Light pen use and practice minimize age and hand performance differences in pointing tasks

A Comparison of Touchscreen and Mouse for Real-World and Abstract Tasks with Older Adults

Computer technology is increasingly being used to facilitate the timely identification of cognitive impairment in older adults. Our Cognitive Testing on Computer (C-TOC) project aims to develop a self-administered online test for older adults to take at their home. Due to the freedom of devices they can use, it is important to investigate whether different input devices can impact test performance. We compared touchscreen and mouse input on both abstract and real-world pointing and dragging tasks: classic Fitts’s Law tasks and tasks drawn from C-TOC. The abstract and real-world tasks were designed to require equivalent motor skills. Our research goals were to determine (1) if performance on computerized cognitive tasks are affected by input device, and (2) if performance differences due to input device can be explained by those observed on Fitts’s Law tasks. Sixteen older adults completed both types of tasks using a touchscreen and a mouse. We found that input device affected speed on three out of four cognitive tasks while only affecting accuracy on one task. Secondarily, our results suggest that Fitts’s Law results of differences in mouse and touch cannot be used to predict device differences in the performance on C-TOC tests. As an additional research goal, we looked into the movement patterns of one real-world dragging task—the C-TOC Pattern Construction task—to see if they could provide richer performance measures, beyond speed and accuracy. Such measures could compensate for the lack of a clinician observer who is typically present in comparable paper-based cognitive tests. We found that older adults naturally adopted different movement patterns on the two devices: they tended to make shorter moves and a greater number of moves on a touchscreen than with a mouse. Altogether, our results suggest that careful device-based performance calibration will be needed in computerized tests.

Functional parameters, wrist posture deviations and comfort: A comparison between a computer mouse and a touch pen as input devices

BACKGROUND

Performing common computer tasks such as pointing, clicking, and dragging requires repetitive movements that cause musculoskeletal disorders in the wrists and hands. Given the growing use of touch screens and touch pens, further studies on the ergonomics of these devices are needed. This study aimed to compare a touch pen and an ordinary computer mouse in terms of movement time, error rate, wrist posture, and comfort of use.

METHODS

Performance parameters (movement time and error rate), wrist postures, and comfort when using a mouse and a touch pen were measured based on ISO 9241-9 standard with the help of 27 participants. For data analysis, paired t test was performed using SPSS version 22.

RESULTS

Using the touch pen resulted in better performance parameters than using the mouse (p < 0.05). Wrist extension and flexion were lower when performing the task with the computer mouse than with the touch pen (p < 0.05). When using the touch pen to perform the task, ulnar deviation and radial deviation were lower (p < 0.05). The overall comfort was higher when using the mouse than the touch pen.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that the touch pen had better performance parameters than the ordinary mouse and also resulted in lower ulnar and radial deviations. Given the impact of habit and proficiency on users' comfort in using input devices, it is reasonable to expect users becoming more comfortable by using touch pens on the long term.

Effects of Aging on Small Target Selection with Touch Input

Age-related declines in physical and cognitive function can result in target selection difficulties that hinder device operation. Previous studies have detailed the different types of target selection errors encountered, as well as how they vary with age and with input device for mouse and pen interaction. We extend this work to describe the types of age-related selection errors encountered with small touchscreen devices. Consistent with prior results, we found that older adults had longer target selection times, generated higher error rates, and encountered a broader range of selection difficulties (e.g., miss errors and slip errors) relative to a younger comparison group. However, in contrast to the patterns previously found with pen interaction, we found that miss error (i.e., both landing and lifting outside the target bounds) was a more common source of errors for older adults than slip error (i.e., landing on the target but slipping outside the target bounds before lifting). Moreover, aging influenced both miss and slip errors in our study of touch interaction, whereas for pen interaction, age has been found to influence only slip errors. These differences highlight the need to consider pen and touch interaction separately despite both being forms of direct input. Based on our findings, we discuss possible approaches for improving the accessibility of touch interaction for older adults.

