Touch Targets Research Articles

Evaluating the Usability and Quality of a Clinical Mobile App for Assisting Physicians in Head Computed Tomography Scan Ordering: Mixed Methods Study.

Among the numerous factors contributing to health care providers' engagement with mobile apps, including user characteristics (eg, dexterity, anatomy, and attitude) and mobile features (eg, screen and button size), usability and quality of apps have been introduced as the most influential factors. This study aims to investigate the usability and quality of the Head Computed Tomography Scan Appropriateness Criteria (HAC) mobile app for physicians' computed tomography scan ordering. Our study design was primarily based on methodological triangulation by using mixed methods research involving quantitative and qualitative think-aloud usability testing, quantitative analysis of the Mobile Apps Rating Scale (MARS) for quality assessment, and debriefing across 3 phases. In total, 16 medical interns participated in quality assessment and testing usability characteristics, including efficiency, effectiveness, learnability, errors, and satisfaction with the HAC app. The efficiency and effectiveness of the HAC app were deemed satisfactory, with ratings of 97.8% and 96.9%, respectively. MARS assessment scale indicated the overall favorable quality score of the HAC app (82 out of 100). Scoring 4 MARS subscales, Information (73.37 out of 100) and Engagement (73.48 out of 100) had the lowest scores, while Aesthetics had the highest score (87.86 out of 100). Analysis of the items in each MARS subscale revealed that in the Engagement subscale, the lowest score of the HAC app was "customization" (63.6 out of 100). In the Functionality subscale, the HAC app's lowest value was "performance" (67.4 out of 100). Qualitative think-aloud usability testing of the HAC app found notable usability issues grouped into 8 main categories: lack of finger-friendly touch targets, poor search capabilities, input problems, inefficient data presentation and information control, unclear control and confirmation, lack of predictive capabilities, poor assistance and support, and unclear navigation logic. Evaluating the quality and usability of mobile apps using a mixed methods approach provides valuable information about their functionality and disadvantages. It is highly recommended to embrace a more holistic and mixed methods strategy when evaluating mobile apps, because results from a single method imperfectly reflect trustworthy and reliable information regarding the usability and quality of apps.

Toward Designing Haptic Displays for Desired Touch Targets: A Study of User Expectation for Haptic Properties via Crowdsourcing.

Things that people desire to touch in daily life are known to be limited to a number of specific targets (e.g., cats). The utilization of haptic displays to provide the experience of touching such desired targets is expected to enhance people's quality of life. However, it is currently unclear which haptic properties (e.g., hardness and weight) of desired targets should be rendered with haptic displays, and how they should be rendered. To address these issues, we conducted an experiment with 600 Japanese participants via crowdsourcing. Among the 600 participants, we identified potential users of haptic displays and analyzed their responses for each target. For each desired target, we identified the haptic properties in relation to which a "need for consistency" was felt by potential users between their expectations and actual impressions during touching. We also identified the haptic properties in relation to which a "biased impression" was held by potential users for each target. For example, potential users responded that cats were soft and that the actual impression of softness during touching needed to be consistent with their impression. Our results provide insights into the design of haptic displays for realizing desired touch experiences.

Beyond duodenoscope-transmitted infections: Analysis of surface bioburden and UV-C mitigation within a tertiary care endoscopy unit

An inpatient endoscopy unit is a care hub for patients from throughout the hospital and can be the site of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Shared surfaces and other nonmedical devices (keyboards) have been increasingly recognized as sites of pathogen transmission. Beyond standard cleaning of high-touch target areas, we queried whether the addition of automated devices delivering low-intensity doses of ultraviolet (UV)-C radiation could further reduce bioburden in an academic endoscopy unit. Bioburden on previously identified high-touch/communal surfaces was measured before and after the installation of automated, low-intensity UV-light emitting devices (UV Angel) that passively monitor and disinfect targeted surfaces with Ultraviolet-C light (UV-C) light. High-touch sites (keyboards) had a baseline bacterial contamination of >80%, whereas individual procedure rooms and common areas had a >57% contamination rate. Following the implementation of automated UV-C light decontamination, bioburden was reduced on average by >91% at high-touch surfaces and within procedure rooms. Nonsterile hubs of patient care could serve as sites of "silent" HAI transmission. We have identified high-touch surfaces within an endoscopy unit that have a high bioburden of bacterial contamination and demonstrated that the installation of passive, automated UV-C light disinfection devices can reduce bioburden significantly, possibly mitigating HAI transmission between patients.

