Publication
Orientation Matters: Efficiency of Translation-rotation Multitouch Tasks
Quan Nguyen; Michael Kipp
In: Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI-2014), 32nd, April 26 - May 1, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Pages 2013-2016, ISBN 978-1-4503-2473-1, ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2014.
Abstract
The translation and rotation of objects with two fingers is a well explored multitouch technique. However, there are some unsolved questions regarding the optimal conditions under which this technique functions best. Does it matter in which direction the movement is oriented? Does parallel or sequential performance of the two operations work best? This study attempts to answer this question using a typical Fitts' Law setup but with varying translation-rotation orientation combinations. The results show that right-oriented movements were faster and easier than left-oriented ones. Movement combinations which went in different directions (translation right, rotation left, and vice versa) were found more tiresome and resulted in more strategy switches compared to equi-directional combinations. Our findings can inform positioning decisions in interaction design and contribute to theoretical adjustments to Fitts' Law.