Attitudes Toward Computers Across Adulthood From 1994 to 2013

Background and Objectives

Regardless of the increased deployment of technologies in everyday living domains, barriers remain that hamper technology adoption by older adults. Understanding barriers to adoption such as individual differences in attitudes toward computers is important to the design of strategies to reduce age-related digital disparities.

Research Design and Methods

This article reports a time-sequential analysis of data from the Edward R. Roybal Center on Human Factors and Aging Research and the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) on computer attitudes among a large (N = 3,917), diverse sample of community-dwelling adults aged from 18 to 98 years. The data were gathered from 1994 to 2013.

Results

The findings indicated that there are still age disparities in attitudes; older adults report less comfort with and less efficacy about using computers than younger people. We also found a cohort (birth year) effect; attitudes are generally more positive among more recent birth cohorts. Those who have more education and experience with computers also have more positive attitudes. Males generally have more positive attitudes than females; however, the gender difference decreases with increased age.

Discussion and Implications

Technology affords potential benefits for older people, but lack of uptake in technology clearly puts older adults at a disadvantage in terms of negotiating today's digital world. This article provides insight into attitudinal barriers that may affect on technology uptake among older adults. The findings have implications for the design of technology training programs, design of technology systems, and policy.

Spiral tracing on a touchscreen is influenced by age, hand, implement, and friction

Dexterity impairments are well documented in older adults, though it is unclear how these influence touchscreen manipulation. This study examined age-related differences while tracing on high- and low-friction touchscreens using the finger or stylus. 26 young and 24 older adults completed an Archimedes spiral tracing task on a touchscreen mounted on a force sensor. Root mean square error was calculated to quantify performance. Root mean square error increased by 29.9% for older vs. young adults using the fingertip, but was similar to young adults when using the stylus. Although other variables (e.g., touchscreen usage, sensation, and reaction time) differed between age groups, these variables were not related to increased error in older adults while using their fingertip. Root mean square error also increased on the low-friction surface for all subjects. These findings suggest that utilizing a stylus and increasing surface friction may improve touchscreen use in older adults.

Aging and Input Devices: Voice Recognition Performance is Slower Yet More Acceptable than a Lightpen

Microcomputers are ubiquitous to modern society, yet older adults consistently perform more poorly than younger counterparts using standard input devices (e.g. a mouse). Prior research has revealed that direct positioning devices (e.g. light pen), minimize age differences and enable quick transfer to the non-preferred hand. This study investigates whether speech recognition may also reduce age-related declines and enhance performance of older adults in target selection tasks. Twenty-four participants ages 20–26 (M = 21.7), twenty-four participants ages 44-55 (M = 48.9), and twenty-four participants ages 65–78 (M = 70.4) were asked to select a specified target using either a light pen or speech recognition software (IBM's ViaVoice). Results revealed no age effects for type of device, but response times for target acquisition were approximately 2178 ms longer for speech recognition than the direct positioning device, and preference ratings were higher using speech as input versus the lightpen. Implications are discussed.

Technology and Aging

Technological advancements have become widespread, and their implementation into products of everyday use is accelerating. Technology has the potential to improve the lives of older adults by increasing their safety, security, and independence in daily life. However, too often older adults' capabilities and limitations are not considered in the design of current and future technologies. In 1990, the National Research Council identified the importance of human factors in the design of technology for an aging population. The goal of this chapter is to review research on aging and technology since that report to determine the contributions of human factors research to issues of aging and technology design. In this chapter we address the extent to which older adults use new technologies, factors to consider in the adoption of technology (e.g., attitudes), the influence of technology design on older adults' performance (e.g., design of input devices), and ways to optimize training for older adults in using new technologies (e.g., age-specific instructional designs). We then review emerging areas of research that may direct the focus of human factors research in the next decade. These areas of research include ubiquitous computing (e.g., home monitoring systems), health care technologies (e.g., telehealth), robotics (e.g., Nursebot), and automated systems (e.g., cruise control). Finally, we consider opportunities and challenges to human factors research as the field continues to address the questions of optimizing technology for older adult users.

