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Assessing touchscreen operations under vibration: effects of vibrational environments, button size, and button spacing on digit- and letter-entry task performance

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Abstract

Touchscreen interfaces are increasingly used in vibration contexts. However, little is known about how they should be designed to cope with vibrations. This study aimed to examine the effects of button size and button spacing on entry performance in varied vibrational environments. Twenty participants were instructed to perform a series of digit- and letter-entry tasks with a touchscreen interface. Vibrational environments (static, low vibration, and high vibration), button sizes (7.5–27.5 mm with 5-mm increments), and button spacings (0, 1, and 3 mm) were factorially combined. Increased vibration level was associated with increased time to complete task, lower accuracy rate, higher perceived workload, and increased perceived discomfort. User performance improved as button size increased up to 17.5 mm. A button spacing of 1 mm was favorable in terms of entry efficiency. The detrimental effects of vibration on information entry performance and users’ perceptions were observed. The results indicated that touchscreen interfaces should be carefully designed to cater for use in vibrational environments. Favorable button size and button spacing to deal with vibrational environments were identified.

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Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the Foundation of Shenzhen Science and Technology Committee [Grant Number 20200813225029002], and the National Natural Science of Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 72101161, 72104176, 32271130).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Kaifeng Liu

  2. Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Jihong Zeng & Da Tao

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  1. Kaifeng Liu
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  2. Jihong Zeng
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  3. Da Tao
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Contributions

Conceptualization was done by DT, JZ, and KL; Methodology was done by DT and JZ; Formal analysis and investigation was done by KL and JZ; Writing—original draft preparation were done by KL; Writing—review and editing were done by DT and KL; Funding acquisition was done by DT and KL; Resources were done by DT and KL; Supervision was done by DT.

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Correspondence to Da Tao.

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Liu, K., Zeng, J. & Tao, D. Assessing touchscreen operations under vibration: effects of vibrational environments, button size, and button spacing on digit- and letter-entry task performance. Univ Access Inf Soc 23, 293–303 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-022-00935-2

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