Comparative Evaluation of Touch-Based Input Techniques for Experience Sampling on Smartwatches

Smartwatches are emerging as an increasingly popular platform for longitudinal in situ data collection with methods often referred to as experience sampling and ecological momentary assessment. Their small size challenges designers of relevant applications to ensure usability and a positive user experience. This paper investigates the usability of different input techniques for responding to in situ surveys administered on smartwatches. In this paper, we classify different input techniques that can support this task. Then, we report on two user studies that compared different input techniques and their suitability at two levels of user activity: while sitting and while walking. A pilot study (N = 18) examined numeric input with three input techniques that utilize common features of smartwatches with a touchscreen: Multi-Step Tapping, Bezel Rotation, and Swiping. The main study (N = 80) examined numeric input and list selection including in the comparison two more techniques: Long-List Tapping and Virtual Buttons to scroll through options. Overall, we found that whether users are seated or walking did not affect the speed or accuracy of input. Bezel rotation was the slowest input technique but also the most accurate. Swiping resulted in most errors. Long-List Tapping yielded the shortest reaction times. Future research should examine different form factors for the smartwatch and diverse usage contexts

Comparative Evaluation of Touch-Based Input Techniques for Experience Sampling on Smartwatches

Smartwatches are emerging as an increasingly popular platform for longitudinal in situ data collection with methods often referred to as experience sampling and ecological momentary assessment. Their small size challenges designers of relevant applications to ensure usability and a positive user experience. This paper investigates the usability of different input techniques for responding to in situ surveys administered on smartwatches. In this paper, we classify different input techniques that can support this task. Then, we report on two user studies that compared different input techniques and their suitability at two levels of user activity: while sitting and while walking. A pilot study (N = 18) examined numeric input with three input techniques that utilize common features of smartwatches with a touchscreen: Multi-Step Tapping, Bezel Rotation, and Swiping. The main study (N = 80) examined numeric input and list selection including in the comparison two more techniques: Long-List Tapping and Virtual Buttons to scroll through options. Overall, we found that whether users are seated or walking did not affect the speed or accuracy of input. Bezel rotation was the slowest input technique but also the most accurate. Swiping resulted in most errors. Long-List Tapping yielded the shortest reaction times. Future research should examine different form factors for the smartwatch and diverse usage contexts

UI Design for Wearable Devices

Smartwatches já existem há algum tempo (ranger de 2015), mas 2015 é o ano que estes wearables vão finalmente obter o seu "boom" em termos de popularidade e crescimento. Grandes nomes da tecnologia como a Apple, Google e Samsung estão a apostar na sua própria linha de produtos como o Apple Watch, Android Wear e Tizen respetivamente (Apple Inc 2015a; 2015b Google Inc; SAMSUNG 2015). Todos estes dispositivos são dotados de ecrãs táteis muito pequenos, um número limitado de botões de hardware, diferentes tamanhos e formas. O nosso trabalho focou-se sobre estas restrições e como desenvolver interfaces adequadas para este tipo de dispositivos. O objetivo era desenvolver um modelo com orientações e regras por forma a facilitar o desenvolvimento de aplicações ao nível de interação e ao nível visual. Para atingir este fim, primeiro analisamos ao detalhe a tecnologia disponível nestes dispositivos, as respetivas frameworks das principais plataformas e os recursos de hardware subjacentes. Tais como, sensor de GPS ou giroscópio, o uso do ecrã tátil ou microfone para entrada de dados, e se a forma do dispositivo (redondo ou quadrado) pode ter efeitos diferentes sobre o design e usabilidade. Também analisamos o impacto da diferente disposição e posicionamento de componentes na interface tendo em conta que esta tecnologia, uma vez que é um dispositivo wearable, pode também ser usado em ambos os pulsos e, portanto, irá ser utilizado com apenas uma mão que pode obscurecer uma diferente parte do ecrã dependendo do pulso onde o utilizador o usa (Chandra e Raghunath 2000). Finalmente, para avaliar o nosso modelo, construímos um protótipo e testámo-lo com possíveis utilizadores deste tipo de dispositivos por forma a obter métricas de utilização e feedback sobre usabilidade com o intuito de providenciar robustez ao nosso modelo.Smartwatches have been around for some time now (Ranger 2015), but 2015 is the year this wearable technology will finally get its boom in terms of popularity and growth. Technology giants like Apple, Google and Samsung are betting on their own-line of products such as the Apple Watch, Android Wear and Gear respectively (Apple Inc 2015a; Google Inc 2015b; SAMSUNG 2015). All of these devices are computation capable electronics with very small touch capacitive screens, limited number of hardware buttons with varying screen sizes and even shapes. Our research focused mainly on these constraints and how to successfully develop user friendly GUI's for such small screens. The goal was to develop a model with guidelines to help developers provide easy to use and user friendly applications at a visual and interaction level to end users. To successfully achieve this, we first took a deep look at the available technology within these devices, including the framework each of the major platforms provide and the underlying hardware capabilities such as sensors like GPS, gyroscope, the use of the touch screen or microphone for user input and whether the shape of the device (round or squared) can have different effects on the design and usability. We also analyzed the impact of placement and arrangement of interface components having in mind that this technology, since it is a wearable watch, can be worn on both wrists and therefore will be used with only one hand that may obscure a different portion of the interface depending on which wrist the user uses it (Chandra and Raghunath 2000). Finally, to evaluate our model we built a prototype and put it to test with end users, collecting usage metrics and feedback on usability to further improve the original model

Modellierung und Erkennung dreidimensionaler Handschrift mittels Inertialsensorik

In dieser Dissertation wird mit Airwriting eine Technologie präsentiert, die eine freihändige, jederzeit verfügbare und leicht erlernbare Texteingabe für Wearable Computing Systeme durch Schreiben in der Luft erlaubt. Die Bewegungserfassung erfolgt mittels am Körper getragener Inertialsensoren. Zusätzlich wird auch die inertialsensorbasierte Erkennung traditioneller, mit einem Stift geschriebener, Schrift behandelt und die gestenbasierte Texteingabe mit einer Gestensteuerung kombiniert

Text input on a smart watch

Smart-watches provide users with access to many applications on smartphones direct from their wrists, without the need to touch their smartphone. While applications such as email, messaging, calendar and social networking provide views on the watch, there is normally no text entry method so users cannot reply on the same device. Here we introduce requirements for smart-watch text entry, an optimised alphabetic layout and present a lab evaluation of an implemented prototype using the OpenAdaptxt engine on a Sony SmartWatch 2. While raising some problems, the feedback from our participants indicates that reasonable quality and speed is achievable on a smart-watch and encourages our future work