What Older Adults Can Teach Us About Designing Better Ballots

FEATURE AT A GLANCE: In this article, we examine the interplay between electronic voting technology machine types (touchscreen vs. touchscreen + keypad) and ballot designs (full ballot vs. one office per page) that together comprise the interface to which voters are exposed. Using a gerontological approach, we show that determining the most usable system for voters with the most limited capabilities (in this study, older participants) also corresponded to higher performance across groups (younger participants). Because older adults are more sensitive to slight differences in human-computer interaction designs, examining their performance may help shed light on potential problems that could otherwise go undetected.

Improving multitasking assessment in healthy older adults using a prop-based version of the Breakfast task

Computerized cognitive assessment is becoming increasingly more common in clinical neuropsychological assessment and cognitive neuropsychological research. A number of computerized tasks now exist to assess multitasking abilities that are essential for everyday tasks such as cooking, shopping, or driving, but little is known about whether these tasks are appropriate for assessing older adults' multitasking. The present study directly compared age effects on multitasking when assessed using a computerized and a prop-based version of Craik and Bialystok's ( 2006 ) Breakfast task. Twenty participants aged 18 to 24 years and 20 participants aged 60 to 79 years were assessed on both versions of the Breakfast task. While age-related decrements in multitasking performance were found using the computerized task, significant age differences were not found on the majority of measures when the prop-based version was administered. The results suggest that age-related deficits in multitasking will be less when more contextualized, noncomputer based tasks are used.

Examining the Usability of Touch Screen Gestures for Older and Younger Adults

OBJECTIVE

We examined the usability issues associated with four touch screen gestures (clicking, dragging, zooming, and rotating) among older and younger users.

BACKGROUND

It is especially important to accommodate older users' characteristics to ensure the accessibility of information and services that are important to their quality of life.

METHOD

Forty older and 40 younger participants completed four experiments, each of which focused on one gesture. The effects of age, type of touch screen (surface acoustic wave vs. optical), inclination angle (30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°), and user interface factors (clicking: button size and spacing; dragging: dragging direction and distance; zooming: design of zooming gesture; rotating: design of rotating gesture) on user performance and satisfaction were examined.

RESULTS

Button sizes that are larger than 15.9 × 9.0 mm led to better performance and higher satisfaction. The effect of spacing was significant only when the button size was notably small or large. Rightward and downward dragging were preferred to leftward and upward dragging, respectively. The younger participants favored direct manipulation gestures using multiple fingers, whereas the older participants preferred the click-to design. The older participants working with large inclination angles of 60° to 75° reported a higher level of satisfaction than the older participants working with smaller angles.

CONCLUSION

We proposed a set of design guidelines for touch screen user interfaces and discussed implications for the selection of appropriate technology and the configuration of the workspace.

APPLICATION

The implications are useful for the design of large touch screen applications, such as desktop computers, information kiosks, and health care support systems.

Age-related differences in processing visual device and task characteristics when using technical devices

With aging visual feedback becomes increasingly relevant in action control. Consequently, visual device and task characteristics should more and more affect tool use. Focussing on late working age, the present study aims to investigate age-related differences in processing task irrelevant (display size) and task relevant visual information (task difficulty). Young and middle-aged participants (20-35 and 36-64 years of age, respectively) sat in front of a touch screen with differently sized active touch areas (4″ to 12″) and performed pointing tasks with differing task difficulties (1.8-5 bits). Both display size and age affected pointing performance, but the two variables did not interact and aiming duration moderated both effects. Furthermore, task difficulty affected the pointing durations of middle-aged adults moreso than those of young adults. Again, aiming duration accounted for the variance in the data. The onset of an age-related decline in aiming duration can be clearly located in middle adulthood. Thus, the fine psychomotor ability "aiming" is a moderator and predictor for age-related differences in pointing tasks. The results support a user-specific design for small technical devices with touch interfaces.