Oxytocin administration enhances pleasantness and neural responses to gentle stroking but not moderate pressure social touch by increasing peripheral concentrations.

Social touch constitutes a key component of human social relationships, although in some conditions with social dysfunction, such as autism, it can be perceived as unpleasant. We have previously shown that intranasal administration of oxytocin facilitates the pleasantness of social touch and activation of brain reward and social processing regions, although it is unclear if it influences responses to gentle stroking touch mediated by cutaneous C-touch fibers or pressure touch mediated by other types of fibers. Additionally, it is unclear whether endogenous oxytocin acts via direct entry into the brain or by increased peripheral blood concentrations. In a randomized controlled design, we compared effects of intranasal (direct entry into the brain and increased peripheral concentrations) and oral (only peripheral increases) oxytocin on behavioral and neural responses to social touch targeting C-touch (gentle-stroking) or other (medium pressure without stroking) cutaneous receptors. Although both types of touch were perceived as pleasant, intranasal and oral oxytocin equivalently enhanced pleasantness ratings and responses of reward, orbitofrontal cortex, and social processing, superior temporal sulcus, regions only to gentle-stroking not medium pressure touch. Furthermore, increased blood oxytocin concentrations predicted the pleasantness of gentle stroking touch. The specificity of neural effects of oxytocin on C-touch targeted gentle stroking touch were confirmed by time-course extraction and classification analysis. Increased peripheral concentrations of oxytocin primarily modulate its behavioral and neural responses to gentle social touch mediated by C-touch fibers. Findings have potential implications for using oxytocin therapeutically in conditions where social touch is unpleasant. Key Technological Projects of Guangdong Province grant 2018B030335001. NCT05265806.

Gentle as a mother's touch: C-tactile touch promotes autonomic regulation in preterm infants

Preterm infants are challenged to adapt to an extrauterine milieu, while their interoceptive system and autonomic regulation capacity is still immature. Caressing parental touch is known to foster parasympathetic regulation in infants by stimulating C-tactile (CT) afferents and in preterm infants, slow stroking stimulation also leads to a heart rate decrease. The particular impact of maternal stroking has not yet been investigated and factors influencing the maturation of the CT system in preterm infants remain unclear. We therefore analysed 53 standardized events in which preterm infants (24 to 36 weeks gestational age at birth) were stroked by their mothers. Video analysis revealed that mothers use CT optimal velocities to stroke their preterm child. Analysis of pulse oximetric data showed no effect of stroking on infantile blood oxygenation, but a significant decrease of the heart rate. Compared to term-born children, this decrease was delayed by about two minutes. Furthermore, our data suggested that more immature preterm infants benefited less from stroking than more mature ones. We conclude that maternal stroking touch targets CT afferents in preterm infants and that the preterm CT system is not yet mature.

Attentional capture in goal-directed action during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood

Attentional capture occurs when salient but task-irrelevant information disrupts our ability to respond to task-relevant information. Although attentional capture costs have been found to decrease between childhood and adulthood, it is currently unclear the extent to which such age-related changes reflect an improved ability to recover from attentional capture or to avoid attentional capture. In addition, recent research using hand-tracking techniques with adults indicates that attentional capture by a distractor can generate response activations corresponding to the distractor’s location, consistent with action-centered models of attention. However, it is unknown whether attentional capture can also result in the capture of action in children and adolescents. Therefore, we presented 5-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 13- and 14-year-olds, and adults (N = 96) with a singleton search task in which participants responded by reaching to touch targets on a digital display. Consistent with action-centered models of attention, distractor effects were evident in each age group’s movement trajectories. In contrast to movement trajectories, movement times revealed significant age-related reductions in the costs of attentional capture, suggesting that age-related improvements in attentional control may be driven in part by an enhanced ability to recover from—as opposed to avoid—attentional capture. Children’s performance was also significantly affected by response repetition effects, indicating that children may be more susceptible to interference from a wider range of task-irrelevant factors than adults. In addition to presenting novel insights into the development of attention and action, these results highlight the benefits of incorporating hand-tracking techniques into developmental research.

