comparison of Input Devices in Elemental Pointing and Dragging Tasks. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 161–166 (1991)
Malik, S., Ranjan, A., Balakrishnan, R.: Interacting with Large Displays from a Distance with Vision-Tracked Multi-Finger Gestural Input. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 43–52 (2005)
Meyer, S., Cohen, O., Nilsen, E.: Device Comparisons for Goal-Directed Drawing Tasks. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 251–252 (1994)
Moscovich, T., Hughes, J.F.: Indirect Mappings of Multi-Touch Input Using One and Two Hands. In: Proc. CHI, pp. 1275–1284 (2008)
Scott, S.S., Carpendale, S.: Guest Editors’ Introduction: Interacting with Digital Tabletops. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications 26(5), 24–27 (2006)
Sears, A., Shneiderman, B.: High Precision Touchscreens: Design Strategies and Comparisons with a Mouse. IJMMS 34, 593–613 (1991)
Wigdor, D., Forlines, C., Baudisch, P., Barnwell, J., Shen, C.: Lucid Touch: A See-Through Mobile Device. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 269–278 (2007)
Wilson, A.D.: Robust Computer Vision-Based Detection of Pinching for One and Two-Handed Gesture Input. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 255–258 (2006)
Wu, M., Balakrishnan, R.: Multi-Finger and Whole Hand Gestural Interaction Techniques for Multi-User Tabletop Displays. In: Proc. UIST, pp. 193–202 (2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
Schmidt, D., Block, F., Gellersen, H. (2009). A Comparison of Direct and Indirect Multi-touch Input for Large Surfaces. In: Gross, T., et al. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2009. INTERACT 2009. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5726. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03655-2_65
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03655-2_65
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-03654-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-03655-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)