From Intention to Input: Motor Cognition, Motor Performance, and the Control of Technology

Fundamental knowledge of motor cognition is an important component in a human factors repertoire, and this chapter serves as a guide to the history, theory, and application of motor cognition research.“From intention to input” captures the scope of this chapter in that cognitive theories of motor control, neural control of movement, and the effects of feedback on movement are all discussed. The chapter progresses from an overview and history of motor cognition theories down to the neural basis for movement, then to an application of these theories via the study of specific actions. From there, rooted in the scientist-practitioner paradigm of human factors, the chapter covers applied considerations for designing control tasks and their associated inputs, taking into account individual differences in motor cognition and control and identifying critical issues in designing for input. General, applied guidelines are provided for use with current and future systems that have a motor cognition component.

Toward a psychological science of advanced technology design for older adults

OBJECTIVES

Technology represents advances in knowledge that change the way humans perform tasks. Ideally, technology will make the task easier, more efficient, safer, or perhaps more pleasurable. Unfortunately, new technologies can sometimes make a task more difficult, slower, dangerous, or perhaps more frustrating. Older adults interact with a variety of technologies in the course of their daily activities and thus products should be designed to be used by people of varying ages.

METHODS

In this article, we provide an overview of what psychology has to offer to the design of technology-from understanding what people need, to identifying their preferences for design characteristics, and to defining their capabilities and limitations that will influence technology interactions.

RESULTS

We identify how research in the field of psychology and aging has advanced understanding of technology interactions and how research on technology interactions can inform theories of aging.

DISCUSSION

Design for aging involves understanding the unique capabilities and limitations of older adults; identifying their needs, preferences, and desires for technology in their lives; and involving them in the design process.

Contextual constraints in situation model construction: an investigation of age and reading span

This study examined the effects of age and reading span on the ability to use contextual constraints during language comprehension. Older and younger participants listened to sentences over headphones and named pictures that appeared subsequently. Older adults named pictures faster when the preceding sentence context matched rather than mismatched the shape of the depicted object, but younger adults showed less of a match advantage. This effect of contextual match was especially pronounced in older high-span participants, consistent with models of cognitive aging in which surface level processing declines in older adulthood whereas processing at the situation model level remains intact. Results suggest that the practiced ability to immediately construe word meanings and activate the appropriate stored representations is preserved, if not strengthened throughout the lifespan.

Exploring Methods to Improve Pen-Based Menu Selection for Younger and Older Adults

Tablet PCs are gaining popularity, but many individuals still struggle with pen-based interaction. In a previous baseline study, we examined the types of difficulties younger and older adults encounter when using pen-based input. The research reported in this article seeks to address one of these errors, namely, missing just below. This error occurs in a menu selection task when a user’s selection pattern is downwardly shifted, such that the top edge of the menu item below the target is selected relatively often, while the corresponding top edge of the target itself is seldom selected. We developed two approaches for addressing missing just below errors: reassigning selections along the top edge and deactivating them. In a laboratory evaluation, only the deactivated edge approach showed promise overall. Further analysis of our data revealed that individual differences played a large role in our results and identified a new source of selection difficulty. Specifically, we observed two error-prone groups of users: the low hitters, who, like participants in the baseline study, made missing just below errors, and the high hitters, who, in contrast, had difficulty with errors on the item above. All but one of the older participants fell into one of these error-prone groups, reinforcing that older users do need better support for selecting menu items with a pen. Preliminary analysis of the performance data suggests both of our approaches were beneficial for the low hitters, but that additional techniques are needed to meet the needs of the high hitters and to address the challenge of supporting both groups in a single interface.