PENGALAMAN INTERAKSI TUNANETRA PENGGUNA APLIKASI ANDROID GO-JEK DAN GRAB

This study on the interactional experience of people who have visual impairments or disabilities in using Go-jek and GrabAndroid applications employs usability testing using mixed approach. It is an explanatory sequential design research;quantitative data were measured in time, number of errors, Single Ease Question (SEQ) questionnaire score and SystemUsability Scale (SUS) score. They were used to evaluate the usability level of the application, and finger mapping dataand participant comments were used to find more specific problems in the design or look for user patterns. Usabilityevaluation was carried out on 6 sub-applications from Go-jek and Grab companies. Good grouping of visual elementsand the completion of a small task makes usability perceptions increase. Yet, the design problems that make usabilityperception decrease are touch targets that are too small in size, bad visual element grouping, too many items in one page, and unfamiliar operational gestures. This research has also found that high usability score is not always determinedby visual elements. Navigation behavior has an important role in making good usability perception in users with visualimpairment. A problematic visual design could be considered a problem in one navigation method, but not in another.

3D Hand-Motion Tracking and Bottom-Up Classification Sheds Light on the Physical Properties of Gentle Stroking

Despite much research on the perception of gentle stroking, its motion characteristics and modulation by social intent remain largely unknown. Here we addressed this situation by asking volunteers to gently stroke a dog, the arm of their romantic partner, their own arm, or a foam arm in a pleasant manner, as if to provide comfort, or as fast/slow as possible. Stroking motion was tracked with a sensor attached to the back of the hand and processed using MPAL, a new 3D motion analysis tool. Statistical testing was both hypothesis-driven and exploratory. Hypothesis-driven tests revealed comparable stroking velocities for social (dog, partner) and non-social touch targets, but an overall slower velocity for pleasant and slow as compared with fast stroking. Additionally, stroking a social target or with a pleasant intent entailed less motion along the target’s front/back axis, increased motion along the left/right axis and increased temporal variability between main strokes. An exploratory linear discriminant analysis on 26 motion features revealed that stroking a social target was more distinct than stroking in a pleasant manner and that the former, and to a lesser extent the latter, were strongly associated with features indexing spatio-temporal variability. Thus, touchers socially tune their stroking motion by reducing its predictability, which may make the touchee’s experiences more pleasurable by facilitating the differentiation between self- and other touch. Together, our results offer useful directions for future research on gentle stroking and emphasize the need to consider the natural physical properties of touch.

Physical dimensions of children's touchscreen interactions: Lessons from five years of study on the MTAGIC project

Abstract Touchscreen interaction is nearly ubiquitous in today's computing environments. Children have always been a special population of users for new interaction technology: significantly different from adults in their needs, expectations, and abilities, but rarely tailored to in new contexts and on new platforms. Studies of children's touchscreen interaction have been conducted that focus on individual variables that may affect the interaction, but as yet no synthesis of studies replicating similar methodologies in different contexts has been presented. This paper reports the results across five years of focused study in one project aiming to characterize the differences between children's and adults’ physical touchscreen interaction behaviors. Six studies were conducted with over 180 people (116 children) to understand how children touch targets and make onscreen gestures. A set of design recommendations that summarizes the findings across the six studies is presented for reference. This paper makes the entire set available for reference in one place and highlights where the findings are generalizable across platforms. These recommendations can inform the design of future touchscreen interfaces for children based on their physical capabilities. Also, this paper outlines the future challenges and open questions that remain for understanding child-computer interaction on touchscreens.

