To study how people learn new keyboard layouts, we created a computational model of positional learning. The model allows predicting visual search times and patterns for completely new layouts, as well as layouts that have been partially changed. The model can be used to estimate how long it takes to learn the desired level of…

WatchSense uses a depth sensor embedded in a wearable device to expand the input space to neighboring areas of skin and the space above it. Upcoming paper at CHI 2017 by: Srinath Sridhar,  Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany Anders Markussen , University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Antti Oulasvirta , Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland…

In collaboration with Microsoft Research, we studied the accuracy and precision of eye tracking in practical, everday tracking conditions on over 80 people. We propose design implications for adaptive, error-aware gaze applications, that consider the large variations of eye tracking quality. Upcoming paper at CHI 2017 by: Anna Feit , Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland Shane Williams , Microsoft…

This paper studies advanced inference methods for cognitive modeling in HCI, showing that ABC (i) improves estimates of model parameter values, (ii) enables meaningful comparisons between model variants, and (iii) supports fitting models to individual users. Upcoming paper at CHI 2017 by: Antti Kangasrääsiö , Aalto University, Espoo, Finland Kumaripaba Athukorala , Aalto University, Helsinki,…

Researchers at Aalto University provide the first analysis of typing strategies. This paper revisits the present understanding of typing, which originates mostly from studies of trained typists using the ten- finger touch typing system. Their goal is to characterise the majority of present-day users who are untrained and employ diverse, self-taught techniques. In a transcription task, they compare…

Researchers at Aalto University present a novel model to predict error rates in temporal pointing. Although temporal pointing is common in interactions requiring temporal precision, rhythm, or synchrony, no previous HCI model predicts error rates as a function of task properties. This model assumes that users have an implicit point of aim but their ability to elicit the…

Researchers at Aalto University contribute a novel technique to facilitate skim reading. In response to motion blur and short object exposure when scrolling large documents, they present Spotlights, a scrolling technique that complements regular continuous scrolling at high speeds (2–20 pages/s). They present a novel design rule informed by theories of the human visual system for dynamically selecting objects and…

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics  and Aalto University calculate the easiest way to interact by gestures of hand and fingers using a camera-based input device. Owing to recent achievements in computer vision, modern algorithms can recognize even multi-finger gestures in a video stream. The research groups around professors Oulasvirta and  Theobalt used…

Although different types of touch surfaces have gained extensive attention in HCI, this is the first work to directly compare them for two critical factors: performance and ergonomics. Our data come from a pointing task carried out on five common touch surface types: public display (large, vertical, standing), tabletop (large, horizontal, seated), laptop (medium, adjustably…