Using Direct and Indirect Input Devices: Attention Demands and Age-Related Differences

Researchers have suggested that attention is a key moderating variable predicting performance with an input device [e.g., Greenstein & Arnaut, 1988] without directly assessing the attention demands of devices We hypothesized that the attentional demands of input devices would be intricately linked to whether the device matched the input requirements of the on-screen task. Further, matching task and device should be more important for attentionally reduced groups, such as older adults. Younger and older adults used either a direct (touch screen) or indirect (rotary encoder) input device to perform matched or mismatched input tasks under a spectrum of attention allocation conditions. Input devices required attention - more so for older adults, especially in a mismatch situation. In addition, task performance was influenced by the mach between task demands and input device characteristics. Though both groups benefited from a match between input device and task input requirements, older adults benefited more and this benefit increased as less attention was available. We offer an a priori method to choose an input device for a task by considering the overlap between device attributes and input requirements. These data have implications for design decisions concerning input device selection across age groups and task contexts.

Assessing design features of virtual keyboards for text entry

OBJECTIVE

The present research examined design of a virtual keyboard for text entry with a rotary controller, emphasizing users who differ in age and system experience.

BACKGROUND

Existing research has minimally addressed usage frequency, age, and the effects of display shape and letter arrangement on movement and visual search components of text entry tasks. The present research was conducted to close these gaps.

METHOD

Two experiments were completed to examine younger (18-28 years) and older (60-75 years) adults' movement and visual search capabilities using four keyboard shapes and three keyboard arrangements. In a third experiment examining combined effects on shape design, 32 younger (18-28 years) and 32 older (60-75 years) adults entered words on the two best shapes from the first experiments.

RESULTS

For the movement task, movement time was lowest for shapes with higher shape-controller compatibility. For the visual search task, search time and accuracy were best on the alphabetic arrangement. In the combined task, shape did not significantly influence performance at different levels of practice. Transfers, however, suggested that the shape with salient visual features elicited a text entry strategy for older adults that may promote more consistent performance under occasional usage.

CONCLUSION

The studies together demonstrate that keyboard shape is important for efficient performance. Shape-controller compatibility facilitated performance in both age groups. Salient features facilitate performance, especially for older adults. In nearly all cases alphabetic arrangement yielded the best performance.

APPLICATION

Recommendations are provided for virtual keyboard design for different usage frequencies, contexts, and users.

Environmental support: an integrative framework

OBJECTIVE

In this qualitative review, we develop an integrative framework to bring coherence to the concept of environmental support (ES) in the fields of human factors and cognitive aging.

BACKGROUND

The ES hypothesis, originally formulated to explain effects of retrieval support on age-related differences in memory by reducing need for self-initiated processing, has been applied to many domains, such that the concept now encompasses many manipulations and measures. We developed a framework in which different types of ES share a common function (external support of performance) but differ in how this function is accomplished. ES improves performance by reducing task demands on mental resources or promoting effective use of resources. Previous reviews show that ES can decrease age-related differences in performance (more benefit for older adults), provide equal benefit, or increase differences (more benefit for younger adults). We proposed that the outcome will depend on properties of the ES, task, and person.

METHOD

We applied our framework to the domains of language comprehension and human-computer interaction, selecting studies representative of differing outcomes for ES.

RESULTS

In both domains, we found that outcomes depended on ES, task, and person. Age differences were more likely to be reduced by ES that imposed minimal prerequisites for use and targeted processes that needed support.

CONCLUSION

Our review helps refine the ES concept by identifying conditions under which age differences in performance are reduced or magnified by ES.

APPLICATIONS

The framework provides guidance for human factors practitioners to design tasks and environments for older adults.

Aging and human performance

OBJECTIVES

I identify major theoretical and practical contributions to aging and human performance as reflected primarily in the pages of Human Factors.

BACKGROUND

Populations worldwide are aging. True experimental work on aging is not possible because age levels cannot be manipulated. Sophisticated theoretical frameworks and modeling techniques are required to reach valid inferences about age effects and age changes.

METHOD

Citation analysis was used to identify articles in Human Factors dealing with age or aging and to rank them for citation impact.

RESULTS

Special issues on aging were followed by increased publication rates for articles on age or aging, particularly in the 1990s. Most-cited articles deal primarily with age and driving.