Relations between Touch Target Size and Drag Distance in Mobile Applications for Users with Autism Spectrum Disorders

In recent years, the development of mobile applications for people within the autism spectrum has proliferated to help enhance skills that could be diminished in users with this condition. However, the usability of these applications does not appear to be the focus of development because users with autism can have difficulty with fine motor skills. This article focuses on evaluating the optimal drag distance and the sizes of the interaction elements for users with Autism Spectrum Disorder. To accomplish this goal, a case study was conducted that involved 20 users with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 30 users with typical development, using a prototype generated and two applications for commercial use on 7-in. tablets. For both developed applications, a slight variation can be observed between the different groups of participants. In the interaction with Proyect@ Habilidades, the application has pictograms of 65 pixels and it has a maximum trailing distance of 340 pixels. Moreover, in Proyect@ Retratos, where there is a minimum deviation between users with levels of autism 1 and 2, it also has pictograms of 65 pixels but with a drag distance of 110 pixels. For this reason, according to the results, we suggest that in order to obtain better results in the interaction with applications aimed at users diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, the applications should have pictograms of a range of 65 pixels with a drag interaction between 110 and 340 pixels. Considering in context a 7-in. tablet with a resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels.

Slow touch targeting CT-fibres does not increase prosocial behaviour in economic laboratory tasks

Field studies have demonstrated that humans become more generous, helpful and compliant after having been touched by another person. Here, we explored whether these effects are larger for touch activating the C-tactile (CT) fibres, as it is ascribed a particular role in establishing and maintaining bonds and affiliative interactions. The role of CT-targeted and non-targeted touch on prosocial behaviour was investigated in three different experiments using a trust game and a task measuring individual differences in social value orientations (the SVO task). Whereas participants in general acted prosocially, there was no influence of CT-targeted touch on prosocial behaviour, both in comparison to non-CT-targeted control touch and visual (non-tactile) stimulation. The null findings were further corroborated by Bayesian statistics. Thus, under the controlled laboratory conditions employed, CT-targeted touch did not play a particular role in prosocial behaviour. This indicates that touch does not increase prosocial behaviour in the absence of meaningful social and psychological connotations. Any touch related effects on prosocial behaviour likely depends on the ecological validity of the situation.

Active Tactile Exploration Based on Cost-Aware Information Gain Maximization

Active tactile perception is a powerful mechanism to collect contact information by touching an unknown object with a robot finger in order to enable further interaction with the object or grasping of the object. The acquired object knowledge can be used to build object shape models based on such usually sparse tactile contact information. In this paper, we address the problem of object shape reconstruction from sparse tactile data gained from a robot finger that yields contact information and surface orientation at the contact points. To this end, we present an exploration algorithm which determines the next best touch target in order to maximize the estimated information gain and to minimize the expected costs of exploration actions. We introduce the Information Gain Estimation Function (IGEF), which combines different goals as measure for the quantification of the cost-aware information gain during exploration. The IGEF-based exploration strategy is validated in simulation using 48 publicly available object models and compared to state-of-the-art Gaussian processes-based exploration approaches. The results show the performance of the approach regarding exploration efficiency, cost-awareness and suitability for application in real tactile sensing scenarios.

Effects of touch target location on performance and physical demands of computer touchscreen use

Touchscreen interfaces for computers are known to cause greater physical stress compared to traditional computer interfaces. The objective of this study was to evaluate how physical demands and task performance of a tap gesture on a computer touchscreen vary between target locations and display positions. Twenty-three healthy participants conducted reach-tap-return trials with touch targets at fifteen locations in three display positions. Mean completion time, touch accuracy and electromyography of the shoulder and neck extensor muscles were compared between the target locations and display positions. The results demonstrated that participants completed the trial 12%–27% faster with 13%–39% less muscle activity when interacting with targets in the lower area of the display compared to when tapping upper targets (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that proper target placement and display positioning can improve task performance and lessen physical demands of computer touchscreen interface use.

