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Differences and similarities between finger and pen stroke gestures on stationary and mobile devices
Tu H., Ren X., Zhai S. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction22 (5):1-39,2015.Type:Article
Date Reviewed: Oct 30 2015

Before the advent of the iPhone, touch-based interaction between users and personal computational devices was dominated by pen-shaped styli, such as in handheld devices by Palm, or in laptops that could be converted to tablet-style devices. Although both pen-based and smartphone-style finger-based interactions rely on touch gestures as input methods, there are differences between the two: a finger has a larger surface area, and is used in a different manner from a stylus. Intuitively, a pen is better for more precise control, whereas fingers are more convenient since they are always at hand. There have been few thorough investigations of the two gesture methods, however.

The authors of this publication conducted three experiments with different implements (pen, index finger, and thumb) and postures (sitting versus walking). To facilitate a systematic comparison, they assembled a set of gestures in three categories (simple, medium, complex) and used characteristics like articulation time (start to finish), gesture size ratio (target versus drawn gesture), aperture (between start and end point), corner shape distance (sharp versus broad angles), indicative angle difference (“tilt” between target and drawn gesture), and the proportional shape distance (sum of the distances between sample points of the target and drawn gestures).

Overall, the results confirm the intuitive assessments: Stylus gestures perform better for more complex patterns and in smaller interaction areas, and the main advantage of thumb gestures is for one-handed device use. Styli often are available as an alternative input method for smartphones. Interaction designers can benefit from this publication in at least two ways: It is an excellent example of experiments that examine intuitive assumptions, and it contains some concrete recommendations for the appropriate use of stylus- and finger-based gesture interaction.

Reviewer:  Franz Kurfess Review #: CR143899 (1601-0081)
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