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CS133 Input and

output devices

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What’s available for input…

• touch - fingers, feet, breath• sound - voice, other sounds• gesture• gaze• brainwaves…

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and output…• textual information• visual images - photos, diagrams, icons• moving images• sounds - music, soundfx, voice• tactile sensation• force feedback• texture feedback• smells…

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What do we need to input?

PointingDepressing/releasing a switch - clicking DraggingText input

(Can we reduce this range to "Point and click?" Or simply a click or on-off switch?)

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Jim Lubin operates his machine by using a sip-and-puff device to enter Morse code patterns that input keyboard keys and mouse functions.

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The current norm for desktop systems

Input via keyboard and mouse

Output via text, pictures, movement, sound

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“Finger-on” computing

Bill Buxton once remarked that if human society were destroyed apart from a computer shop, visiting Martian archeologists would determine that humans were monocular and had one hand with 29 digits on it. All the remaining body senses and capabilities are irrelevant to the computer interface.

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KeyboardsQWERTY - Christopher Latham Sholes, 1870's. Designed to "slow down" typing, to prevent the types from jamming.

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Dvorak keyboard

August Dvorak 1936. Increased accuracy in typing by almost 50 % and speed by 15-20 %

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Comparison

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Ergonomic keyboard design

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Ergonomic keyboards

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Ergonomic keyboards

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Chord keyboards

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Pointing devices - direct

Touchscreens

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Touchscreens• Often used for applications with occasional

use, for example• Bank ATMs, Information Kiosks, etc.• No extra hardware - used for input and for

output• Can be precise to 1 pixel• Good for menu choice - not so good for other

functions• Intuitive to use

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Touchscreens

BUT

• Tiring if at wrong angle (needs to be 30-45% from horizontal)

• Get greasy, jammy• Finger can obscure screen• Alternative - use stylus to touch screen, or

lightpen

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Indirect Pointing Devices

Need more cognitive processing than direct methods, but can be more efficient

• mouse• tracker ball• trackpoint• touchpad…

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Indirect pointing devices - mouse

MouseInvented by Doug Englebart, Xerox PARC, in 1966"Mouse arm" - RSI injuryRange of technologies, including wireless mice - for home entertainment, lectures, etc

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Indirect pointing devices -

otherTrackerball, trackpad, trackpointLess space on desktopGood in moving environments, e.g. car, train

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Indirect pointing devices - other

Joystick

Some with force feedback for haptic experience

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Indirect pointing devices - other

Footmouse

Equivalent to conventional mouse but no RSI

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Indirect pointing devices - other

Graphics tabletLarge touch sensitive surface operated via stylus, pencil,Can be larger than screen, for precise pointing and accurate control

Pressure and angle sensitive

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A new idea…Interactive music via

“joysticks”

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Criteria of interest for HCI

• Speed of motion for short and long distances

• Accuracy of positioning• Error rate• Ease of learning• Support for (complex) tasks

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• Cost • Durability • Weight • Space requirements • Will it get lost? • LH vs. RH• Likelihood of RSI

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Choosing devices• Match physiological & psychological

characteristics• Appropriate for task• Suitable for the work & environment• Left and/or right handed• Designed by men, used by women?• All kinds of special needs, from slight

long sight to severe motor/visual/ cognitive disability

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Alternatives …

Speech (also for text input)

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Alternatives …

Gaze input - via reflections of laser beam aimed at retina. Here with pointing via data glove

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Alternatives …

Brain activity input - this neural network system distinguishes 5 brain patterns - for up, down, L, R & click

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The challenge of interactivity for

everyone, everywhere

•Interactive TV•Household devices, e.g. curtains,

garage door, central heating•Mobiles, palm tops, badge

computers, toys, interactive clothing