Paper Reading #1: Personalized Input: Improving Ten-Finger Touchscreen Typing through Automatic Adaptation

Introduction
Personalized Input: Improving Ten-Finger Touchscreen Typing through Automatic Adaptation is a paper coauthored by Leah Findlater of the College of Information Studies at University of Maryland and The Information School DUB Group of University of Washington and Jacob O. Wobbrock, also from The Information School DUB Group at University of Washington. Findlater is a CHI professor at the University of Maryland specializing in personalized adaptation. Wobbrock is an associate professor at the Information School focusing on new user interface technologies and input interaction techniques.

Summary

Image taken from the paper demonstrating the effects of the adaptive software

Findlater and Wobbrock used a variety of classification procedures to formulate an adaptive touch-screen keyboard designed to increase typing speed using a touch model (unlike the language-based model used by Apple iOS). Based on observations from previous experiments and a pilot experiment conducted prior to the paper they developed two keyboards using the same underlying structure, the only difference being the visual representation of the keyboard. One keyboard updates the visual to show the changes made to the underlying input interpretation and one does not.

They concluded that the NonVisual-Adaptive keyboard out-performed both the Visual-Adaptive keyboard and the Conventional keyboard. They infer, based on prior experiments, that this is due to the increased cognitive load that the Visual-Adaptive keyboard places on the user when the keyboard visual changes. This change is believed to distract the user, negating the benefits of the underlying adaptation.

Related Works
Un-cited related works include:

1. From Plastic to Pixels: In Search of Touch-Typing Touchscreen Keyboards by Leah Findlater & Jacob O. Wobbrock
2. Manual Text Input: Experiments, Models, and Systems by Poika Isokoski
3. Adaptive personalized interfaces—A question of viability by Saul Greenberga & Ian H. Wittena
4. On-line Personalization of a Touch Screen based Keyboard by Johan Himberg, Jonna Häkkilä, Petri Kangas & Jani Mäntyjärvi
5. Achieving Accessibility through Personalization by Lynne Coventry, Graham Johnson & Antonella De Angeli 
6. Typing on Flat Glass: Examining Ten-Finger Expert Typing Patterns on Touch Surfaces by Leah Findlater, Jacob O. Wobbrock & Daniel Wigdor
7. CATKey: Customizable and Adaptable Touchscreen Keyboard with Bubble Cursor-Like Visual Feedback by Kentaro Go & Yuki Endo
8. HybridPointing: Fluid Switching between Absolute and Relative Pointing with a Direct Input Device by Clifton Forlines, Daniel Vogel & Ravin Balakrishnan
9. High Precision Touchscreens: Design Strategies and Comparisons with a Mouse by Andrew Sears & Ben Shneiderman
10. User Preference and Performance with Three Different Input Devices: Keyboard, Mouse, or Touchscreen by Chi-Hui Lin & Kathy J. Schmidt

These papers cover various subjects covered in Personalized Input, from touchscreen input to various applications of similar adaptive input methods. I found From Plastic to Pixels, Achieving Accessibility through Personalization, and HybridPointing especially intriguing.

Evaluation

Findlater and Wobbrock evaluated the successes and failures of their keyboards and underlying model using a variety of measures. Testing was conducted using 12 participants over the course of 3 90-minute sessions. Quantitative measurements centered around words-per-minute typed and error rates. The NonVisual-Adaptive keyboard consistently improved typing speeds by at least 12.9%. The Visual-Adaptive keyboard showed no benefits compared to the Conventional keyboard and error rates were unaffected. In addition to these measurements, subjective measures were also taken concerning the participants' efficiency/ease/preference, comfort/naturalness, and least frustration. The NonVisual-Adaptive keyboard was consistently rated highest in efficiency/ease/preference, while the Visual-Adaptive keyboard earned the most votes for comfort/naturalness. The measure of least frustration was deemed inconclusive. Additionally, the Visual-Adaptive keyboard was negatively considered high in obtrusiveness.

Discussion

Overall I found the paper to be quite interesting. There is a great demand for touch screens that users can reliably touch-type on. Their methodology and reasoning was well documented, as were their conclusions. My only significant complaint would be their decision to rely on experiments and experiences outside the direct scope of the paper to formulate certain parameters without experimenting with variations in these parameters. However, they do mention this as a confounding effect in closing, so I don't feel that it jeopardizes the validity of their study. I would be very interested in seeing any follow-up research conducted on this subject and definitely plan on reading more of Findlater & Wobbrock's research.

An Introduction

My name is Jake Doyle and I am a 3rd year Senior at Texas A&M University. I am currently working on a B.S. in Computer Science with minors in Psychology and Mathematics and plan to graduate May 2013. I can be reached at jdoyle294@gmail.com.

During my Freshman year I was required to take a writing-intensive seminar and one of our assignments was to research the CSE department faculty, which introduced me to the Sketch Recognition Lab and to the field of CHI. I was instantly drawn to the field because it provides the opportunity to merge my academic interestes - CS, math, and psychology.

My professional goals are still in their formative stages. At this point in time I am considering applying to graduate school for an MCS or MS but I also plan on exploring my career options at the Engineering Career Fair this September. I am interested in CHI as a field of research but I would like to pursue a career in graphics and game development if the opportunity presents itself.

My personal endeavors are more concrete. I am currently living with my girlfriend, who also attends A&M and is planning on pursuing a JD. Once we both graduate we plan to explore opportunities outside the country and to one day start a family. In 10 years I hope to be married, have a kid or two, and be well established in my field and moving toward self-employment.

I foresee the next major advancement in computer science to be in the field of quantum computing. Advancements in this field will one day change computer science as we know it. Previously unsolvable problems will become solvable, computational theory will be turned on its head, and computing speeds will increase astronomically.

If I could travel back in time, I would like to meet Vivaldi. I've had 7 years experience playing the cello and 3 playing bass and Vivaldi has always been my favorite composer. My favorite shoes are my Vibram's Five Fingers because they fit like a glove and are unlike any other shoe I've ever owned. I would like to be fluent in German because I like the way it sounds.

The most interesting story that comes to mind is one that occurred very recently. My girlfriend and I went to Austin for a weekend during summer vacation and we decided at one point to take a few drinks to Zilker Park and sit by the creek. After about an hour or so an older Native American man and what turned out to be his Mexican nephew rode up on a canoe. Not long after we saw them they capsized and we helped them to shore. Once they recovered their belongings they sat with us and had a few drinks. We learned that Acatzin was showing his nephew around Austin while he was on vacation in the states, and he invited us to visit him and his church the next time we are in Austin. We look forward to visiting him soon.