Interaction On The Move: Exploring Tilt-Based Text Input For Smartphones When Walking

For the past decade it has been a common thing to notice mobile phone users using their devices in many different environments, but in recent years the rapid evolution of smartphones with improved touch screen and interactive capabilities has led to a rise in usage whilst on the move. This paper presents the results of an experiment with student users to help explore the performance of a tilt-based text input application on smartphone devices. This experiment considered 2 independent variables with 4 conditions: grip (one-handed, two-handed) and mobility (sitting, walking). The study involved 12 participants aged 18 - 26 who were each required to carry out numerous selection tasks for each condition. This paper explains the methods behind the experiment along with the test procedure have been implemented, it attempts to justify major decisions that have been made and includes an in-depth critical reflection of the findings. The qualitative results of the study unveiled interesting evidence of more errors whilst on the move, with the optimal condition being sitting using a two-handed grip. Qualitative results from a survey after the experiment revealed similar findings, that users found it much easier to use the application whilst sitting, and sitting one handed being the easiest condition. A similar experiment was previously carried out in 2013 which explores the same tilt-based application but under a different testing environment and the performance of a younger user group, the study highlighted the potential value of tilt as a technique for text input for teenage users. This study expands on previous research and identifies that there is a much greater chance for users to perform interactive tasks worse when using smartphone applications on the move instead of using them sitting down.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Matthew Butcher

Janet C Read

Daniel Fitton

Gavin Sim

Conference

Publication date: July 2017

Publication date (Print): July 2017

Pages: 1-8

Affiliations

[0001]School of Physical Sciences and Computing

University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK, PR1 2HE

Article

DOI: 10.14236/ewic/HCI2017.20

SO-VID: 219e4cd7-a341-49f3-ac65-fdc6027a27c2

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Conference name: Proceedings of the 31st International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference (HCI 2017)

Conference acronym: HCI

Conference number: 31

Conference location: Sunderland, UK

Conference date: 3 - 6 July 2017

Conference sponsor: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC)

Conference theme: digital make-believe, with delegates considering our expansive

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1477-9358 BCS Learning & Development

Self URI (article page): https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/HCI2017.20

Self URI (journal page): https://ewic.bcs.org/

references

J.W. AyersE.C. LeasM. DredzeJ.P. AllemJ.G. GrabowskiL. Hill 2016 ‘Pokémon GO —A New Distraction for Drivers and Pedestrians’ JAMA internal medicine 176 12 1865 1866
S. Brown 2010 ‘Likert scale examples for surveys ’. ANR Program evaluation, Iowa State University USA
L. CohenL. ManionK. Morrison 2013 ‘ Research methods in education’ Routledge
D. FittonI.S. MacKenzieJ.C. ReadM. Horton 2013 ‘Exploring tilt-based text input for mobile devices with teenagers’ Proceedings of the 27th International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference 25 British Computer Society
J.A. GliemR.R. Gliem 2003 ‘Calculating, interpreting, and reporting Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for Likert-type scales’ Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education
J. Grabmeier 2013 ‘Distracted Walking: Injuries Soar for Pedestrians on Phones’ Available http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/distractwalk.htm 23rd Mar 2017
S. Jamieson 2004 ‘Likert scales: how to (ab) use them’ Medical education 38 12 1217 1218
P. Kissonergis 2015 ‘Smartphone Ownership, Usage And Penetration By Country’ Available http://thehub.smsglobal.com/smartphone-ownership-usage-and-penetration 23rd Mar 2017
B.A. KitchenhamS.L. PfleegerL.M. PickardP.W. JonesD.C. HoaglinK. El EmamJ. Rosenberg 2002 ‘Preliminary guidelines for empirical research in software engineering’ IEEE Transactions on software engineering 28 8 721 734
I. Lunden 2015 6.1B ‘Smartphone Users Globally By 2020, Overtaking Basic Fixed Phone Subscriptions’ Available https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/6-1b-smartphone-users-globally-by-2020-overtaking-basic-fixed-phone-subscriptions/ 23rd Mar 2017
I.S. MacKenzie 2013 ‘TiltTarget API’ Available http://www.yorku.ca/mack/ExperimentSoftware/javadoc/ca/yorku/cse/mack/tilttarget/TiltTargetActivity.html 23rd Mar 2017
P.L. MunhollandJ.J. Borkowski 1996 ‘Simple Latin square sampling+ 1: A spatial design using quadrats’ Biometrics 125 136
J. Nielsen 1994 ‘Heuristic evaluation’ Usability inspection methods 17 1 25 62
M. Robinson 2014 ‘Think it’s safe to type a quick text while walking?’ Guess again Available http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/02/022.html 23rd Mar 2017
B. Shneiderman 1998 ‘Designing the User Interface - Strategies for Effective HumanComputer Interaction’ Addison-Wesley

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[1] J.W. AyersE.C. LeasM. DredzeJ.P. AllemJ.G. GrabowskiL. Hill 2016 ‘Pokémon GO —A New Distraction for Drivers and Pedestrians’ JAMA internal medicine 176 12 1865 1866

[2] S. Brown 2010 ‘Likert scale examples for surveys ’. ANR Program evaluation, Iowa State University USA

[3] L. CohenL. ManionK. Morrison 2013 ‘ Research methods in education’ Routledge

[4] D. FittonI.S. MacKenzieJ.C. ReadM. Horton 2013 ‘Exploring tilt-based text input for mobile devices with teenagers’ Proceedings of the 27th International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference 25 British Computer Society

[5] J.A. GliemR.R. Gliem 2003 ‘Calculating, interpreting, and reporting Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for Likert-type scales’ Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education

[6] J. Grabmeier 2013 ‘Distracted Walking: Injuries Soar for Pedestrians on Phones’ Available http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/distractwalk.htm 23rd Mar 2017

[7] S. Jamieson 2004 ‘Likert scales: how to (ab) use them’ Medical education 38 12 1217 1218

[8] P. Kissonergis 2015 ‘Smartphone Ownership, Usage And Penetration By Country’ Available http://thehub.smsglobal.com/smartphone-ownership-usage-and-penetration 23rd Mar 2017

[9] B.A. KitchenhamS.L. PfleegerL.M. PickardP.W. JonesD.C. HoaglinK. El EmamJ. Rosenberg 2002 ‘Preliminary guidelines for empirical research in software engineering’ IEEE Transactions on software engineering 28 8 721 734

[10] I. Lunden 2015 6.1B ‘Smartphone Users Globally By 2020, Overtaking Basic Fixed Phone Subscriptions’ Available https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/6-1b-smartphone-users-globally-by-2020-overtaking-basic-fixed-phone-subscriptions/ 23rd Mar 2017

[11] I.S. MacKenzie 2013 ‘TiltTarget API’ Available http://www.yorku.ca/mack/ExperimentSoftware/javadoc/ca/yorku/cse/mack/tilttarget/TiltTargetActivity.html 23rd Mar 2017

[12] P.L. MunhollandJ.J. Borkowski 1996 ‘Simple Latin square sampling+ 1: A spatial design using quadrats’ Biometrics 125 136

[13] J. Nielsen 1994 ‘Heuristic evaluation’ Usability inspection methods 17 1 25 62

[14] M. Robinson 2014 ‘Think it’s safe to type a quick text while walking?’ Guess again Available http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/02/022.html 23rd Mar 2017

[15] B. Shneiderman 1998 ‘Designing the User Interface - Strategies for Effective HumanComputer Interaction’ Addison-Wesley

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