Understanding finger postures when touching targets on the touchscreen of mobile devices1

&lt;p&gt;Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio preliminar sobre la interacción de la yema del dedo y la pantalla táctil de un dispositivo móvil. El objetivo del estudio es identificar posturas de los dedos que se incluirán en el estudio principal en el área de contacto en la interacción entre las puntas de los dedos y una superficie plana. Veinte participantes (15 hombres), participaron en este estudio. Se les pidió que completasen dos tareas en una postura sentada. En la primera tarea, tuvieron que tocar objetivos en las pantallas de dispositivos móviles de una forma secuencial, mientras que en la segunda tarea se les pidió que conectasen posiciones objetivo con líneas rectas. Los resultados mostraron que los participantes utilizan principalmente sus dedos pulgares e indicadores para tocar posiciones objetivo en la pantalla de los dispositivos. Sólo un pequeño número de participantes usó su dedo medio, y en pocas actividades.&lt;/p&gt;

Perceived Cost and Intrinsic Motor Variability Modulate the Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off.

Fitts’ Law describes the speed-accuracy trade-off of human movements, and it is an elegant strategy that compensates for random and uncontrollable noise in the motor system. The control strategy during targeted movements may also take into account the rewards or costs of any outcomes that may occur. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that movement time in Fitts’ Law emerges not only from the accuracy constraints of the task, but also depends on the perceived cost of error for missing the targets. Subjects were asked to touch targets on an iPad® screen with different costs for missed targets. We manipulated the probability of error by comparing children with dystonia (who are characterized by increased intrinsic motor variability) to typically developing children. The results show a strong effect of the cost of error on the Fitts’ Law relationship characterized by an increase in movement time as cost increased. In addition, we observed a greater sensitivity to increased cost for children with dystonia, and this behavior appears to minimize the average cost. The findings support a proposed mathematical model that explains how movement time in a Fitts-like task is related to perceived risk.

Performance Comparisons Between Thumb-Based and Finger-Based Input on a Small Touch-Screen Under Realistic Variability

The potential benefits of thumb-based touch interaction have not been fully exploited due to its usability problems and performance deterioration. Despite the well-known problems, mobile phone users often prefer thumb-based input method in their daily context of use. Without understanding input performance under realistic variability, design solutions may not address the problems adequately. This research aims to evaluate performance of one-handed thumb-based input compared to cradled finger-based input for the large number of users and varying task conditions. By investigating performance under a range of user- and task-variability, common patterns can be identified to help infer realistic performance in context of use. For this experiment, 259 participants were recruited balanced on gender and age. They performed user testing of moving an icon on a mobile touch-screen. Overall, the one-handed thumb input showed a 30% reduction in throughput compared to the cradled finger-based input, with significant reduction in speed and accuracy. Reduced throughput is attributed to inaccuracy rather than speed. In addition, the partial effects of touch position, dragging direction, and target size were investigated and quantified. In conclusion, performance could maintain constant throughput only for the finger-based input of limited task conditions, when realistic variability was introduced. Also, high variance of throughput for the thumb-based input led to poor conformity to Fitts’s law. The findings have implications for design of thumb-based touch interface to offset performance reduction and characterizing performance measure for thumb-based input method.

Touch Screens on the Flight Deck

There is widespread interest in the aviation industry in using touch screen controls on the flight deck. While earlier research efforts have explored touch screen use in aircraft, relatively recent advancements in both hardware and software suggest that renewed attention to touch can help inform its use in modern aircraft. A study was conducted using a medium-fidelity motion flight simulator to investigate how touch target size, touch target spacing, and touch technology impacted pilot data entry performance, workload perception, and fatigue in varying levels of turbulence. The results are intended to support the development of guidelines and recommendations for the integration of touch screen controls into the flight deck.