CONCLUSIONS

Applied contributions rely on improved measurement of performance and on methodological advances, including simulation and modeling. Design changes that provide environmental support for declining cognitive, perceptual, and psychomotor abilities can serve as a powerful intervention for maintaining and improving older adult performance. Training is also a robust way to improve performance at both the basic ability level and the level of task performance. Human factors specialists can improve quality of life for an aging population.

APPLICATIONS

Guidelines for older users are now being developed by standards bodies and are implemented in domains such as Web design. Much of the focus of human factors research has been on improving efficiency in the performance of aging adults in the workforce, but reducing errors and increasing comfort and satisfaction in health-related activities should receive greater attention.

The Model Human Processor and the older adult: parameter estimation and validation within a mobile phone task

The authors estimate weighted mean values for nine information processing parameters for older adults using the Card, Moran, and Newell (1983) Model Human Processor model. The authors validate a subset of these parameters by modeling two mobile phone tasks using two different phones and comparing model predictions to a sample of younger (N = 20; M-sub(age) = 20) and older (N = 20; M-sub(age) = 69) adults. Older adult models fit keystroke-level performance at the aggregate grain of analysis extremely well (R = 0.99) and produced equivalent fits to previously validated younger adult models. Critical path analyses highlighted points of poor design as a function of cognitive workload, hardware/software design, and user characteristics. The findings demonstrate that estimated older adult information processing parameters are valid for modeling purposes, can help designers understand age-related performance using existing interfaces, and may support the development of age-sensitive technologies.

Notebook input devices put to the age test: the usability of trackpoint and touchpad for middle-aged adults

In two experiments, the usability of input devices integrated into computer notebooks was under study. The most common input devices, touchpad (experiment 1) and trackpoint (experiment 2) were examined. So far, the evaluation of mobile input devices has been restricted to younger users. However, due to ongoing demographic change, the main target group of mobile devices will be older users. Therefore, the present study focused on ageing effects. A total of 14 middle-aged (40-65 years) and 20 younger (20-32 years) users were compared regarding speed and accuracy of cursor control in a point-click and a point-drag-drop task. Moreover, the effects of training were addressed by examining the performance increase over time. In total, 640 trials per task and input device were executed. The results show that ageing is a central factor to be considered in input device design. Middle-aged users were significantly slower than younger users when executing the different tasks. Over time, a significant training effect was observed for both devices and both age groups, although the benefit of training was greater for the middle-aged group. Generally, the touchpad performance was higher than the trackpoint performance in both age groups, but the age-related performance decrements were less distinct when using the touchpad.

Touch a screen or turn a knob: choosing the best device for the job

Input devices enable users to interact with systems. In two experiments, we assessed whether and how task demands and user age influenced task performance for a direct input device (touch screen) and an indirect input device (rotary encoder). In Experiment 1, 40 younger (18-28 years) and 40 middle-aged to older adults (51-65 years) performed tasks using controls such as sliders, up/down buttons, list boxes, and text boxes while using a system. The optimal input device to facilitate performance was dependent on the task being performed and the age of the user. In Experiment 2, touch screen use was assessed for 20 younger (19-23 years) and 20 older adults (51-70 years). Task demands were manipulated through button size, movement distance, direction, and type of movement. Performance was moderated by the age of the user and by task demands. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance for the optimal selection of input devices for different user populations and task characteristics.

Usability of touch-panel interfaces for older adults

The usability of a touch-panel interface was compared among young, middle-aged, and older adults. In addition, a performance model of a touch panel was developed so that pointing time could be predicted with higher accuracy. Moreover, the target location to which a participant could point most quickly was determined. The pointing time with a PC mouse was longer for the older adults than for the other age groups, whereas there were no significant differences in pointing time among the three age groups when a touch-panel interface was used. Pointing to the center of a square target led to the fastest pointing time among nine target locations. Based on these results, we offer some guidelines for the design of touch-panel interfaces and show implications for users of different age groups. Actual or potential applications of this research include designing touch-panel interfaces to make them accessible for older adults and predicting movement times when users operate such devices.