Neurobiological and neurocognitive models of vision for touch input on mobile devices

Abstract

Touch input requires precise eye-hand coordination skills to be effective and efficient. In this work, we address touch input from the new perspective of understanding human vision and eye-hand coordination mechanisms in the fields of neurobiology and psychology, and we highlight implications of neurobiological and neurocognitive approaches of human vision for touch target acquisition on mobile devices. We draw relationships between several models of human vision and practical aspects of designing the visual appearance of touch targets, such as target size, shape, location, padding, and animation speed. Our work presents the interested community with relevant knowledge about the eye-hand coordination mechanisms that are responsible for effective and efficient touch input. Practitioners can employ our results to inform touch target design, and researchers can use our investigation as a starting point for new empirical explorations toward a better understanding of touch input on mobile devices.