Project Summary
During the spring quarter of 2008, our team designed and tested a new interaction technique which does not involve clicking a mouse button.
Task: Devise an interaction technique that makes it possible for a mouse or trackball to acquire targets in a desktop user interface without having to click.
Problem: How to distinguish between a miss and a goal/cross? Occlusion problem.
Design Rationale
Accidental Triggering: By having the menu appear behind the cursor, a purposeful backwards movement must be made to select an object.
Orthogonal Targeting: Imaginary target diameters on all crossable goals. Shift based on movement approach.
Tackling the Occlusion Problem
Smart Focus: Only the touched target has active focus and control is handed to the target object.
Continuous Control: Crossing outside of a target hands back control. This might activate another target which can be engaged or (by crossing outside again) be ignored.
About the Prototype
Written in C#
Targets are fixed but have orthogonal rotating diameters.
Targets centered on white screen.
Targets are named for Numbers 4, 6, 7, 2, 5, Select, Save, Open, and Exit.
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What Might Not Work Well
It is possible to purposefully select a target but not trigger an event.
As perpendicular angle θ approaches 0° (becomes flatter), and approach angle φ reaches 180° (runs parallel to θ), it is possible to miss a target.
Ideally, goal crossing will be head-on.
Informal Usability Testing
Two female subjects in their late 30s.
Both were right-hand dominant.
Subject K: works with motor impaired or disabled patients at UW Medical Center.
Subject C: is a clinical researcher.
Four approach directions (Right, Top, Left, Bottom). Ten separate trials for each direction.
Click was disabled except when acknowledging pop-up alert box and other options.
No preparation except select the target by crossing the goal.
Testing Results
The color change (light to dark blue) of the selection menu successfully signaled to subject to re-cross.
All errors were made when going from left à right or bottom à up.
Both subjects thought the design as novel.
Subject K would “rather click.” Subject C would like to have the cursor “snap back” into the approach direction after each trial.
Summary
ORC is an intuitive approach and subjects thought it was obvious.
The technique itself is not intrusive and can be dropped into any application.
We believe that our goal of creating a zero-click interaction technique has been met.
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