An increasing number of domains, including aeronautics, are
adopting touchscreens. However, several drawbacks limit
their operational use, in particular, eyes-free interaction is almost impossible making it difficult to perform other tasks simultaneously. We introduce GazeForm, an adaptive touch interface with shape-changing capacity that offers an adapted interaction modality according to gaze direction. When the user’s eyes are focused on interaction, the surface is flat and the system acts as a touchscreen. When eyes are directed towards another area, physical knobs emerge from the surface. Compared to a touch only mode, experimental
results showed that GazeForm generated a lower subjective
mental workload and a higher efficiency of execution (20%
faster). Furthermore, GazeForm required less visual attention and participants were able to concentrate more on a secondary monitoring task. Complementary interviews with
pilots led us to explore timings and levels of control for using gaze to adapt modality