Touch target optimization technique using virtual finger-tip library

Touch functionality is the latest mantra for consumers buying new smartphones or mobile devices. With devices screens becoming more compact, providing a user interface with easy navigation and effective usage is becoming increasingly difficult. Typically, the screens are designed using relevant design guidelines and work well for the general majority of people. However, every user is different. The way they handle the touch screen, the size of their finger-tips, everything is different. A single common UI design then fails to satisfy all the different users. Hence, there is a need to bridge the existing gap between the device UI screen design and the variances attached with users' touch inputs. Our latest work1, discussed in this paper, solves this challenge to a significant extent by providing a library of virtual finger-tip entries. Each finger-tip entry in the library is pre-attached with a specific surface area attached to it. These finger-tips, although virtual, are provided with the functionality that they act as wearable objects for a device user. Once worn, the device owner need not worry about their actual finger-tip size (that is, the surface area of user's finger on the device screen). Irrespective of a user's actual finger-tip size, when you place your finger on any icon on the screen, it uses exactly the same surface area that the virtual finger-tip uses. Virtual finger-tip sizes are calculated dynamically based on the relative size interpretations from the actual finger-tip size and the touch inputs to the device. Multiple virtual finger tips options are listed in the library enabling a device user to select the most appropriate one depending on the touch target they plan to work on.

Human electrophysiological reflections of the recruitment of perceptual processing during actions that engage memory

The N170 event-related potential (ERP) component reflects visual perceptual processes and is known to have a source in the lateral occipital cortex (LOC) and temporal lobe regions. Convergent evidence from neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies suggests that the LOC is recruited for action tasks in which visibility of a target is unavailable and a perceptual memory of the target's characteristics must be used instead. We tested the hypothesis that the N170 reflects the contribution of additional ventral stream processes required for performing actions in which vision of a target is occluded. We predicted that the amplitude of the ERP in the latency range of the N170 would be larger when perceptual mechanisms are engaged to a greater extent. Participants were auditorily cued to touch target dots appearing on a touchscreen. Two viewing conditions varied with respect to the contribution of the ventral visuomotor stream during response initiation. In condition 1, the target disappeared with movement initiation whereas in condition 2, it disappeared with the cue to respond. The N170 during the response-initiation phase of trials was larger in amplitude for condition 2. The effect was observed over temporal electrode sites bilaterally, likely reflecting an overlap between auditory cue-related processes and additional perceptual processes within regions in the inferior-temporal cortex. Thus, the N170 may be a marker of neural activity within the ventral stream, further supporting the notion that actions initiated in the absence of a visual target rely more on perceptual representations than those directed towards visually available targets.

고령자의 스마트폰 사용성 향상을 위한 연구

2009년 아이폰(iPhone)의 도입을 계기로 국내 스마트폰 보급률이 급증하게 되었으며, 2011년 8월에는 가입자 수가 1500만 명을 넘어섰다. 사용자의 연령별 이용 현황에 대한 조사 결과 60대 이상의 고령자는 다른 연령층에 비해 매우 저조한 이용률을 기록하였으며, 이는 정보 격차 및 사회적 소외감을 증가시키는 것으로 나타났다. 이에 본 연구는 스마트폰 사용 시 기본이 되는 터치 동작에 대해 고령자를 대상으로 평가함으로써 고령자에게 적합한 수준을 도출하고 최종적으로는 사용성 향상에 기여하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 이를 위해 터치 동작의 수행 시간과 오류 횟수 등 객관적 데이터를 수집할 수 있는 프로그램과 주관적 평가를 위한 설문지를 개발하였다. 개발된 프로그램과 설문지를 이용하여 65세 이상의 고령자 22명을 대상으로 평가를 하였으며, 이를 통해 고령자의 스마트폰 사용성을 향상시킬 수 있는 터치 대상의 크기와 간격을 도출하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 추후에 고령자를 위한 스마트폰 또는 애플리케이션 개발 시에 활용될 수 있을 것으로 예상되며, 스마트폰 환경을 고려하여 고령자에게 적합한 터치 대상을 구체화 한 것에 의의가 있다. The introduction of iPhone was an opportunity to increase of internal smarphone users in 2009 and it exceeded 15 millions at August, 2011. According to report about usage of smartphone users, elderly people aged over 60 was quite low compared to other groups. Moreover these elderly peoples feel lag behind cause of smartphone non-use. Thus, the aim of this research is to improve usability of smartphone for elderly peoples. The performance evaluation program and questionnaire were developed for this purpose and objective data and subjective data were collected through these. 22 elderly peoples participated in our research and we could derived proper level of target. The results of this research will be applied to smartphone or application for elderly. The meaning of this research is reveal the detailed touch target for elderly based on smartphone environment.